The other night my '92 S-10 Blazer started making some high-pitched sequels, and they got louder the higher the RPM. When I tried it this morning I shut off the AC and it got a little quieter, but still continued. I think that this is due to a loose serpentine belt. I'm a college student who has neither the money to pay a mechanic to fix it, nor do I fully know how to go about fixing this.

A little research has helped me figure out a few options to approach it.
A) See if I can tighten up the belt by tightening the tensioner. (Though not fully sure which pulley this is, much less if I can tighten it much more from how it is right now if so)
B) Replace the belt all together. I've watched a few videos on how to do so but once again I need to make sure I loosen the right pulley for the tensioner when I do this.
C) Replacing the Tensioner Pulley all together


So essentially I'm just needing help knowing which pulley I need to me adjusting and perhaps some advice to make sure I'm on the right track.
I live only a few blocks from an auto-parts store so walking there and purchasing what I need an back is fine if you would advice not driving it till repaired.

 

Cant tighten the tensioner as its spring loaded to tighten itsself if need be.


What you need to do is pop the old belt off,and spin the pulleys by hand. if they sound like they have sand in them,replace them. Usually there is a picture of the belt route on the radiator support somewhere. Just take your time and you can do it yourself. Its not hard,but that damn belt can be a pain when you only have 2 hands.

 

I'll take the advice Chris, thanks. As far as taking the belt off in this situation then will I need to loosen the tensioner? I was able to locate the map of the belt route easy enough so that'll be handy to have.

 

A squealing belt usually signals problems with either bearings for idler/tensioner or AC pulley
or health of the alternator.
If your alternator is too hot to touch after a short trip, it could be the problem.
Otherwise take the belt loose and spin every pulley but the crank.
The bearings should spin freely but not wobble nor sing like a skatewheel does. Put 'tilt' pressure on ac pulley and check for scraping sounds. It also should spin free but not sing.

BTW: when replacing the belt, always approach from Pass fender. Loop belt around crank pulley, then bend belt from top of crank around water pump pulley. from that point on it's easy. Grooved to Groove, flat to flat.