Fan belt squeel stops when I turn the wheel (Page 1/1)
Rsvl-Rider SEP 28, 02:08 PM
I have a 2003 Chevy S-10 pick-up with 4.6L V6. Auto, AC, power steering, 130K miles. I bought the truck over a year ago and it runs great. Lately I have been getting a low level but annoying squeal from the fan belt. I suppose I should try adjusting the tension but there is a funny thing about the squeal so I thought I would see what you guys might know about it.

The squeal generally occurs when at idle, or that's when I hear it best. Pretty sure it's there when driving too. The odd thing is that when sitting at idle I can stop the squeal by turning the steering wheel from 12 o'clock to about 10 or 2 o'clock or further. Does that mean that it 's more probably related to the power steering pump than just a loose belt? I haven't wanted to tighten it up if that puts stress on a perhaps problematic power steering issue.

Any ideas?
carnut122 SEP 29, 06:06 AM
First of all, it's a 4.3L motor unless you swapped in a modular Ford V-8. Assuming it's a GM 4.3, it should use a spring loaded tensioner, so no adjustment is possible except to replace the tensioner. Have you checked the fluid level? When was the last time the belt was changed? You can try that as a start. And/or you can try to isolate the source of your noise. I use a short length of heater hose to find where the noise is coming from(be careful of moving parts). I had a low pitched groan coming from my s-10 power steering pump that was cured by replacing the old fluid with new fluid.

[This message has been edited by carnut122 (edited 09-29-2015).]

Rsvl-Rider SEP 29, 01:54 PM

quote
Originally posted by carnut122:

First of all, it's a 4.3L motor .



Yes, you are correct. It's a 4.3L. Just a brain fade on my part.

I haven't done anything except check the power steering fluid level and that was good. The symptom (squeal stops when wheel is turned) was unique enough that I thought someone might be able to give me a confident diagnosis based on that.

I will follow up on your other suggestions..
Thanks