tom5170

93 silverado z71 250,000 miles... paid 1200 for it on Friday. The salesman told me to get in it and drive it around so I did. It seemed to drive pretty good and it had alot of power. I heard a vibrating and squeeking sound and it was coming from the AC clutch. The salesman said "that squeeling noise you're hearing is coming from that AC clutch right there". I thought that it wouldnt be a big issue to fix since im only looking for a work truck and would just take out the clutch and put in a bypass relay.

Yesterday, I noticed that there was no coolant in the resevoir. I went and checked the coolant temp needle on the dash while the truck was running for 10 mins and it was almost on red. I added some water and then the truck still didnt cool down. I dumped the water out and found some coolant that I threw in. The needle on the dash would go to the middle and then you could hear something kick in and the needle would bounce back before the middle line. Then I drove it around the block and it seemed to stay cool. THEN as I was driving, the belt made a huge squeek and the AC seized and I lost power steering. Made it home and popped the hood and the belt was in shreads.

This morning I woke up, popped the hood and seen that there was green coolant dripping from the lower radiator hose. I put my hand around the hose and it was soaked with coolant. So I went and bought a new radiator hose and bypass pulley and a new belt. When I took the hose off, I didnt see any holes in it or cracks. I put the new hose on. Then I installed the bypass pulley. I didnt completely take the AC clutch out, I kept it inside, I just unbolted it and tied it up inside the engine with clothes wire hangers so it doesnt move. I pulled the sensors(?)/harnesses(?) on the AC clutch and the compressor (the silver long thing). I remember that when I unbolted the AC clutch, the thing didnt wanna come out so I hit it with a hammer and I heard some hissing... I might have made a small crack in the AC clutch and it was pressure?

When I put the new belt on, it didnt squeek at first, but then it squeeked for a bit then stopped. The squeeking was coming from the alternator pulley and I saw smoke. I still dont think I tensioned the belt right. When I rev it, itll hesitate or skip sometimes. When I put the belt around the normal way (with AC) the belt doesnt have enough room and I cant pull the tensioner down to bolt it. But when I run the belt without AC, it has enough stretch but I dont think its tensioned right? I think there could be a little bit of slack? Maybe the guy gave me a belt without AC or is this how serpetine belts are supposed to be when putting them on? (really hard to get around all the pulleys, its a pain).

What is wrong with my piece of junk?

Oh and when I tried the heat, it doesnt blow warm! It blows cold air! Lastnight I had the heat on and it was blowing hot air!

When I took the lower radiator hose off, green coolant came spilling out all over

maxxman04

you might need a new belt tensioner. these are easy to replace. held on by one bolt. as for coolant, the system needs to be "burped" if it runs really low. the coolant inside the motor can't get circulated cause the thermostat isn't opening. the coolant could be filled as it should be, but if there is more air in the upper radiator hose then the thermostat can't heat up and open. IF you are careful, you can use a small propane torch to heat up the thermostat while engine is running. do not overheat with torch, just enough to get t-stat to open. did this on my tahoe last weekend after replacing head gaskets. once the hot water from block is allowed to circulate, all should be good. assuming everything else is good.

tom5170

This may seem dumb, but do I need to loosen the radiator cap to burp it? Is the radiator cap the cap that is on the radiator or is it the cap that is on the coolant resevoir? I know that there is this silver cap right on the radiator but it says something about refrigerant or something.

maxxman04

your radiator cap is on the radiator, passenger side. you can try taking cap off, but not when it's hot. you can also boil water, pour that over the thermostat housing, much safer than a torch.

tom5170

Do you know anything about the tensioner? I unbolted the tensioner and i took it off and looped the belt around the pulleys, but I cant get the tensioner back on without the belt being too tight. Did I do something wrong here?

maxxman04

the tensioner stays on all the time. there is a spot on the front (should be) for a 3/8" ratchet to go into. use the ratchet for leverage to move the tensioner so you can slip the belt on. might want to grab a chiltons manual to help ya as well

tom5170

I used a 15mm to loosen the tensioner. There is a round thing on the back of the tensioner that is supposed to fit and line up with this hole and the tensioner wont move or adjust when its in that hole the way its supposed to be.. Is the tensioner supposed to move or what? I noticed there is 2 small black things on top of the tensioner it but I dont know what theyre for? I am so confused! I wish I could describe it more but I cant think straight! Its been a long day trying to figure this truck out.

maxxman04

no worries. the small round thing on back should fit into a small hole on the bracket. then tighten down the 15mm bolt. now, on the front side of bracket, is there a square hole, at the end of the arm the wheel is on?

tom5170

I'll have to check tomorrow for that. But if there is, what does that mean? Just in case I check tomorrow and you're not here giving me immediate feedback LOL.

maxxman04

there should be a square. if there is, that is where you will put a socket wrench in. the socket wrench will need to be in reverse, as if you were loosening a bolt. push down on wrench with it attached to tensioner. you will feel resistance as tensioner is spring loaded. push it as far as you can, this will allow enough room to get belt on correctly, probably sliding it over alternator, usually works best. on top of radiator, there should be a sticker that shows how the belt should go around everything. if that sticker isn't there, let us know.