New Drive/Serpentine Belt Fitment & Squeal Issues

Just replaced the drive belt on my 109K miles 5.7L '16 Sequoia with the high end Dayco belt (supposedly they made the OEM belt?). Old belt still had life in it, but figured I'd take care of it now.

Fooled with it for freakin' hours before finally getting it on. By reference, I just did this on my 4.7L '10 Tundra and it took 30 minutes, including removing the skid plate. Darn thing just wouldn't stretch enough to fit around the max-loosened tensioner. Even after warming it up. And had no room down there to get any leverage around the tensioner. Finally switched it up, and used the smooth fan pulley as the last piece of the puzzle. Accessed from top and enough room/leverage up there to pry it on using some plastic trim tools. Just a ridiculous waste of time.

Thought maybe I had a shorter belt than current one, so tried putting the old one back on and same identical shortness.

Now, the darn new belt squeals like a stabbed pig on start-up and goes away after a (very long) second or two. Even on warm starts - cold start squeals last a bit longer. I mean, it's freaking loud! Have driven it about 50ish miles and same thing every time. No squealing issues - none - with the old belt. Wish I had just left it on ...

It shouldn't take wearing in for the squeal to go away right? Any thoughts on either a different belt and an easier way to get it on the 5.7L engine?

 

Toyota belts are textured on the back so they don't squeal. They're 3x the cost of aftermarket but they're worth it

I've tried napa belts, goodyear, dayco, they all squealed if humidity was up.

 

great, thanks for that. Funny enough the Dayco that I got is the same price as the Toyota belt

 

That's some good info right there. Suspension and bed rack squeaks drive me nuts. Can't imagine what a little piggy in the engine compartment would do to me.

 

The backside of the factory Tundra belt in pic. I thought the Tundra OEM belt was as expensive as the Tacoma's... nope. That belt set me back about $130 (shipped from Japan) so you can see why I tried so many other makes of belts first. Nice surprise the Tundra's is cheaper. No reason not to use the OEM then.

All the other belts on the Tacoma squealed on every startup and whenever the A/C would kick on, and it didn't even have a water pump driven by the backside of the belt

 

I use Bando belts on mine and 3x other 5.7s. No problems over the years.

I also use Bando for most every vehicle that rolls thru the garage if time allows for ordering.

 

Yup, sure enough. Just checked old belt (probably factory original) and the backside has that exact texturing. The $70 Dayco is as smooth as a baby's *ss. And my local Toyota dealer has it for $40 internet price. No brainer. Live and learn. Thanks again.

 

The OEM belt is made with fabric backing and the ribs are ground out of the rubber after its adhered to the fabric, the aftermarket belts are molded from rubber with the ribs molded in. I'm sure you can guess why the OEM one is the way it is.