Most common cause of the squeak is the power steering pump pulley. The press on pulleys have a tendency to move in or out. Look for wear on the edge of the belt. If there is wear on the outside, your pulley has moved in towards the front of the engine. If there is wear on the inside, your pulley has moved out towards the radiator. Adjust it as necessary.

@lsXmatt

3 ай бұрын

Good to know I’ll have to take a look at that

Goodyear Gatorbacks are now "Continental Poly V Belts with Quiet Channel Technology". Not as catchy of a name, but they're the same thing. I'm running these on my 01 Yukon XL 2500 (LQ4) and 2015 Chevy SS (LS3); no belt squeak.

@jbtOO7

3 ай бұрын

No s*#@! Woah ... Thanks for the tip definitely Gaterbacks I mean Continental poly v belts yeah that's it,hahhahha

I ran across a belt squeak one time that new belts, tensioner, pulley’s didn’t fix. Turns out someone had worked on the power steering and didn’t fully reinstall the pulley. The slight belt misalignment was causing the squeak.

I had a similar problem on a 7.3 powerstroke. New pulleys, belt and everything. All looked aligned and felt fine. I took a socket and hammer and smacked the power steering pulley in a tiny amount and it all went away. Was just barely out of alignment. A simple rule i found is if you put water on it and the squeal goes away it’s usually a pulley bearing. And if the squeal gets worse with water then it’s usually a belt. Although sometimes this rule doesn’t apply.

My LQ4 Silverado had a belt squeal. Turns out the water pump had some play in it causing the belt to squeal.

I’ve e chased a similar squeak in my Ls1 swapped 85 IROC for years. I’ve replaced pulleys, tensioners, belts and checked alignment, nothing fixed this. I learned to live with it as it was only at start up and once it warmed it mostly went away. I came across a video on KZread of a guy who claimed spraying 303 Aerospace Protectant on the inside of the belt would correct it. I figured what the hell I’ll spend the $15. Well it works and it’s been about two months now and zero squeak. If I can get away with spraying twice a year I’ll consider it a win. Good luck to you bud.

Since I put a 418 stroker in my 2010 Escalade, I went with a 2007 AC pulley and ordered a 34.5" inch 4 rib belt off amazon and no more problems or difficulties putting on an AC belt. I also had the squeak and changed the alternator pulley and put a .2 smaller serpentine belt.. no more squeak.

A number of issues can cause a squeak (obviously), but I think the most overlooked one is rust in the grooves of the pulleys, especially the crankshaft pulley. While it's running use a wire brush to clean them all out (I've seen someone even use a scraper/flat blade screwdriver on particularly rusty ones) and this can often fix issues that remain after people have already tried replacing belts, tensioners, etc. As always, just be cautious when doing this so you don't get your hand or the brush caught in something. I'll also take a look at the tensioner when releasing it to make sure its pulley is moving in a single plane - sometimes they can get "loose" over time so that even if they're applying enough pressure they're a little cock-eyed under tension which can also contribute to squeaks.

I see a lot of guys have this issue but me personally Ive never had my belts squeal on my tahoe. I boughtthis truck with 77k miles and I’m sitting at 306k now. Biggest problems Ive encountered besides rust is grounding issues, mainly caused by the rust lol.

My past experience with belt squeaks has often been from dirty or sticky pullies and belt. Try sprinkling some baking soda on the belt and pullies. Free and simple and won't hurt to try. It has worked for me. If it works then pull the belt and clean everything and reinstall and powder them down after everything is dry.

Don’t forget to get him a thumbs up on the video!

This should be a fun watch, good luck Matt😎

My 07 has a tensioner on the AC belt. I would have wire wheeled some of that rust off the crank and AC pulley. The rust in the grooves is not good.

I knew u were the Tahoe guy. The Camaro gave it away ,And u mentioned ur Tahoe 😂😅

I had a fun belt squeak with my LT1 Caprice, an ac sensor was screwed so the compressor was constantly running and belt really didn't like extra load and made a helluva lot of noise anywhere above idle when the ac pressure was high. New tensioner and belt after sorting out the ac issue and it was mint for a while. Now it squeaks randomly and also there's an exhaust leak that sometimes sounds like an exhaust leak.

Yeah !!! Mine does it in the winter time

You do a good job brother, keep the videos coming

Had that problem. As soon as i went back to an oem belt problem went away.

Wow we have come a long way, from short useful tips, repairs, and upgrades to 18 min long video about a belt and pulley 😂

@lsXmatt

3 ай бұрын

Don’t worry I spared you the rear brake job. It figures when I don’t film something the truck didn’t fight me. Slider pins weren’t even stuck.

Wating on that trans am vid

Only time is if water got on it, and thats any vehicle. You can modify the gen 4 LS engine to use the AC pulley belt tensioner.

@Wesleystewart78

3 ай бұрын

yup did this on both of fine screw that stretch belt

Powdered chalk for chalk lines. Works every time.

I had one that had me second guessing myself. New belts and tensioner squeak was still there. Turns out the water pump was just leaking enough to get on the belt and make it squeak. New water pump and never squeaked again.

I've found that the old bar of soap trick or a heavy dose of belt dressing on a new belt helps with avoiding the dreaded squeaking.

G'morning Matt ☕☕ 🤠 . My 98' S10 Blazer has 315k on the 4.3 Vortec V6, & it has the same occasional serpentine belt squeak but only when it's raining or it's really humid out 🙃 ..

Yes, super common. I’m 12 months into belt tensioner squeal on my 2001 Suburban lol

No belt issues whatsoever with my 05 Avalanche but I have belt squeaks annually with the caddy EXT. I quit buying Gates belts. I'm now using Conti's. Never needed a special tool for the AC belt either but like you I have replaced every pulley I could. I love the ride and power of these caddy's but they are piles of junk as they age and shit falls apart. Especially the interiors. I'm going to go back with a BMW X5 4.8is or a 35D. Build quality is so much better even though parts are expensive. The caddy will be for sale soon.

My 2004 Tahoe LT has had the belts replaced (on 3rd belt now) near 100k miles with new tensioner & idler pulleys but they were quiet when I changed them. I have been lucky on that I suppose. I have a gauge that measures the groove depth. Maybe they last longer out west over the Northeast where Matt is, like so many other components. I didn't know there was a tool for stretching the belt on the compressor, but I have had no trouble putting mine on by hand. I also see on his video that his pully grooves have rust & pitting in them whare as mine are clean and shiny down here in Texas where we don't have the same road/weather conditions.

My squeak was random. It was from the power steering pump pulley. Took a straight edge and laid it across the face of the pulleys to check if the straight edge laid flush across them all. The power steering pulley was sticking out past the other pulleys by just a little. I had to press it in till it was flush with the rest and problem solved.

Unpopular opinion, but on my 6.0L after replacing everything and still having the same issue, healthy dose of brake cleaner and a couple quick shots of silicone spray, were 8 months later and no squeak In the past I’ve had success with changing brands of belt too, gates and continental in my opinion.

Our Astra had squeaky belt. Changing the tensioner (not just the pulley) helped some. The real fix was an "alternator clutch pulley". GM had that in a service note and all the updated alternators were sold with the clutch pulley. Apparently, this was the original design but last minute GM saved money and put a normal pulley on the production Astras. This only applies to Auto-transmission models. I don't know if there is a clutch pulley update for the Escalade.

Good year gatorback belts!!!!!!! Also do you have an update on the 6 speed paddle shifter?

@lsXmatt

3 ай бұрын

I’m pulling the trans am back in next week so I’ll give an update in that video when it goes up.

@petersingh4825

3 ай бұрын

@@lsXmatt Awesome bro ski

I’ve seen videos on actually cleaning belts Seems to work also

@MoloneLabe

3 ай бұрын

I did this with mine. It stopped

I’ve had probably 10 different 00-13 GM trucks/suv’s, and they’ve all had the squeak. Mainly when it’s damp out. Once it’s dry again, noise is gone.

@lsXmatt

3 ай бұрын

Same here even though I only have two

Can just add the tensioner and use appropriate belt.

I've replaced everything so far but the power steering and the water pump as far as pulleys including the alternator, still have some minor noise, most likely power steering and also the way these parts are engineered, they make noise, kinda a bummer but it's not the worst thing. 06 Escalade Platinum ESV 6.0 LQ9

Continental belts are junk Matt. Use Bando or OEM. Worked for O'Reilly and advance and zone and used all the brands of belts. Gates is excellent, Bando is phenomenal and OEM is just as good. Bando makes a lot of OEM stuff. I just put a new OEM belt on my Cruze and it was 22$. I put bando belts on my GMT800 04 Z71 Burb and they were 30$ for both, made in the USA. I used Continental belts before and they failed within 5k miles. Continental tires suck these days too. You can get bando on rockauto or napa. Also i can tell you your belt tensioner is shit. That's way too easy to move. There should be heavy tension on that. I've owned 4 GMT800s and all of them had heavy tension like they should and none of them had belt squeals

There is a kit you can get to put a stronger belt tensioner on it off of a Cummins I believe it for a lsa supercharger add on install I've always wanted to put it on my none lsa supercharged 5.3 cause it squeaks on shift under hard acceleration always lol

Scuff up your pulleys especially the idlers!! Also clean the rust off those pulleys

2013 Avalanche here, original owner, 148k miles, never had a belt squeak

That sound might be the brushes in your generator.

Gates green HD belts for me. everything i work on gets one of them.

@shadowopsairman1583

3 ай бұрын

Gates belts period, daycos are trash

@brendan747

3 ай бұрын

@@shadowopsairman1583 anything dayco has turned to junk. their belts squeak right out of the package.

Literally just got done doing a A/C belt and tensioner an hour ago on my gmt 800, ac still isn’t working but looks like no Freon in the system. So I’ll throw some in and see how quickly it leaks out

I just did this service at 192K on my 2008 escalade, mine has a tensioner for the AC. It looks like yours has the provisions for it, but it's not there.

Luckily, mine was a pulley. So annoying because it wasn't constant or consistent. Bunch of rust powder fell out of the idler pulley when I changed everything.

My 06 silverado has 360,000 miles on it. My uncle was the original owner. The whole time he owned it, and the last 5 years of me owning it. I’ve never heard that belt make a sound. Shit it doesn’t even have the vortec tick😂

All gm suvs, and trucks have this issue especially when it's moist outside

My bosses wifes 5.3 gmc Sierra squeaks, his 2500 silverado 6.0 has squeaked since new, my 4.3 v6 silverado squeaks. I guess it's a GM thing

my 06 rainier with the 5.3 squeak's at idle pisses me off i put all new everything on it to try to get rid of it no luck.. i know its in the belt drive as it doesn't do it if i take the belt off lol

Idk if it's just me but your alternator Bolt looks like it's no5 fully in

Hey matt, maybe I’m wrong but check your alternator bolt it seems loose on the video

@lsXmatt

3 ай бұрын

The spacer that the bolt passes through makes it look that way but it’s tight.

I had a loud constant squeak but I only changed the serpentine belt and ran for a 3 days and the noise went away. I hope that was the actual fix cause I’m no mechanic

I wish you could here mine we have the same year and I been trying to get mine up to date as well. If you have any suggestions on the left lights mine is blinking but won’t say on.

Or from the motor to the radiator

gmt400s 5.7 have the same problem with my belt

@titomachito4821

3 ай бұрын

Same here on my 90 Chevy Obs. The pulley alignment was off with the harmonic balancer and power steering pump pulley (used a straight edge). Also the pulley for the alternator is off too. I moved the P/S pulley out close to 1/4 inch. It helped a bit with the noise. Not 100% but it’s way quieter now.

My 08 Tahoe squeals when it’s wet/damp out pretty annoying

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

That sounds like a alternator bearing.

Is my 07 Escalade the only one along with my 07 Yukon Denali that still have there respected ac belt tensioners? Man, because they're so easy to replace: just 3/8 medium extension and ratchet and wall ah! Hmm, I also hate the fact I'm also an expert at this point on the gmt900 platform since I've worked on my Denali nonstop; biggest money pit ever!

@shadowopsairman1583

3 ай бұрын

It was I believe 2008 or 2009 they changed it

@bryanzamarripa4245

3 ай бұрын

@@shadowopsairman1583 I wonder if you can still re add the tensioner. Unless they got rid of the bolt holes then yeah, fuckin gm smh always making simpler things more stupidly harder just cause.

@shadowopsairman1583

3 ай бұрын

​@@bryanzamarripa4245 Yes you can, there is a silverado-sierra forum that states it for 2008+ vehicles with hardware needed. If anything id look at the pn for a 2007 classic silverado or 2006 Tahoe for the ac tensioner and belt.

@johnnieburkhalter5265

3 ай бұрын

​@@bryanzamarripa4245they did not get rid of the bolt holes. You can actually see them in this video when he's looking at the AC belt

@bryanzamarripa4245

3 ай бұрын

@@johnnieburkhalter5265 noice, that means re add the tensioner. Problem solved guys, fellas of all 09-14 Escalade owners order your ac belt tensioners!

I've chased the squeak turned out the fan motor

What's the Milwaukee ratchet model you use?

If it aint squeekin' it aint movin' lol Have you changed the body/cab mounts yet? Mine are fuckin' done-zo on my 04 avalanche, and I can't seem to find an answer anywhere about using the el-cheapo polyurethane body mounts from the Sierra/Silverado. Are all the GMT800 body mounts "the same" ? I don't really wanna go with the 350$ kit for some small bits of poly, but I also don't want to order the 50$ kit and find out that the mounts dont fit... A conundrum!

It's probably the wrong size belt.

@lsXmatt

3 ай бұрын

Its correct, I tried going one size down but its too small.

I just spray wd40 all over the belt and pulleys no squeak

What year is this rig?

@lsXmatt

27 күн бұрын

2009

Belt keeps moving left to right

@titomachito4821

3 ай бұрын

Same here. Pulley alignment issues 😢

Alternator is going.

@jeffreyshepherd8488

3 ай бұрын

Looks like a newer alternator

@Mclean2077

3 ай бұрын

@@jeffreyshepherd8488 things can look new but still be old.

@jeffreyshepherd8488

3 ай бұрын

@@Mclean2077 true

@johnnieburkhalter5265

3 ай бұрын

I've had a new duralast gold alternator from bootyzone, and it whined real loud straight out of the box, and 2 of them did that, by the way.

Im not sure what that tool does

@lsXmatt

3 ай бұрын

Holds the belt in the groove and as you rotate the crank it slips on.

@james10739

3 ай бұрын

@lsXmatt that seems unnecessary

I can see from the video it's not allinged

I guess it helps to be half deaf.

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