2000 GMC Sierra 1500 4.8 Belt Squeal

[jcleary47]

Hello all,

 

I just inherited a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 4.8 V8 from my father and I just drove it back up to Maine from Connecticut and noticed when I got home a squealing under the hood. It sounds like gets louder/more frequent if I rev the engine. Someone at work suggested I try the water bottle trick and spray the belt to see what it does. I did that and when I spray the belt anywhere along its path near any of the pulleys, the squealing stops for 5-10 seconds and then comes back. I don't know too much about this stuff, so would changing the belt be the logical first step?

 

It has ~82,000 miles on it. I don't notice a change in the squealing if I turn the AC or Heat on or anything.

 

Also, I don't know if it's relevant but I can "twist" the belt quite a bit without much difficulty a little past 90 degrees.

[anumber1]

Time for a belt and a belt tensioner

[txab]

A good belt..... Gates or Goodyear Gatorback

 

You can also check pulley alignment

[jcleary47]

That's what I thought. He saved receipts for everything he bought for the truck and I found one from 2012 that looks to be a serpentine belt. Not sure if 2 years is normal for that to start wearing again but I'll look into replacing the belt and then the tensioner if it doesn't seem to fix the issue.

 

Should I be able to tell if there is a misalignment just by watching the belt spin, or do I need to do something special for that? I read that there's a laser tool for it so I guess I could give that a try.

[sahls01gmc]

Bad pulleys can wear out a belt quicker than normal. I'd replace them all, cheap insurance.

[anumber1]

That's what I thought. He saved receipts for everything he bought for the truck and I found one from 2012 that looks to be a serpentine belt. Not sure if 2 years is normal for that to start wearing again but I'll look into replacing the belt and then the tensioner if it doesn't seem to fix the issue.

 

Should I be able to tell if there is a misalignment just by watching the belt spin, or do I need to do something special for that? I read that there's a laser tool for it so I guess I could give that a try.

If the belt was replaced 2 yes ago but not the tensioner, my bet is the tensioner is seized and leaving the belt loose.

 

A slipping serpentine belt will wear pulleys quickly, as well.

[jcleary47]

If the belt was replaced 2 yes ago but not the tensioner, my bet is the tensioner is seized and leaving the belt loose.

 

A slipping serpentine belt will wear pulleys quickly, as well.

 

I just went through the receipts a second time and actually found where he replaced the tensioner as well, though not at the exact same time fairly close, so I think I'll at least replace the belt and I'll look into tracking down the part #'s for the pulley's as well as I might as well replace them if they aren't expensive.

[00Silverado4x4]

If the belt was replaced 2 yes ago but not the tensioner, my bet is the tensioner is seized and leaving the belt loose.

 

A slipping serpentine belt will wear pulleys quickly, as well.

Had a tensioner fail on my previous truck. I'd definitely look at the tensioner before anything else.