Hi Guys,

I just changed the water pump on my 1997 Tahoe a few months ago and while I was at it, I replaced the serpentine belt. The belt has been squealing during start up and sometimes while turning sharp corners. It has gotten so bad, I put my old belt back on. Any tips on how to get this new (and costly) belt to run quitely? Will a can of 'belt dressing' help to silence the screech? Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks,

Rod

Possible the tensioner is bad. Most people don't realize, but it is considered a service item, requiring the occasional replacement. Other than that, possibly something else has excessive drag. The old belt may be "worn in" enough to not squeal, but the new one slips just a little. It's unusual for a serpentine belt to squeal.

What kind of belt did you buy? I bought a cheap AZ one and it squealed all kinds of ways. I switched to a qaulity name brand and no more squeal.

Mike

I would definitely replace the belt tensioner and I also agree on what belt did you purchase. There are better grades of belts and that is a great possibility.

Did you use a Goodyear belt? I have had problems with them before, I think the rubber is too hard. I have a Napa belt, made by Gates on my truck now and it works great. Belt dressing may or may not help.

it could also be your idler pully, i have a 1999 GMC Yukon, i changed the belt tensioner, idler pully, and bought a $35.00 belt and it still squeals. The belt i bought has a lifetime warrenty so i just keep changing it.

Is there a place in your belt alignemnt, where your belt could be rubbing on a side of a pulley or in a bind? This will cause a belt to make noise repeatedly. I had installed a set of smaller horsepower building pulleys on my Impala SS and the belt squealed continuously. I just removed the pulleys this week and went back to the factory installed system---All is quiet for the time being.

I could go out to the engine compartment and take a piece of soap and rub on the very edge of the belt and the squealing qwould quit for awhile, but I got tired of that deal, so the change took place.

At work we use a little Lub. and that helps. Also the belts matter as well.

check all your pulleys for any corrosion or rust and clean as needed. the tensioner and idler should be replaced if that thing has anywhere near 80k miles or so on it. dayco belts are notorious for being total crap. i try to run gates always and i will also use a goodyear if theres nothing else available.

Yessir, been there too. New belt and it squealed. Bought a new tensioner pulley which did not cure it then bought a new tensioner. Solved it. I had not noticed that the tensioner was worn so that the tensioner pulley was not running straight which is what caused my belt squeal. It wasn't out of line by much either.

Bought a new belt from the GM dealer and it solved my problems. No more squeaky-squeaky!

Thanks guys,

Rod