[72Blazerod]

Hi Guys,

My 1997 Tahoe (5.7 litre) has had troubles starting the past little while. In fact today it didn't sound like it was going to turn over at all (eventually it did). It didn't give me the slow turning over and then clicking of a dead battery, it just wouldn't turn over at all. Over the past year I have replaced the battery (2 months ago) and the alternator (7 months ago) but she still sounded like she doesn't want to fire up. I was thinking starter motor. I did put on a new serpentine belt when I did the alternator but it squealed so badly, I put the orignial, worn belt back on. I decided to give the "new" squeaky belt another try. When I put the new, fresh belt on, the engine fired up much more easily. Does this make sense? Maybe my starter isn't the culprit. Do you think the old, worn out serpentine belt may have been the problem the whole time? Let me know what you think.

Rod

 

[ChevyFan]

It is possible that the old serp belt "smoothed out", meaning it was loose and it was not tacky on the underside. This can cause your alternator to under-perform and you will lose voltage to your battery over time. Remember, it doesn't take much electricity to keep an engine going, but it takes a LOT to get one fired up, especially a 5.7L chevy.

If you have any more issues with your new serp belt, go down to your local autoparts store and get some belt dressing. With your engine running, spray that on the underside of the belt and let it dry for like 10 minutes while driving around. It will squeel like crazy for 3 or 4 minutes, but it will tacky up that belt and give you a good connection between your components.

 

[ChevyFan]

Yeah, I did talk about it! Did you try the belt dressing?

 

[eqm08]

you might also try checking belt tensioner