the dreadful belt squeak..

I bought my 2013 TSS 4.0l taco in 2018 with 99k miles on it. In 2019 with 120k it started to get a belt/pulley chirp. I had assumed the noise was coming from my idler pulleys. I had went cheap and bought off ebay. One of the pulleys only lasted 1k miles before it exploded. So then bought OEM pulleys and a Gates belt. Worked great for maybe a year before the start up squeak/chirp started.

So moving forward to now. Truck has 165k miles on it. And I have never been able to get rid of the squeak/chirp. In the last 4 years I have replaced all 3 idler pulleys 4 times, the belt 5 times.. in the last 6 months I replaced the harmonic balancer pulley, tensioner with a new pulley, alternator and a new a/c compressor clutch. Every time something is changed it will stop for anywhere from a week to 3 weeks before it starts back up. At this point I'm just at a loss.

I have checked on other post about this. Somebody said I could maybe spray the belt with some kind of silicone. Or I read something about scuffing up the smooth pulleys with sandpaper. At this point I just roll the windows up and blast the radio. The squeak pretty much comes and goes when it wants. Just a chirp all the time.

Thanks,

 

Gonna have to get you a thick pry bar and get in there and listen when its doing it...

 

I have something similar I'm trying to track down. Mine seems to happen most often around 1100 RPM while on the throttle. Belt dressing did nothing.

Are you sure all of your pullies are in line? I've also heard good things about the Goodyear Gatorback belt for silencing belt-related squeaks.

 

I have a mechanic stethoscope. Every single pulley at this point sound the same

 

I'm thinking of removing the water pump pulley again. I feel like if one was going to off it would be that one. And maybe put a new fan clutch on it since i like throwing money at it.

 

You said you changed the tensioner pulley but has the tensioner itself been changed?
The bushing in them can wear a bit and it will cause the belt to track unevenly which can make it squeak.

 

Yes sorry, I replaced the tensioner. I bought the kit from rockauto. Tensioner, idler pulleys and belt

 

I had the exact same problem with a 97 S10 pickup. The belt chirp drove me nuts. Every time something was changed it would be quiet for a week or so and then chirp chirp chirp. At the time every auto parts stores sold Dayco belts. I ordered a different brand belt (Goodyear or Continental I don't remember) and the belt chirp was gone for good. I will never put another Dayco belt on any vehicle. Try another belt.

 

I mean try another brand of belt.

 

So far, I've tried 3 different brands.