JPW

my 97 xj over the last month has been acting up. I'll start the jeep, then try to turn the steering wheel to find it very difficult to turn. After that it will squeal for about 5 seconds. It has been getting progressively worse, happening more often. Occasionally I have noticed the steering wheel gets a little stiff while driving.

The power steering fluid is at a good level and my serpentine belt feels tight and looks like its in good shape. Even though the belt looks like its in good shape, could it still be slipping causing these problems? The belt feels tight, should I try tightening to see if that helps? Should I just replace the belt with a higher quality belt to see if that helps?

guest02

Your Belt is probably starting to get "glazed". You may notice a few "shiney" spots starting to develop. It's this "glazing" that's causing the squeal. I've tried using a wire brush to scuff up the belt before, it works for a few days, but that's about it.

Your best bet is to replace the belt with either the Gates belt or a Goodyear Gatorback. I've had the best luck with the Gatorback, though!

Hope this helps!