my problem is that my belt has been slipping on cold starts, and occasionally on warm starts. All of these symptoms popping up after having the coldest winter ive had in my area for a few years, also during the winter I went to a few national parks nearby and my car was parked in below freezing temperatures which probably had to do with the battery failure among other things.

The week before christmas, my battery died on the freeway, the battery was replaced, and then about 2 weeks later the alternator had to be replaced as well because it was delivering inadequate voltage intermittently. So i replaced the alternator, which is an Ultima alternator (comes with a lifetime warranty). Upon finishing the install I notice the belt slips on startup and squeals when the AC is turned on, which did not happen with the last alternator.
So for the past month or so I had the belt tightened somewhat generously to prevent the belt from slipping and it kind of worked.

Unfortunately the belt started squealing again on cold startups, and it seems that my engine is running with more load on it, because im getting some engine chatter when trying to accelerate in the bottom of 3rd gear, its running hotter despite having plenty of coolant, and seems to need to be stomped on to get going and to prevent the engine chatter.

The mechanical fan, which to my knowlege has never been replaced while i've driven this jeep, has heavy resistance both cold and hot. That means with a decent push, will not spin freely for more than 1-2 blades to pass my hand before stopping completely.

I also notice when revving the engine by pushing the throttle body, the belt will slightly track off of the fan pully and make contact with something, causing a lighter squeeling sound. There is also a sound coming near the area of the alternator/fan clutch area, it sounds like it may be the alternator charging, but the battery has a full charge, so I don't think its a normal sound that an alternator would make.

Today I loosened tightness on the belt, and the engine seems to be idling better and running with less load, however the squeal on cold-start is still there.

Another important detail is that my power steering almost ran dry about 2 weeks ago, the fluid remaining was well below the add line, but the reservoir was not completely empty. My power steering hose is certainly leaking, but its a very slow leak and ive been checking the fluid level after refilling, the fluid's not going anywhere fast.

Is it possible that the fan clutch, or perhaps even the pully that it rides on is adding friction to the belt train, or could it be the alternator, or just the power steering? The power steering has never been replaced in the 8 years or so that ive been driving it, but it still turns pretty adequately and makes the same typical whine that all GM cars make when turning the wheel at slow speeds.

For the record, the last Ultima alternator I put on the car, it squealed and chirped for weeks to months after installing it, and eventually stopped making noise all together, that alt lasted about a year before it was replaced with the current alternator. I'm thinking the tolerances for the bearings they put in these alternators are way too tight and not enough lubrication is used within the bearing/pully.

Probably going to replace the fan clutch first and the power steering line is also a given.

 

Your belt is likely old or too loose. These want a belt that is very tight. If you use the thumb method to tighten it is likely significantly below spec. Running better with a loose belt may mean you have and extremely dead bearing, but it would likely make noise.

 

Are you getting power steering fluid on your belt?

 

Not that I noticed, it only seemed to be leaking from the hose, which has become quite a bit greasy. Not really sure how that could cause my symptoms. I could see a greasy belt causing it to run hot, but having a loss of power that im currently experiencing tells me that I'm losing a pully somewhere.

Haven't had the time really to inspect every single pully with the belt off, but hopefully I should have it figured out by tomorrow.

 

tighten the belt.

 

Yup, tighten the belt. I was having the same issue and went ahead and just replaced the belt with a Goodyear gator back. Hasn't squealed since

 

Okay problem solved. It was the thermostat, i thought it was completely stuck closed, but it was actually stuck open with about a 1/8" gap. Even at normal opening temperature it would not fully open, pressure built up in the lower hose, causing strain on the water pump, making the belt slip on the pully occasionally. Tightening the belt transfers that resistance to the engine, which meant that when the engine was at normal operating temperature i had to stomp on it to get going, further pushing the engine temperature to the high range. Never went to a dangerous temperature, so I'm very satisfied with my radiator right now. All pullys still in good condition too.

The smoking gun was when I finally peaked under the front bumper and saw a green wet line seeping from the top of the lower radiator hose where it fits onto the water pump. I also replaced the radiator cap and put a hose clamp on the overflow tube because the pressure was pushing coolant out of the older cap.