Hello fellow Chevy lovers and owners! A few years back I acquired my first chevy, a '98 1500, 5.0 V8. I love this truck. Minus a few annoying details (my driver's side door handle has broken twice :/ ). I have just recently run into a problem with my accessory belt. I replaced it due to a breakage today, but that didn't fix the problem. There was an awful rattling, and it did not get any better with the new belt. I thought it might just be one of the "wheels" (forgive my lack of technical terms, I am not a car person) that the belt was riding around on, and it was. Shortly after driving around the block it completely shredded the new belt. I do not know what the part is called, so I don't know what to ask the repair guys at the store for. Fixing it should be easy, it just unbolts and slides right out, but I was also wondering what its actual purpose was, as its not connected to anything. Is it just to keep tension on the belt? It is *not* the tensioner, that seems to be functioning fine still. I have drawn a helpful purple arrow to the problematic part though. Thanks!

 

It is the idler pulley.

 

Thank you muchly!