Serpentine Belt / Pulley - Constant Squeal

I've noticed a little bit of squealing from under the hood in the morning a few times, figured it was just due to the cold / damp weather this fall/winter. Always went away after the truck warmed up a little. Today the squeal has become constant. I'm guessing it's either the belt or a pulley (33,000 miles). I'm going to pick up a new belt tomorrow when the parts store opens. Hopefully that's all it is and it'll be a quick fix...

Mike

 

Hopefully I can find one in stock tomorrow. Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Mike

 

i had that problem and replacing the belt fixed it for me.

 

For whatever reason, the squealing wasn't nearly as loud today. It's still there, but I have to be outside of the cab to hear it. Couldn't locate any of the pulleys in town, one parts store did have a belt though.

For now, I might just go with the "drive it until it breaks/gets worse" theory. Hate to just start replacing parts if I can't figure out what is actually wrong. If it gets worse, I'll order the parts and tear into it next weekend.

Mike

 

I would start with the belt. Pick up a can of belt dressing and lightly spray the belt. If that takes car of the problem, I would lean towards replacing the belt. If it doesn't, I would lean towards one of the pulleys as taco4x4 said above.

 

Thanks guys - the squeal went away completely today. However, with the hood open and the defrost on I did notice a slight hum. Don't remember if it did that before, but maybe the AC compressor is on the way out?

Mike

 

After being gone for a few days, the squeal came back today. Picked up a new belt, and checked all of the pulleys. I did notice a little slop in the pulley on the tensioner, but everything else seemed ok. Put the new belt on - no more squeal.

Mike