The belt was squeaking so I looked into why and I found the tensioner mark was lined up with the mark of least amount of tension. The smog pump was gone so I figured the belt was the original belt which would be to long. I confirmed this with the original owner. I found a thread that said a 99.5" belt was needed after removal of the pump. So I bought the belt, installed it, and it lined up with the right tick marks. Squeak stopped as well. Days went by and then the squeak started to come back. I noticed that it was half way between the stop tick mark and the tick marks it used to line up with. The squeaking got worse and now it is where it is in the picture below. Any thoughts as to what my next move should be? A shorter belt than 99.5"? A new tensioner?

 

Think I found some answers at the end or bottom of this thread:Belt Stretch [Archive] - SixFiveTurboDiesel.com

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I ordered a new AC Delco tensioner. At $25 I had to. We will see what happens after that. Now on to my coolant leak.

 

There is one more "AC DELCO GM 12561092 TENSIONER ASM. DRV BELT" for $25.99 shipped on eBay if anyone out there needs one.

F.Y.I.- I talked with Joe Heath (Heath Diesel) and he said that his heavy duty tensioner would cure the problem. I bought the AC DELCO tensioner before I heard back from him. Hopefully the new AC DELCO tensioner will cure the problem too

 

I started with a 99" belt on my 98 when I removed the vacuum pump.

Barely slipped over the pulleys, had to use a small amount of force to do it.

By the next day, the tensioner was relaxed to midway on the wear indicator.

The belt was a dayco which are known for a lot of stretch when first installed.

YMMV......

 

I replaced the tensioner with a AC DELCO tensioner. I reused the 99.5" belt that I had on there with the old tensioner. It is a little less than half way on the wear indicator. It also squeaks upon initial start up and idle. After driving it a while the squeaking stopped. I will see what happens tomorrow morning. I may go to a 99" belt. Anyone know of any belts that don't stretch to much?

 

The 99.5" belt eventually stretched to the stop position on the tensioner. I ended up buying a Dayco 5060990 99" belt yesterday. Barely slipped over the alternator pulley. Thanks for the advice Great White.