Good Morning guys, I am new to the forum but I am hoping I can pick some of your brains for some info about my truck. I have a 2000 ...

Good Morning guys, I am new to the forum but I am hoping I can pick some of your brains for some info about my truck. I have a 2000 sierra 5.3 and the other day it started squealing when I started it up.I looked under the hood and it seemed like it was coming from the a/c belt area, so I checked the belt and it was cracked and worn so after a bit of knuckle banging I replaced the a/c belt but the squeal is still there. I replaced the serpentine belt about a year ago so it is fine but still she squeals like a stuck pig. I am not sure what would cause this and I am wondering if it is safe to drive while making this noise, I have two little girls that I have to think about. Please, any help would be appreciated.

Did you check the tensioner and idler pulley's to make sure the bearings are not siezed?

You may have to do the long screwdriver trick to isolate the noise, be very careful while testing different things.

yeah x2 on the tensioner pulley...could also be the bearings in the ac compressor..my first thought was a glazed over serp. belt but if u changed it a year ago should be good...more than likley that tensioner makin the noise!

I was able to spin the tensioner pulley so I doubt that is it, it spun around really easily. So I guess that leaves the a/c compressor. Can I just remove the a/c belt and leave it off without it affecting the operation of my truck? I cannot afford to replace my a/c system right now so I am hoping I can just yank the belt and take care of it next spring. Is that feasible?

If that is the only thing (and I think it is) that is driven by the belt then, yes, you can remove that belt.

yeah more than likely sounds like ur on the right track with the ac compressor. Also make sure there wasn't any excessive play in that tennsioner, just cuz it spins dosn't nessesarilly mean its not that makin noise..but more than likely its the ac..let us know when u take the belt off if that takes care of the noise.

Well guys I took the a/c belt off and it still squealed on me. I got annoyed with it and buttoned it back up and went to work the next day but when I drove home it was squealing like a stuck pig. I popped the hood when I got home and looked around and was shocked to see that the tensioner pulley was GONE! I looked around and noticed a bunch of pieces of black plastic scattered around and when I pulled off the metal bearing housing (the only part left I might add) several bearings were missing and everything was fused together nice and tight. One trip to auto zone and 20 minutes and now no squealing. I guess that just because the tensioner spun did not mean a thing, you were right Wheelerand Aste. I am just shocked that the belt was able to get the pulley so hot that it melted and shattered. I am pretty impressed with that belts' strength.

Hi texjm,

I'm glad the problem has been found, with no incident related to your little girls or you. I have three girls, and they were little at one time, so I know what you were feeling.

Once you get the pulley and belt put back together. Here's a little Troubleshooting dialogue from Gates Belt manufacturing. There is some good info in there...

Here's the link: Gates belts

It might help in the future diagnosing a problem...

Take care and enjoy those girls! They grow up fast!

Luckily it was just the tensioner and not the compressor, which would have been a much costlier fix.