I purchased the truck about 2 months ago. 1998 ram 1500 reg cab 4whl auto 5.2 V8, 66Kmi.
I replaced the tensioner because the load srping was frozen, along with a new belt and idler pulley. Now The belt squeaks and chirps untill it warms up, about 5-10 min. then its is fine. All the pulleys are in alignment and free. Any sugestions/ ideas?
Thanks Joe

 

clean the pulleys and belts. make sure there isn't any dirt in the grooves.

 

Just a quick moderator's note... please only post a thread in one section, do not post duplicate threads in different sections. Thank you!

 

The second posting was done because, the first never showed up and I thought I did somthing wrong. Then after looking around the forum I decided to try again. Sorry for th edouble post
Any way... yes all the pulleys are clean and in alignment Just makes the chirping when first stared up then after awhile goes away. I had the same issue with a 94 ram 1500, i just kept changeing belts every 6months or more,when the chirping started. Other issues took over my time and did not really look into it on that truck. When i got this one (1998) I was very happy.... NO RUST! even under the truck ... looks like a 2 year old truck body,interior,bed,tires Mint. rides as good as my car! Then this started. What about belt brands ? I read about a "Gattorback" from goodyear, any thoughts?
Joe

 

I got the expensive Gates belt from NAPA and it squealed from the second it started and would not stop. Get a Dayco belt. Advanced Auto parts has them. No squeal at all.

 

The belt on the truck is a dayco, it's about 2 months old. I put it on when I purchased the truck along with a new tensioner. today I ordered a Goodyear Gatorback from a local parts guy and will try that. The belt is not "bad" or worn just noisy. Untill it warms up 20-30 min.
I hope people are staring because they like the truck not laughing at the squeal/noise.
Joe

 

Instead of starting another thread, I figured I'd ask here (and it's taking to long to look around each thread for my problem ):

My belt squeaks 24/7 and never really gets any louder or quieter during idle or driving, just stays the same squealing sound. I've replaced the the tensioner pulley because the other one broke off while driving. Also got a new idler pulley and a new belt (dayco). Didn't fix the squeal...

Next I was guessing to buy a new tensioner, but the original one doesn't wobble much when the engines on and it moves freely when I take the belt off (while still holding a good amount of tension).

As for the "spray bottle test" I spit a mist of water out of my mouth onto the belt and the noise went completely away and returned after a few seconds. Dayco suggests this means a misalignment. Is there any way to check for alignment w/o a laser tool?

Just want some opinions before I send my truck to a shop for an alignment check or before I buy a new tensioner.
*all pulleys were cleaned, checked for wobble, and they all spin freely w/o any noise.
*I also just read some reviews on Advance Auto's website for the dayco belt on my exact truck, and the majority of the people said the new dayco belt squeaked...when replaced with a gates or goodyear it went away. Not sure if I should spend $35 on another belt or $35 on a new tensioner?

 

There was a post like last week about chirping belts and had a youtube video link in it... do it a search for it.. that search feature is a useful tool if its used and help repetitive posts about the same thing ...... (not trying to be mean)

 

And common culprits that cause the chirp is the power steering pump pulley being its a pressed on pulley and not a fixed spot pulley, a little to far in or out will cause it...

When my water pump was going out the weep hole was leaking onto the belt causing it to squeal on start up. If that helps any

 

I would replace the belt first, since the tensioner feels ok.