My dad says its the water pump i say its a common problem with all jeep cherokees and its actually the belt. It only happens when ac is on and when the car just turns on after 15 sec its gone.

 

You need to tighten the belt. It is not a common problem with all XJs assuming the belt is tight enough.

 

Its tight enough

 

How old is the belt? Old belts take a lot of tightening to shut 'em up. That extra tension kills bearings/bushings on anything that the belt turns. New belts are quiet with less tension on bearings/bushings.

 

Its old. Might even be stock i have no clue hoe often do you need to change belts? We have tried lube (safe one for belts)

 

Really?........by what method did u determine that? Maybe pops is right and u r wrong. Must be something wrong with our XJ since "it's a common problem with all Jeep Cherokees".

 

Lube/belt dressing is not for serpentine belts and will not quiet them, as you have learned.

If the belt is squealing, it is either not tight enough or it is worn out.

If the water pump is squealing, then dad is right.

 

They're all stock.....do u mean original? If it's original, it's at least 13+ years old, no? Need to change 'em a little more often than every 13 years.

 

How did you determine it's tight enough, where and how did you check the tension?

 

My pops says its tight enough i don't have the exact measurements lol. I have googled it and found it in at least 7 posts on different forums

 

I have no info on the work done to this jeep it came with no papers or anything its a craigslist jeep

 

From '84 thru '01 there were 2.9 million XJs built/sold.........and there have been at least 7 squeaky belt posts (I presume) on different forums.........I'll bet Chrysler/Jeep is going to press with recall notices as I type.

It's a used XJ........what does Craigslist have to do with it? If u want a reliable DD, presume nothing has ever been done to it regarding TLC/maintenance. Time for u and dad to get busy.

 

Rule of them replace when buying craigslist cars, always assume its factory parts and that it needs replaced

 

I don't mean to be nasty but your pops also said that the squeal came from the water pump. Of course, it's your business whether you tighten the belt to get rid of the squeal. But when you ask for advice and then ignore it, the guys and gals on the forum eventually won't take your questions seriously.

Up to you what you want to do with your Jeep.....

 

It's not. It never is. Especially if it's squealing.

There is your problem. Replace it. Its easy and a good belt isn't expensive. When it shreds on the side of the road it sucks. Been there not on an XJ though, learned my lesson by then.

Get a Gatorback...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000C3...ref=mp_s_a_1_1

That may not be the exact belt so check part numbers. You could probably get that locally too.