Serpentine Belt Squeal for 2004 Silverado 5.3L V8
07-09-2018, 09:45 AM
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Serpentine Belt Squeal for 2004 Silverado 5.3L V8 Last summer in August, I changed my steering pump and pulley and along with it I replaced the serpentine belt, the idler pulley and the tensioner arm with pulley. I got rid of the older tensioner arm, idler pulley and steering pump pulley and sent back the old steering pump, but I did keep the old belt just in case. There were no noises or issues for the first two months after replacing all these components.
In October on a rainy and wet day, I noticed that I started to get a squeal, but it was very quiet. I figured some grime might've gotten on the belt, but the noise went away. Come winter and spring, the noise was there everyday like a cricket chirping. This occurred while idling and the noise only increased with pressing the gas. My first assumption was that it had to do with the AC belt and tensioner, so I didn't touch the problem.
In May, I finally ordered a new AC belt and tensioner and replaced those components. Since I had the serpentine belt removed, I cleaned all the pulleys with a stiff bristle brush and soft wire brush. I noticed that steering pump pulley had some gunk on it, but I think most of it was the paint coming from the grooves. The truck sounded great after I did this for one drive, there no noises in idle or when driving. However the very next day, the noise was back again. I looked at all the belts while it was running and the only pulley that seemed to show wobble was the tensioner pulley.
I pulled the belt off again and checked all the pulleys. The only pulley that had any significant wobble was in fact the tensioner pulley. I ordered a new one to replace it so that it would sit straight. I did this yesterday and the noise only got worse in idle and while I was driving, so I put the "old" one on again and cleaned everything vigorously with carburetor cleaner and the brushes. I put the belt back on turned the truck on and the squeal was worse than it was originally. I tried greasing the pulley's bearing, that only made things worse somehow. Finally, my dad suggested using belt conditioner. We did that and the noise was completely awful. Then finally, I realized I still had the old belt. I swapped the belts and we had no more noise, in idle at least.
I took the truck for a ride again today and I noticed I only have a squeal with the old belt while pressing the gas. I don't understand how now I only have the noise in one condition and not the other with this belt. I assume this has something to do with the tension of the old belt verse the new belt. I assume the new belt was slipping or has something on it. I've cleaned it off and I've seen no improvement.
My question at the end of all this is, is the tensioner arm itself faulty? Is it not producing the right tension even though it has only ~3000 miles on it? Would a slight wobble in the pulley cause this noise to occur drastically? How do I know if I tightened the pulley onto the arm enough/too much? Why was the old belt so much quieter than the new one? Again, this noise only really occurs when I press the gas. Even with the new belt, when it warmed up, there would be no noise during idle.
Everything new I've purchased has been the ACDelco brand. The old belt is Dayco.
I hope I've provided enough detail for this. Any help would be appreciated. I've looked at a lot of videos for each of the pulleys, symptoms causing belt squeal and how to clean everything properly and nothing has seemed to solve my problem.
In October on a rainy and wet day, I noticed that I started to get a squeal, but it was very quiet. I figured some grime might've gotten on the belt, but the noise went away. Come winter and spring, the noise was there everyday like a cricket chirping. This occurred while idling and the noise only increased with pressing the gas. My first assumption was that it had to do with the AC belt and tensioner, so I didn't touch the problem.
In May, I finally ordered a new AC belt and tensioner and replaced those components. Since I had the serpentine belt removed, I cleaned all the pulleys with a stiff bristle brush and soft wire brush. I noticed that steering pump pulley had some gunk on it, but I think most of it was the paint coming from the grooves. The truck sounded great after I did this for one drive, there no noises in idle or when driving. However the very next day, the noise was back again. I looked at all the belts while it was running and the only pulley that seemed to show wobble was the tensioner pulley.
I pulled the belt off again and checked all the pulleys. The only pulley that had any significant wobble was in fact the tensioner pulley. I ordered a new one to replace it so that it would sit straight. I did this yesterday and the noise only got worse in idle and while I was driving, so I put the "old" one on again and cleaned everything vigorously with carburetor cleaner and the brushes. I put the belt back on turned the truck on and the squeal was worse than it was originally. I tried greasing the pulley's bearing, that only made things worse somehow. Finally, my dad suggested using belt conditioner. We did that and the noise was completely awful. Then finally, I realized I still had the old belt. I swapped the belts and we had no more noise, in idle at least.
I took the truck for a ride again today and I noticed I only have a squeal with the old belt while pressing the gas. I don't understand how now I only have the noise in one condition and not the other with this belt. I assume this has something to do with the tension of the old belt verse the new belt. I assume the new belt was slipping or has something on it. I've cleaned it off and I've seen no improvement.
My question at the end of all this is, is the tensioner arm itself faulty? Is it not producing the right tension even though it has only ~3000 miles on it? Would a slight wobble in the pulley cause this noise to occur drastically? How do I know if I tightened the pulley onto the arm enough/too much? Why was the old belt so much quieter than the new one? Again, this noise only really occurs when I press the gas. Even with the new belt, when it warmed up, there would be no noise during idle.
Everything new I've purchased has been the ACDelco brand. The old belt is Dayco.
I hope I've provided enough detail for this. Any help would be appreciated. I've looked at a lot of videos for each of the pulleys, symptoms causing belt squeal and how to clean everything properly and nothing has seemed to solve my problem.
