My bad. I got so hung up on the idea of removing the A/C belt that I overlooked the other part of your advice.

 

I disconnected the drive belt, and left the A/C belt hooked up: the noise stopped! This is at least good news meaning the repair is fairly simple. Everything I could spin by hand felt good and made no noise, so I'll just have to see what the shop says. I didn't try spraying the belt yet. If I spray the belt and the noise stops, does that mean it is the belt? It is a Dayco belt that I bought new when this problem originally started.

 

Most Corvette owners use the Goodyear Gatorback belt because its usually a quieter belt and non-slip. On Amazon you can get one for about $20.

 

Pharmer81,
You are finally on the right track. Diagnostics, whether a doctor curing a sick person, a programmer eliminating a bug, or a mechanic sweating under a dash, is to eliminate possibilities. The very first thing to do when you have belt squeal is to lubricate the inside surface of each belt and see if the noise stops temporarily. If the noise suddenly goes away you know unequivocally, that it is not a bearing or water pump etc. Instead, you now know it is a surface friction problem between the belt(s) and pulleys. Many people misdiagnose belt issues because the sound is a metallic one even though the source is often from rubber. Incidently, the reason it often goes away as the car warms up is because the rubber gets softer as it rises in temperature reducing it's ability to create sound. Belts harden with age and thus often develop noise problems and need replacement. Since your belts were replaced recently I suspect you are going to be looking at a new harmonic balancer but take it to a shop to confirm that, one that works on C5's that will stand behind their work. I put a Power Bond unit on mine. It was reasonably priced and better quality than OEM. Also, make sure they replace the oil seal behind the balancer while it's apart. The old style is very hard and has been known to gouge a groove in balancer hubs causing a bad leak and a total redo. Cheap insurance. Let us know what you discover.

 

I went out and tried spraying down the belt with water, which helps the problem momentarily. Advance Auto said I can return the belt. I can either order a Gatorback from Amazon, or O'Reilly sells Gates belts that I can get locally, which I've heard are suppose to be pretty good.

 

If you just replaced the belts and they are already worn you probably need a new harmonic balancer...

Gatorback is the way to go...

 

You still better count on the problem being the balancer. I went through the same exercise and ended up changing the balancer. All problems solved with chirping at that point. I did the same thing with the belts. The problem would go away with a new belt but always returned within a week. I finally looked closely at the balancer and it was wobbling just slightly. Hardest part to changing the balancer is holding it in place to torque the bolt. Good luck

 

Did you follow the directions in the shop manual, or were you able to replace the balancer without removing the rack and ABS distribution block? The shop manual makes it sound like a PITA.

 

So many people on this forum really know how to handle, diagnose, and offer such good advice on these engine noise, and chirping problems. And to think they have only been here a year or so... Some , just a few months, and they know so much. We are truly blessed.

 

PLEASE.........Get the Gatorback.

 

My 98 has 160,000 plus on it now, i was a member here 10 years ago, just rejoined today.
the hormonic balancer goes out on corvettes with modified mufflers, because we cant resist gunning it in idol to hear the sound, its done at lights and in parking lots lol, this is not good for it. ( ive had three corvettes now, i know ) smile.
mine squeeks the same way, i have an idler pulley (100.00!) but never put it on. Its not doing it now?? checked all the same things as above too.
prior,I replaced my balancer and went with a 10percent under pulley on it for horse power, still squeeked cant use a corvette standard belt on one of the smaller belts, just measured it with a string and bought a snug belt.
i have replaced the waterpump. (pain in the ***) you have to remove alot underneath.it needed it still had squeeking.
sprayed belts.
used stythoscope. believed it to be a pulley idler. so bought one.....and the noise just stopped on its own, and has not come back??
its been a year too? so im just holding off on the idler?

 

I pulled the steering rack. It's really not that difficult. I actually did it twice. I didn't change the front oil seal while I was in there the first time and it leaked a week after I put the new balancer on. Might as well put a new $10.00 oil seal in while there. Live and learn I guess..The critical part is the balancer / crank clearance and the torque on the balancer bolt. I made a tool to hold the balancer in place out of an old oxygen bottle cap. Cut some slots to match the spokes on the balancer and welded an arm on it to hold it in place.

 

Thanks to everybody for the help, and a big thanks to Rick at Corvettes Ltd., in Lincoln, NE. I took it to him to have a new balancer put on, and after looking at it, he said it just has a tiny bit of runout which looked normal and non-problematic to him. He said there was a little bite of rust residue built up in the grooves on the crank pulley (I probably didn't get it cleaned up good enough when I replaced the water pump). He told me to clean it up and throw on the gatorbacks and I should be good to go. And so I am. The noise is gone, for now, hopefully never to return. If anybody in the Lincoln, NE area ever needs help with their car, look up Rick. He is an awesome guy, seems pretty knowledgeable, and has a really sweet shop, complete with a full machine shop. He didn't even charge me for looking at the car, and when I tried to pay him, he wouldn't accept it. I'm glad to have found an excellent alternative to the dealership.

The bonus of this situation is that I already had the wife planning for an expensive dealership repair and since that is no longer necessary, I'm trying to sneak a set of headers through my slush fund without spousal resistance.