Questions on determining what pulley is squeeling

[EB4X]

Hey gang,
So two days ago I had ZERO pulley noises and the next day at startup suddenly a non-stop OVER THE TOP LOUD screeching / squealing appeared.....removed belt off harm. balancer/crank pulley and no squeal from that, the two suspects are: Tensioner pulley/ mechanism -- could/ would the spring mechanism make this noise? ..also the pulley spins with zero resistance, I assume this is normal but maybe it's suppose to have a little? The second suspect is the power steering pump, it turns with a light/medium resistance but when you first start to turn it there's about a 1/2" of "play" before you feel it grab/resistance kick in. ( I did recently have to bleed air out of it due to having to the turn wheels without engine running (long story) ALL other pulleys feel / turn smooth and normal.
Here's audio / video of it:

 

[Turdle]

Did you try running the engine without the belt?

Almost sounds like the iac goes woo sound. Unplug the iac with engine running. Sound might go away. It might not, let us know.

 

[EB4X]

/\ I did run engine without the belt (just to eliminate crank / harm bal pulley)... sound GONE during that test.

 

[Turdle]

Check alternator closely. Try pulling inward and outward on pulley shaft,

 

[Motorhogman]

I experienced that sort of noise a while back. Happened out of the clear blue, no warning. Turned out the alternator pulley walked inward and seized up when it hit the alternator housing.

 

[EB4X]

No inward / outward play of alternator pulley.... spins nice and smooth too... (only 3 years old...although nowadays...)

 

[EB4X]

Later I'm going to put the belt back and do the pipe-to-ear test. It's so screeching loud it radiates throughout whole front of engine...so figured I'd get the belt off first and find what I assumed would be obvious bad pulley/ bearing...

 

[dudemancool1904]

An $8 mechanic stethoscope from HF helped me diagnose the same issue. Ended up keeping it, great tool to have.