I was taking off from a stop light in town and I heard a squealing noise that followed the RPMs. I got in the driveway and determined that it was a pulley. I revved it up to 3000 RPM for ~5 seconds and the noise is gone (for now).

Video of the noise can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuSz-vRK3Ko

I determined that it is not the alternator or power steering. It also doesn't sound like it'* coming from the A/C pulley. More towards the back of the engine. Perhaps the idler pulley or water pump? Engine was running at 207 before the fans turned on. Usually it doesnt get over 195 or so.

What'* the deal here? It seems like idler pulleys are notorious for making noises in our cars, but driving it with a bad water pump is worse to me. Either way something'* gotta get fixed.

You could squirt a little bit of WD-40 into the tensioner pulley to see if it goes away.

Take the belt off and turn each pulley by hand. Listen for any noise or binding.

How old is the belt. Coudl have some wear points.

What they said. I had an idler pulley shatter on me once. Just heard a loud clunk in the hood and lost power steering. They are indeed notorious for going bad, but fortunately their replacement isn't particularly difficult.

Remember, this may not always work. pulley squeal tends to be influenced by the tension of the belt, heat and RPM.

Belt is a ~3 month old Gatorback.

I drove all day today without a sound. I will loosen the belt and check for play tomorrow afternoon. I had class and work today, so no time to look at it.

Well I checked it out today and it looks like a new idler pulley is in order, and eventually a water pump too.