My truck is an '01 Ram with a 5.2. In my experience, belts are horrible these days.
About a decade ago I had a squeal that I would have bet money was coming from my A/C pump. Took my truck to a local guy that I trusted, opened the hood and he said "that's your belt." NO WAY...it's less than a year old! He put some soap on it to prove it to me...
I think Sniper has the right answer. IF it's something other than the belt, a stethoscope might save you some money...

EDIT: BTW, I now use "lifetime" AC Delco belts (from Rock Auto) that last about 3 years, and I'm OK with that.