[VetteVet]

Originally Posted by COBALT

Update:

After an extremely busy two weeks at work I finally got the chance (in between rain storms) to get out to the truck (that's been parked on a side-street since I live in the city) and try to figure out what's going on.

Here's what I found:

1. Engine oil was low, but looks normal. No water in it. The usual clear dark brown. No debris.
2. Coolant was WAY low. I haven't checked it in a while (since the end of summer). I had to dump almost a 1/2 gallon of 50/50 mix in. I haven't had any problems with temperature, and it likes to dump out the overflow if I keep it full, so I intentionally don't keep it full all the time.
3. Transmission fluid looks clean (although I haven't let the truck warm up, and cycle through the gears enough to find out if the level is right yet).
4. Transmission still looks clean as a whistle. No breaks in the pan gasket. No overflow from the dipstick. I see a tiny bit of leak out of the rear seal, but I've never been able to keep that from happening with my crusty slip-yoke. It likes to eat seals, so I think that's ok.

When I fired up the truck the sqealing began almost immediately, and it suddenly comes and goes. Sounds like an over-tightened belt when I'm standing in front of the truck. Sounds like it's comming from the front of the engine.

I'm guessing either:

1. Alternator, but I'm getting good amps
2. Water pump (most likely because of the coolant level, and it's an old pump)
3. Power steering

I loosened up both the alternator and power steering belts - no change in the sound.
I know I have a leaky oil pan gasket, but I haven't been loosing that much oil so I'm waiting until I pull the motor for some other stuff before I fix it.

I need to get this truck warmed up and take it for a spin before I know more, then check the transmission and oil again. I was hearing a different sound when I was driving, so I have to see if it's still happening...

More later.

I'm puzzled , if you loosened the belts and the alternator quit turning ,why did the sound not stop? Anyways glad you got it fixed. V V