How tight should my Serpintine belt be

[Hockeyfrog]

Hi,
Sorry i rambled in my post. basic question is How tight should my serpintie belt be. Or actually how Loose ? thank you very much. Read on if you wish.

I have a 93 cherokee that I just had the priviledge of replacing the water pump on and for fun had to remove 1 fan, power steering pump and tensioner assembly and a few other odds and ends just because some genious thought the water pump needed to hold a power steering unit. All went ok except for bad threads on the water pump that had to be retapped and a stripped bolt someone thought shouldn't be fixed when they replaced the power steering awhile back. But now i am getting what i think is bearing noise from atleast the Alternator I loosened it and it is better but not sure how lose to go. It seems loose enough but maybe not if i am still getting the noise. The car sat a week while i fixed the water pump but don't think that is it. I can push the belt down about 1/2 a inch and seems tight but also wouldn't want it looser but really don't know. Should i keep loosening it till all noise stops ? then try the AC to see if it squeeks? Or is their a standard i need to know ?
Thank you all in Advance for reading this post and helping if possible.
Have a great day

Hockeyfrog

 

[muttnutt]

Hi,
Sorry i rambled in my post. basic question is How tight should my serpintie belt be. Or actually how Loose ? thank you very much. Read on if you wish.

I have a 93 cherokee that I just had the priviledge of replacing the water pump on and for fun had to remove 1 fan, power steering pump and tensioner assembly and a few other odds and ends just because some genious thought the water pump needed to hold a power steering unit. All went ok except for bad threads on the water pump that had to be retapped and a stripped bolt someone thought shouldn't be fixed when they replaced the power steering awhile back. But now i am getting what i think is bearing noise from atleast the Alternator I loosened it and it is better but not sure how lose to go. It seems loose enough but maybe not if i am still getting the noise. The car sat a week while i fixed the water pump but don't think that is it. I can push the belt down about 1/2 a inch and seems tight but also wouldn't want it looser but really don't know. Should i keep loosening it till all noise stops ? then try the AC to see if it squeeks? Or is their a standard i need to know ?
Thank you all in Advance for reading this post and helping if possible.
Have a great day

Hockeyfrog

could be youre a/c compresor locking up or maybe try some of that squeak spray.

 

[SteelHeadz]

Okay, one at a time.. First, Welcome to Jeepz.. Bearing noise on the alternator? squeek or grinding?. Have you tried removing the belts and spinning each pulleys by hand and listen to the sound it makes?. An alternator would sometimes create a squeeking noise when spun by hand, this is not a valid test to condemn the alternator bearings for a squeek.. You need to verify the squeek at a normal RPM of the engine. use a piece of hose to isolate the noise. A half an inch of slack between to pulleys when pushed down is valid and could even be at a quarter of an inch..A mis aligned pulley can also cause a squeeky belt.

 

[Hockeyfrog]

Hi,
1st off thank you everyone for all your help.
What i am hearing is bearing squeek from the Alternator. I just loosened the belt some more today and all is fine now. I read somewhere that if you can turn on your AC and the belt doesn't squeek then it isn't to lose. The belt and everything is quiet now with or with out the AC on so i guess i got it right. Thanks again.
Beware though i will be back. It's time to get all the little things fixed now. It has a new Trans so if i can get all the little stuff replaced then just need a new engine when that day comes. Hopefully it won't be for a 100k or more or atleast 50k since it has 150k on the engine now. Well thanks again. I will be here alot now that i have found Jeepz and will try to help when i can. My main experience though is with a 69 Chevy malibu but will try.

Thank you
Hockeyfrog