New Belt...Squeal Came Back 2 Days Later

[jeb6294]

When I test drove my '09 (Hemi) it was squealing so they were going to fix it. From the sound of it I thought it sounded more like a pulley than the belt. They took it in a week or so later and when I got it back it was quiet and the invoice said they replaced the belt. Oh well, I'm not a mechanic so maybe it was just the belt. About two days later the squeal started coming back to the point that it is just as bad, or maybe even a little worse, than before.

Any thoughts? I may just put up with it for another week and take it in and have them look at it again when I get the oil changed.

Just FYI, changing a belt and even a pulley and/or tensioner is something I could handle, but I wanted them to make sure it was fixed in case it ended up being something a lot more costly. Also FYI, I certainly know how to change the oil, but even though it was used, I get a free lifetime drivetrain warranty as long as it goes to them for service.

 

[BlkRamRt]

Might be the tensioner pully.

 

[apepe0738]

^I agree.

 

[WhiteExpress]

I agree on tensioner pulley.

Pull the belt off, spin the pulleys, see what's making noise.

 

[chrisb38002]

^^What they said. Pull the belt and turn the tensioner pulley. If it feels rough or sounds funny, you should be able to tell if it's not right.
I also had the alternator bearing start making noise on my 03 after about 60K miles.

 

[LovMyRam]

Do these trucks have a Idler pulley as well? Not looking under my hood so I'm not sure.
Oh, 50th post...w00t!

 

[jeb6294]

I thought it was a little odd that the noise went away for a day or so with the new belt. I figured if it was a pulley or the tensioner it would have kept making noise even with a new belt. According to the invoice they checked the pulleys but in the back of my head, it makes me wonder if "check pulleys" meant throw some WD-40 on them to quiet them down and hope it would last longer than a day.

 

[TylerB]

I bet that's exactly what they did.

My dad's truck has a noisy idler pulley.

 

[jeb6294]

The GM met me last night and we swapped vehicles so he could take it back in again. Another new belt, new pulley and new tensioner so we'll see if that does the trick.

Good news/bad news, he was nice enough to fill up the tank for me, but I'm willing to bet he didn't put 93 in it so I'll have to wait until my next fill-up (1/2 tank when I met him so probably between 1/4 and 1/2 when he filled it up) before I can put my performance tune back in there.

 

[HLram]

My 07 ram had a squeal a year and a half ago, so I put a new belt on it. It stopped the squeal for about 100 miles then it came back. Started seeing metal shavings on top of water pump. Took it to dealer in Gainesville (I was out of town working nights and couldn't change it myself) and they put a new water pump on it. Squeal gone. Could be a similar problem for urs. Cost a little over $600!!!!!!!!!! For a water pump-OUCH. I got screwed but didn't have much of a choice. My 12 model has a slight squeal at startup so I got a new belt for it but haven't had time to put it on. Mine has 43,000 miles but I idle alot so its probably worn enough with all the hours idling. IIRC my 07 had 130,000 miles on it when that happened.

 

[jeb6294]

First morning since I got the truck back and no squeal, and mornings was when it was usually really bad. Of course, the same thing happened last time when they just replaced the belt and it came back after a few days so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[HLram]

Mornings are when mine squeals, too. And only when it is first started. If it is already warmed up it will not squeal.