I have a 2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 reg cab, 4.8L V8. It still runs great and has no problems. But yet, lately, I have been noticing it starting to squeal when I start it up on a cold morning. It stays squealing like that fora while, and then like, 5-10 minutes later it goes away.

Today at work during lunchtime, I went out to my truck and popped the hood to look around. I see the serpentine belt is all shiny and glazed over. Could that be the culprit? How much does service cost to replace the serpentine belt? I'm just curious and don't know if I could replace it myself and how much of a P.I.T.A. it could be.

Thanks....

Butch A.

 

You can replace it yourself and the belt is probably the issue.
The belt is not that expensive. Go to a Napa Store and get a good quality belt. I think Napa sales a bit better quality than the rest. If your an OEM nut then obviously go to the dealer.

The belt is self tensioned so no worries about removing or loosing any components on the front of the engine. There is a large nut on the front of the “tensioner” which is near the bottom/front of the engine. You will need to put a wrench on it and apply pressure in one direction and then the other. One direction will do nothing and the other will allow the belt to slide off. The Nut WILL NOT turn! You are just taking pressure off the tensioner.

NOTE the belts route before removing the belt compare the belt route to the diagram under the hood so your familer with how to put the new one back on. If your still not confident take a digital photo of the belt route before removing the belt.

Once you have rerouted the belt around all the components you will then need to take tension off the tensioner once again to slide the belt over the final component, usually one on top that is easy to get to. Once the belt is in place release the tensioner and your belt should feel good and snug.

All in all it should take you 15 min to replace the belt. Good Luck.

 

Thanks... I'll call a buddy of mine and see if he can give me a hand with it. I also talked to a co-worker about it, and yeah, glazed over serpentine belts will squeal when cold. It's very common...

Butch A.