I am under the impression that mine is bad, so I will need to replace my pulley, does anyone know what price the pulley is and where I can get one from. If the stocker is not all that, I guess I should get something better, so please help. My vette is sitting until I can get this done.

Micah

 

upper pulley???

are you talking the tensioner pulley for the main belt? or the water pump pulley?

if the tensioner pulley - they are about $75 from GM...as for the H20 pump, that is a couple hundred dollars and comes as a complete unit...only thing left would be the AC clutch pulley, the AC belt tensioner, the main crank pulley or the Alt pulley...

give us a little more detail of what one you need...

 

It is that big round looking one....just above the undrive pulley.

 

ttt

 

Your description doesn't tell us enough to go on. Take a pic and post it. Why do you think the pulley is bad? Is there coolant running out or is there are noise?

 

uhhh.... all pulleys are round.... but since you say big do you mean the harmonic balancer? A photo would help

 

If yoúre talking the one above the Harmonic Balancer <which is what it sounds like> That's the water pump. Otherwise it could be the Tensioner...Perhaps spray the tensioner down with wd40 and see if it quiets the squeek?


Chris

 

Okay,

more details...

When I start the car, there is a chirp sound coming from the front of the motor, sounds like a little bird or something and gets faster when you push the gas pedal.

It sounds like it is coming from this area, under the alternator, but when I take a screwdriver or something too it, the internals sound find (IMPO)




I will try the DW40, but the tensioner pulley sounds normal to me and the water pump pulley (big round looking one) doesn't give me any idea on whether or not it is coming from there.

 

Below the alternator is your power steering pump.


Chris

 

I have posted this hundreds of times...:

You have two belt systems on your car. One is the drive belt system, the other is the air conditioner belt system.
The drive belt system consists of the serpentine belt,the power steering pump, alternator/gen, water pump, harmonic balancer, idler pulley,belt auto tensioner pulley.
The AC belt system consists of the compressor, harmonic balancer,idler pulley, belt auto tensioner pulley.
First thing you need to do is isolate which system is squeaking. this can be done by releasing tension on the drive belt tensioner and removing the serp belt. This is the outboard belt of the two belt systems..if the squeak goes away, then it is the belt or a component of the drive system.
If the squeak is still there, then it is a component of the ac belt system.
to verify this release the belt tension from the tensioner and remove the belt. if the squeak goes away, then it is a component of the ac belt system..
A common problem is the belt tensioner on either system.. but verifying which system is at fault is the proper procedure.
You could replace both belts, but you may still have the squeak. So if you want to find the culprit, isolate the system, then spray the belt of the offending system and see if the squeak goes away. Try to stay away from the idler and tensioner while spaying..
I find that belt dressing may be good to identify a belt problem, but it is a temporary fix at best..
The real problem has been the tensioner and the idler.. both of these components have a sealed bearing which has been know to dry up or redirect the grease away from the bearing, thus causing the squeak.
If you find that a belt change does not correct the problem, then a change of both the idler and tensioner pulley is in order. If you just change the idler or the tensioner alone, it will cause the other component to go bad in a month or so. This has been the case with many members..There was a change made to the dusts seals to help correct this problem in newer C5's.
Lots of tensioner and idler pulleys have been identified as a problem.. and it can effect either system. One is not more prevalent than the other. So find out which system is squeaking first, in the drive belt system, it could also be the bearing of the alternator, power steering pump, or water pump too, but these are less probable.
I hope this makes things alittle clearer

ET

 

I will be honest I can't pin point anything and the this is getting frustrating.

 

As ET says - take off 1 belt at a time and see if the squeak goes away.

 

Ok, lets try again...
Following Evil Twins advice remove both belts.



[Inspect the underside of both belts looking for cracks. If cracked buy new belts. Belts usually need replacement somewhere after 4 years or 75,000 miles
If one of the belts was checked or cracked that was the likley cause... both belts combined will cost you less than $50... buy a lifetime guaranteed belt ( Goodyear Gatorback, of Gates, or Dayco)]

The reason to do this is from above you can't get the A/C belt off without removing the main serpentine.
Your air conditioning will now now work, but the rest of the car is functional...

Now drive the car.... is there a squeak or not?
If not the problem is with the A/C belt system ... belts or pulleys....
If it does squeak the problem is on the main serpentine belt system.

Once you have identifed the noisy system, with the belt off, hand spin each pulley. there should be no wobble or play and the pulley should spin freely. If it does not and either wobbles or feels "gritty" ( like there is sand or dirt in the pulley so it turns and sticks, turns and sticks) then you have found the culprit. Once you have eliminated all the other pulleys, the harmonic balancer is the sole remaining possibility

 

UPDATE

Alright,

my buddy and his friend both ASE certified master mechanics came over and did a check and my idler pulley (little one under the power steering pulley) has bad bearings inside and is causing the sound. So, I am going to replace this and the tensioner pulley today to cover my pulleys with bearings inside. Yes, I am getting dirty and while I am down there, I am going to install my new plugs and my new 100 shot jet.

Thanks for the help guys.

Micah

 

Chris