First post. Sorry guys, I NEVER have any luck with the search feature and the instructions on How To Search are just as useless to me. And the simpler the question, the harder it seems for me to get a answer.


Question: How do I tighten the serpentine belt on my 1994 Cherokee 4.0 HO? Done the many times on other vehicles but can't seem to see the obvious approach on this one.


Thanks

 

You have to loosen the power steering pump and remove the are box then you should be able to see the adjustment rod behind the power steering pump.

 

There's a long bolt behind the power steering pump bracket

Get a tensioner gauge so you get the tension right. KR2 at NAPA is real nice for these

 

Use Google to search, not the forum search

 

Geez, dude. Some instructions would've been handy.

You can use Google to search a single website by using the "site:" tag with the URL of the site you want to search, like so:

site:cherokeeforum.com tighten serpentine belt

It works much better than the bulletin board search. And that's not just a problem here. I don't think I've seen a message board that has a decent search. I use Google on all of them.

Also, I second what ehall said about the tension gauge. It has to be a lot tighter than people usually realize. That little Krikit tension gauge is perfect for getting it right.

 

Google search of "how to tighten serpentine belt xj"

yields - http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1059186

With a pic, how to do it and what size wrench you'll need.

Pretty much any time you need info on your XJ, type your question into Google and put XJ after it.

 

for anything i ever want to look up i literally just type in google "jeep xj problem or how to here" and you'll get a ton of hits across all the forum sites.

 

I made a video on your tube awhile back showing the tool and how to use it, it's very important to have proper tension on the belt

 

x2 for Guntar13

Mine used to squeal anytime I turned on the AC. Got a cricket tensioner, used it once, no more squeal.

 

Thanks to all the guys who replied. My wife recently inherited a '94 Cherokee from my late Father and she and I love it. I had a 2000 Cherokee Sport some time ago but that's gone now. So, I'm not the only one who struggles with forum searches??? Thought I was just an idiot but maybe not after all. Got a slight squeal from the belt and it just "feels" a little too loose. I'll check out a tension gauge and get to it this weekend. Thanks again guys. Looking forward to becoming active on this forum. Sorry for my ignorance but is the '94 Cherokee is also known as XJ?

 

Yep. The XJ Cherokee was made from 1984 through 2001 in the US. The larger Cherokee made prior to 1983 was the SJ, so we use the letters to help distinguish them.

 

Sorry on my phone mostly and don't have a link to the video but here's the tool...

 

Welcome to the forum. Don't worry about questions. We were all newbies once. Ask away or you may never learn