Well guys, I am at my wits end on this one.

I have a 2001 1500 5.2.

About 5 months ago, I replaced the belt and the water pump. Everything was perfect for about a month or so. Then it would start to squeal early in the mornings, when I first started it, for about a minute or two, then it was fine for the rest of the day. Now, for about the last week, the squealing sound will not go away. I've tried replacing the idler pulley, the tensioner pulley, and the tensioner unit, all to no avail. I bought a mechanics stethoscope today, and I still couldn't pin point the source of the noise. I've tried using plenty of belt spray, with no luck.

The squealing sound only happens at high RPMs, and not idling. It really doesn't sound like a sporadic squeal, but a constant sound, that gets higher as the RPMs get higher. I put the stethoscope on everything except the harmonic balancer (because I can't get under the car and push the gas at the same time).

When I turn on the A/C, there is no change in the noise, and the A/C works fine.

At this point, I am about ready to take it to a mechanic just to shut the thing up. Does anybody else have any other suggestions on what else to check?

Thanks in advance!

 

start by just cleaning out the grooves on all of the pulleys and squirt them down with brake parts cleaner. Then spray some PB blast on the pulleys. What ever you do, DO NOT USE BELT DRESSING!!! Lets see where that takes you.

 

you didn't mention changing the belt. a worn out belt will squeal. especially if its shiny and can't get a grip on the pulleys.

 

Yeah...he did.

 

i had the same problem...mine would squeel in the morning for about 3-5 minutes then stop. Honestly the only thing i did was run the belt underwater because i did get coolant on it when changing my plenum. and had it sit in water for about 10 minutes. and havent had a squeel since. (4 days ago)

 

what soaking it in water do for it? I'm curious.

 

i dont know, i did it to get the coolant off, because i know for a fact i dumped some directly on the belt when doing the plenum, and it stopped the squeeling for me. my belt is only 2 months old. Im just saying give it a try, it doesnt cost anything to do it

 

So wouldn't it be the coolant the you dripped on it that made it squeak? So by cleaning it with water, then it didn't squeak anymore, right?

 

Solid rubber will absorb water and it helps it to maintain flexibility and keeps it supple. Some people will soak their yard trimmer line in water over the winter months to keep it from getting brittle in actual use. *shrugs*

 

Thanks. I always like to here the technical side of thing. I don't like going off of, "I don't know why it works, but it works." It just doesn't sit right with me.