Hello, here recently in my area the cold is coming in, and in the mornings it seems if i dont warm up my cherokee a high pitched squeak comes from the engine, i went to the auto store today to get a price on a new serp belt but the guy at the auto store told me it may possibly be some sort of pulley that can be worn out and told me to look for signs of wear on it, but i dont even know what kind of pulley or what would be considered wear on that pulley if i found it..

can anybody shed some light on my situation please.

 

Get a pry bar and try to wiggle every pull forward/backward. The one that has play is most likely the culprit. Or get a 1/2" copper pipe, long one, and when the squeak is happening put the pipe to each pulley and the other side near your ear, when you find the pulley it will amplify that sound through the pipe. Just be careful doing that one.

 

Check your tension pulley. There are supposed to be two bolts. One of the bolts fell off of mine and I was getting that loud squealing.

 

First just open the hood while it's running and see if anything is wobbling or not spinning like it should or you could loosen the belt and turn each pulley by hand. See if there's grinding, or if it moves up and down or in and out. The very bottom pulley is the harmonic balancer. That's metal / rubber / metal, so check that one too. It won't turn too easy so just wiggle and shake that one, look for cracks or gaps in the rubber.

 

Theres supposed to be 3, one on the rear, one on the front of the bracket, and the one that adjusts tension.

 

If this has been happening for any amount of time more than a few days, chances are the offending pulley will have more black dust/belt pieces attached than all others.

But +1 on the pulley wobbling, unless its just a seizing pulley. It may just be spinning slower and not wobbling.

 

Excellent point

man...the day you don't learn something here. I'm tellin ya'

 

Also check your ac compressor the clutch may be headed south.

 

it doesnt happen whilst idling, only when im applying gas it makes the noise. which pulley would be the tension pull? is there a diagram somewhere i can check?

 

It'll be the two pullies that aren't really attached to anything. They just spin themselves, nothing behind them.

One is near the alt, one is near the psteering pump.

 

i dont mean to hijack this thread. but in my 95 cherokee the whine only happens when im ideling in park or in drive and only if it has been raining or wet outside when im at a light. it doesnt whine or squeel when driving. So what could mine be??

 

A loose or worn belt. Esp if it only happens when its really humid outside.

Check condition of belt and if its OK then check to make sure the tensioner is tight enough.