My jeep was cranking terribly and overheating. It started to squeal as well. I put a brand new water pump in it and it cranks fine but I can't get that squeal out my belt. Now my compressor is frozen up and I was trying to bypass it until I can afford a new one. I put a brand new belt on but it's still squealing and my steering wheel is stiff. I checked my power steering fluid and it's full I just don't know what else to do. I've been parked since Thursday. Please help.

 

Is the belt tight?

 

Yes it's tight

 

Please describe how tight as it should be tighter than most people are willing to go.

 

I got a shorter belt to try and bypass the ac and now that it's daylight and I can see more i notice that no pulley is freezing and I've called my local shop that works on my car when I can't and he said that nothing is moving likely because I have no ac compressor. Does that sound right? And my belt is pulled tight as I could get it.

 

There should 1/4" deflection on the longest free distance on the belt, ie. the longest distance between pulleys. The 1/4" would be up or down. Or 1/2" belt twist maximum. There are pretty cheap tools you can buy to test if correct tension. You can do a search on belt tension tester; similar to:


A quick simple test. Take a spray bottle filled with water and squirt it on the belt while running. If the squealing stops then its the belt. Dayco cheaper belts have a tendency to squeal. If it continues then bearings are worn some place in the system (which sounds like the power steering pump if belt is tensioned correctly).

An over tighten belt can cause squealing also. In this case, loosen the belt immediately or you're likely to damage the bearings.

Next, check the tensioner. They usually go out.