2006 Silverado Belt Tensioner and Cluster Lights

dj_bosse · September 16, 2019

I have a 2006 Silverado 2500HD 6.0 that I just picked up a couple days ago. It has a squealing belt and when I went to change it out, the bolt on the belt tensioner just spins (doesn't actually relieve tension on the belt). Is this a sign that the tensioner has failed? Or am I just missing something?

Also, the light behind the speedometer on the cluster is burnt out. I've replaced the bulbs on another Chevy I owned and they had to be soldered in, but from looking online I found some models have twist in light bulbs. Does anyone have experience replacing the bulbs on the 2006 model? I'd rather not go through the effort of soldering again since I'd have to remove the gauge needles and it was difficult to calibrate them once reassembled.

Formulabruce · September 16, 2019

Tensioner bearing is probably toast, this is common on trucks over 5 years old in some areas. Its cheap part and in stock at any autoparts store.

Bulb is soldered in. not all are near a gauge though. Typically its the cold solder joints. Sometimes you can just hit it with a soldering iron and it works, no replacement.

davester · September 16, 2019

Sounds like you are doing the wrong thing to release belt tension. There should be a square cutout in the tensioner that you can put a ratchet or breaker part in (I forget if it's 1/2" or 3/8"), that you then push or pull to release tension.

If you look closely where the tensioner rotates on it's mount, you should see an arrow on one side, and some marks on the other side, to indicate if the tensioner is in it's correct range or not (but this is more of a measure of whether the belt is stretched or not).

txab · September 16, 2019

The main drive belt tensioner does not have the square drive hole, the AC belt tensioner does.

You should rotate the wrench on the bolt in a clockwise manner to release the tension. If the bolt is spinning then it may have stripped. If the bolt method doesn't work then try a strap wrench around the rotating part of the tensioner housing. Or just cut the belt, replace the tensioner and install a new belt

Edited September 16, 2019 by txab

davester · September 16, 2019

Doh! Anyway, I'm 95.324% sure my LQ4 tensioners both have the square drive hole...but after looking at pics of the tensioners on rockauto, evidently I am delusional.

dj_bosse · September 16, 2019

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I may try using a strap wrench so I don't have to replace it right away.

I'd be somewhat surprised if the bulbs are burnt out because the truck only has 48,000 miles. Maybe I'll touch up the solder joints. Thought if they weren't soldered I'd just replaced them with colored LEDs. They looked pretty awesome on my old Chevy but took more time than I liked.

txab · September 17, 2019

Don't be surprised if the squeak might be due to the tensioner. If as you say, the bolt is turning the pulley bearings may be going bad or the pulley may be wobbling ever so slightly. It's only a $20 something part. But to each, his own.