Drive belt squeel

[heeroyue2002]

First of all, im sorry im not quite sure which section thia goes in.
I have a 3100 v6 small port.



im having a squeel and i cant figure it out. ive had it before and it was the tensioner. It happens when i hit the gas and gets louder the more u press it.

A little water on the belt stops it for a couple seconds and so does some lube but im avoiding doing it as it really doesnt help. Idk i feel as though that stuff makes the belt slip and it needs to grip.

heres my checklist of things ive replaced.
new belt X2 (gatorback) 4060868
new tensioner,
all idler pulleys replaced, which is 2 i believe
new alternator
new power steering pump and pulley
new ac compressor
new water pump

the second belt fixed it for A day or 2 but it started up again. I even resorted to belt conditioner and it helped for a half day and started up again but worse. Now it happens all the time.
Is there a way to check belt alignment?
How far should the power steering pulley be on the shaft of the pump?

[86FieroSEv6]

First of all. You should never use belt dressing on a multi-rib belt. Have you taken the time to clean each and every groove of your crankshaft pulley? Most of the time (but not always), GM power steering pump pulleys are pressed on until the hub is flush with the nose of the pump shaft. I have also seen them pushed on a touch further till you could see the chamfer at the very end of the shaft and a couple of times the shaft was approx. 1/16" below the surface of the pulley flange. They make a great tool now that uses a laser light to check pulley alignment, you might check into borrowing one.

[heeroyue2002]

sorry i was at work and used my phone so i see i also pressed performance instead of the maintenance link.

Yes i dont use belt dressing normally but seeing as i have changed everything, i used it as a last resort. ive cleaned all the pulleys multiples times with different things and scrubbed them with scotch pads and wire brushes. I thought it may just be the belt slipping and the can of dressing advertised it would keep it from slipping. now i have even more of a mess to clean, it left my pulleys sticky.

im a bit upset that i cant get this to function correctly, that and i was going to use the money originally for comp ported intakes from the W0t tech store.

i also read something about that laser light so i hope i can get a hold of of one.

[bob442]

Is it cold where you are right now? it could be because of the fluid you have in your power steering pump. in colder climates, actual power steering fluid is not reccomonded, you should have trans fluid in there, as it is not as thick when its below -20. with power steering fluid being thick like surup in cold weather, the PS pump wont move the stuff with ease, and your belt will slip. the only other thing i could think of is your tensioner is crap. if its not strong/tight enough, all the pullies will slip and cause havic. check to see how strong it is.

In this day and age, theres to many cheap products on the shelf to not rule a new part out as being defective. And we've all seen good parts fail too.

[heeroyue2002]

im in sunny california. at the moment its t shirt weather.

i actually replaced the tensioner for the second time the day i posted.
before i had purchased a new duralast one that pissed me off. in order to loosen the belt i had to remove the mounts and raise the engine as it allowed no space for a ratchet or anything else. it got old fast and i managed to score another good year one that has good space.

[bob442]

if you drop the motor with the mount off, and remove the tire, and inner fender, you can get at the tensioner with ease.

[robertisaar]

if you drop the motor with the mount off, and remove the tire, and inner fender, you can get at the tensioner with ease.

and this is why the w-body engine mounting makes life SOOOO much easier...

[pocket-rocket]

I've used a bar of soap on belts to get them to stop squealing before. Just watch your fingers when applying it.