Help me with belt noise.

[akAK]

Im trying to diagnose this squeal. So far no luck. As soon as I'm under the hood it stops. There is only about 5,000 miles on the belt but it makes horrible noise, especially during cold starts and in wet weather. The tensioner and new belt was installed by a shop about a year ago via the previous owner. My main concern is when I was jiggling pulleys to see if there was play in any of the bearings the power steering pulley moved back and forth almost a quarter inch. It wasn't rocking or tilting but just slid in and out. I have a hard time believing that could be normal but I don't have any experience with this model of car. Any help with anything I mentioned is appreciated. I'm about to ground this kid for the rest of the summer because I'm sick of hearing him pull in at 11:00.

 

[410Fortune]

Normal for the ps pulley to move in and out

Assuming you removed the belt and spun everything, nothing had a “dry bearing” noise?

Any wetness around the front of the engine?

What engine is this v6 or v8?

 

[leadfootdriver]

Check the rubber on your harmonic balancer.. If you can wiggle the outer ring, it's dunsky..

 

[donalds]

The way I check the harmonic balancer
I put a paint marker mark on it start the vehicle and see if the line separates or moves

 

[akAK]

Normal for the ps pulley to move in and out

Assuming you removed the belt and spun everything, nothing had a “dry bearing” noise?

Any wetness around the front of the engine?

What engine is this v6 or v8?

4.0 V6. No bearing noises. No wobble. No wetness unless it's wet outside. Southeast Alaska roads. Sometimes it's 6" of water in spots so everything gets blasted.