[garymocwi]

New to me 02 Safari (56,000 miles) needs a new serpentine belt. The NAPA belt and GM belt that were on the vehicle (both fairly new and not at the same time of course) both squeal at anything above idle (and sometimes at idle too). I've cleaned, de-greased, and de-glazed all of the pulleys and both belts still squeal (I know I need a different belt).

Autozone carries the Goodyear Gatorback belts except for the one for my vehicle, it's no longer available per them and Goodyears website. It's a 4060957 belt. Can I safely substitute a 4060950 (about 3/8" shorter)? With the amount of squeal I have a slightly smaller belt would add a little more tension since the tensioner would need to swing in a little farther (has plenty of room to swing in). I'm a little worried about the added stress to the bearings of the accessories.

Any belt recommendations for an engine that's very prone to squealing? It is the belt. It's quiet with it off (ran for about 10 seconds).

I like to get turn heads because of how nice the van looks, not because of the noise. :screaming:

 

[rev_les]

Have you checked the tensioner?, If it's not putting proper tension on the belt, it could be the cause.Also, if one of the bearings or pulleys was squealing, it'd be nice n quiet with no belt as well!

 

[Mr_Bowtie]

I too would be looking for a bigger problem then just replacing the belt. I have had Gatorback belts in the past and the only thing they seem to help with is not squeling during hard acceleration or high RPMs.

 

[johnny-77]

Just a little side note be sure that the pulleys are in alignment. If any of the engine accessories have been changed it might be the cause of the noise. Look for any hardware that may have loosened as well as the bolt that holds the tensioner on or plausibly a weak tensioner. As for the belt that is 3/8 shorter you should be safe unless you have to fight to get the belt on. Ive done the same on a 4.3 S-10 because it was the only belt I had and it caused no noticeable shortening of parts life. Good luck .

 

[Matrixx]

Hi garymocwi

With the 2002 models, they have the "X" engine. Their maybe some confusion with the standard "W" engine when buying parts at the auto parts store. If you're certain you have the correct part No. for your year, then you need to look at other components failing for the squealing problem. Serpentine belts don't squeal unless you have something else wrong with it to cause it to do so.

2002 GMC SAFARI Belt Drive Parts:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carco ... lt%2BDrive

2002 GMC SAFARI Serpentine Belt part No.:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carco ... ttype,8905

Hope this helps.

 

[garymocwi]

All of the pulleys spin with no noise except the idler which I already replaced. The previous owner had the alternator replaced with Delco unit. As far as pulley alignment goes everything is tight and nothing "looks screwy or out of whack. If the pulleys "were" out of alignment, how do you adjust them since there's no adjustment available?

Tensioner was recently replaced by the previous owner. I can only assume it's the right one (X engine not W).

Curious.......when I switched belts (between the two I had available NAPA & GM) and after I deglazed the pulleys it was quiet for about a minute at high rpm. Then it started squealing again. Need to try the gatorback.

 

[Mr_Bowtie]

Is the tensioner holding steady while your motor is running with the belt on?

Let us know how the Gatorback works for you.

 

[fede]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Goodyear ... ccessories

I got one of these on my van and its great. stopped my squealing right away.

 

[garymocwi]

Is the tensioner holding steady while your motor is running with the belt on?

Let us know how the Gatorback works for you.

Just dawned on me that I swapped out the harmonic balancer due to it (and the crank pulley) wobbling up & down. This may have shifted (not sure how) the crank pulley alignment a little. Since it didn't really fix the wobble (and associated belt tensioner wobble) I plan on re-installing the original balancer.

 

[garymocwi]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Goodyear-Serpentine-Belt-Nascar-Gatorback-4060957_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116QQhashZitem334ca14b47QQitemZ220328971079QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I got one of these on my van and its great. stopped my squealing right away.

I found those as well but since they are discontinued I'd rather fine another one that I can get locally.

 

[garymocwi]

The Gatorback 4060950 belt is to small for the 02 Safari X engine. Had the tensioner swung all the way over and couldn't get it past the idler pully. I was going to get the 4060955 as well but it looked like the 4060950 was the right length when comparing it to the NAPA belt. Guess I should have got them both.

I believe I did find the cause of my crank pulley wobble. After re-installing the original harmonic balancer I found the the lip on the back side of the pulley didn't quite fit into the opening in the balancer. This caused the pulley to not sit flush with the balancer after tightening it down. A little filing on the pulley and it fits tight. Doesn't seem to wobble either.

 

[Matrixx]

This is the correct belt size you need regardless of what name brand you want to buy:

- 13/16" x 96 1/8" (with A/C).

If that doesn't fit, then something else is amiss with the belt drive system. Hope this helps.

 

[garymocwi]

Well, I purchased the 4060955 Goodyear Gatorback belt from Autozone and it fits perfectly. Autozone lists that belt (4060955) for the "W" engine and the 4060957 belt for the "X" engine except the 4060957 has been discontinued. The 4060950 is 95" long, the 4060955 is 95.5" long, and the 4060957 is 95 3/4" long.
After cleaning the pulleys, fixing the defect with the crank pulley, and installing the new belt, the squealing is gone......for now.