ok hey mcf so ive been having this problem with the belt squeaking so far i have already changed the belt, fixed the coolant issues but still the squeak remains me and a neighbor who has a Buick lasabe which also has the same engine as me, said that it sounds like its the belt tensioner, now i had just changed the belt tensioner and it has less than 5k on it, its a duralast i got from a local autozone. it deff sounds like its coming from the pulley tho so i was wondering on other opinions before i order the pulley and how hard is it to change it, do i need special tools?

 

Take the belt off and spin the pulleys by hand. Listen for abnormal noises and feel the travel of the pulley. If the tensioner pulley is to blame, you will feel it. Changing it requires a 13 or 15mm socket and a ratchet (and I believe it's reverse threads).

Now I have heard of people having a noise that thought was the alternator pulley and instead it was a missing oring on the pcv.

 

At one point I thought it was the alternator pulley. But it deff sounds like the tensioner pulley. And it goes away after the car warms up. I forgot to add, so I should try to turn them on a cold engine right?

 

Yeah, work with a cold engine (other wise you won't want to mess around with spinning hot parts).

If spinning the pulleys by hand do not get you answers, check to PCV, make sure all the O-rings are present (on on the PCV and another on the lid for the MAP sensor).

 

Another quick test of the pulley....

While its running and squeaking...

Take a spray bottle with water in it...set it to stream and squirt the the pulley at the bolt,bearing area...if it goes quiet(Squeak disappears).. Then its definitely the tensioner pulley..

Just a little trick I learned from my neighbor who is a Certified licensed mechanic.

The one on my Silverado took a dump excessive squeaking/squealing...
Sure enough a cpl squirts and the noise disappeared.

 

David that reminds me. A test regarding that pcv item, take the belt completely off, run the car for a couple of minutes. Of you still hear the noise, it's not a pulley. Just don't run the car long as your water pump is not running and doing it's job.

 

Oh I might be able to do the squirting test, pending on if needs to be cold as well. Can't do the other until Saturday daily driver and I leave for work at 430 am but good suggestions indeed

 

if it squeaking when its warmed up..it will still work..
warm or cold..if its sqeak/squealing.. give it a squirt!

As Jason (maniac) also suggested.
It could be a sign of a vac/pcv leak..especially if it disappears once its warmed up.. could be indicating something more complicated..but easily fixed .

 

The missing o-ring on the PCV was causing a major squeal on mine. Simple check for this: take off the oil cap while the engine is running and squealing... if the squeal stops, it's likely the PCV.

 

Ok so I changed the pulley and there's still a squeak. Sounds like it coming from the alternator for sure but the thing is the alternator tests fine. On both the multimeter and the obdII the pulley is dry so I'm not sure if I should just replace it or not. It stops squeaking when the car is warmed up as well