Hey guys , I have this problem with my belt giving off a light chirp or squeak when turning slowly right or left .It turns just fine with no hesitation or added difficulty it just makes an annoying intermitent chirp.I changed the tensioner and the belt and still no change .The belt I pulled off had a rusty brown color to it on the tread and it felt dirty .It had no cracks , but one of the v treads was worn down about a 1/16 and it was clean black rubber while the rest was brown I've never seen a belt like that before.The powersteering pump is full to the correct level. Going down the road at any speed and turning I don't hear anything.Its a '05 ram 1500 hemi 4x4.The current belt has no signs of iregular wear and it still makes the noise.I don't know whats going on?

 

try some belt dressing spray

 

I would inspect the pulley on your power steering pump. One of the channels may have a damaged surface. Any little nick or bump on a pulley can cause uneven belt wear as well as affect the friciton that the belt recieves from the pulley.

 

well I tried the belt dressing and that didn't change much just quieted it down a little .I checked all the pulleys and none of them are damaged and the new belt on there has no signs of irregular wear.I did notice though that my idler pulleys have some play in them and they sound like skate board wheels .Could one of there bearings be hanging up and causeing my problem ?

 

It is possible. I would replace the idler. Its a cheap part and if its going bad its going to have to be done anyways. Better to do it on the driveway than to have it leave you stranded somewhere.

 

Yes, definitely change the idler pulley soon, before it becomes a break down. Sbsga said it best, change it when you can and have all your tools nearby (even though you only need a couple sockets) in your driveway. As opposed to being in the middle of a cross country road trip and having it fail - that sucks when that happens )

 

I have literally gone to the parts store for a new belt and had to turn right around and go back when i got home because when i popped the hood my idler pulley had broken in half. Its amazing i even made it home.

 

Problem solved.I changed both idler pulleys and the sound has gone away. Both of the pulleys were junk.Thanks for the help