LovesItLaura

I've been told twice that my serpentine belt needs to be replaced while getting my oil changed. Once in November of 2010 and now in July 2011. I looked at my belt and it has some tiny cracks. Nothing major. It looks fine to me. However, my jeep squeals when the AC is on and gets worse when I accelerate. Eventually, it stops but it is annoying and kind of alarming. Should I get my belt replaced or is my mechanic trying to take advantage of me because I'm a girl?

I've had my jeep for 4 years and it almost has 140,000 miles on it. I bought it used and haven't changed the belt yet. I had my AC worked on and that's when the squealing began.

94JeepCherokeeMan

If there's little cracks running perpendicular to the length of the belt, you're fine. If the "treads" are starting to crack on the bottom, then you should seriously consider getting it replaced. You could try spraying on some belt conditioner to lighten the squeal.

xj wheeler

The belt might need to be adjusted.

And welcome to the forum.

LovesItLaura

Thanks!

Usmc4hire

You do know a new belt is $30 and its super easy to install right? Personally, I would just replace the sucker just for peace of mind sake. Dont have an oil shop do it unless they are running some kind of super deal, youll just be wasting your $$$ on labor. Plus, easy jobs like this are fun. Changing a belt is like changing a flat tire. Its one of those things that everyone should learn but few do now-a-days.

Lyon

Serpentine belt problems usually result from one of three causes: a defective belt tensioner; misalignment of a pulley; or, defective bearings in the tensioner, idler, or one of accessories driven by the belt (including the water pump).

Do not apply “belt dressing” to a serpentine belt in an attempt to quiet a belt or cure slipping. Belt dressing is a gooey, tar-like substance designed to cure V belt slipping by making the belt sticky. At best, it is a temporary fix, even on a V belt. But, when applied to a serpentine belt, the dressing will be spread into the pulley grooves. Once there, it will attract and hold dirt and grit. The dirt will start the belt slipping again and all of the dirt and belt dressing will have to be cleaned out of the pulley grooves before a new belt is installed.

Belt noises can be diagnosed with a spray bottle of water. With the engine running and the sound present, lightly mist the grooved side of the belt with water. If the noise disappears or lessens, but then shortly returns, the problem is probably a misaligned pulley. If the noise immediately increases after the belt is misted, the belt is slipping.

Another diagnostic trick is reversing the belt: take it off and put it back on so that it travels in what would have been its backward direction as originally installed. If the noise goes away or gets much softer, the problem is a misaligned pulley. This diagnostic works because flipping the belt changes the direction of the misalignment from the belt’s perspective. If reversing the belt does not temporarily eliminate the noise, the problem is something other than misaligned pulleys.

Slick761

Would love for a belt to beak wheeling.30 miles from civilization.

Lyon

I've worked on ALOT of cars and the only time I recall a serp belt breaking was because of some other failure on the vehicle. Something burned it up. OR, the owner just didn't care and didn't replace it until 90,000 miles and it deteriorated. I replaced mine for maintenance purposes. My old one wasn't shot so I keep it as a spare for on the trails.

Oh, and Welcome to the Forum Laura. :-)

jfaulk

You mentioned that it didn't start squealing until you had your a/c worked on. That makes me believe that it just needs to be adjusted/tightened. With that being said though, at 140k miles, it's probably time to change it out, considering you bought it used and down know for sure its previous service intervals. Its a pretty easy job and will give you the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself. Just my 2 cents.

Lyon

I agree that is possible that it only needs an adjustment. However, depending on how long the AC system hasn't been working, it's possible the compressor clutch is seizing or binding slightly. Maybe it hasn't been run in years. Unfortunately, we don't know the history of the Jeep's AC problems either.

Slick761

Agree

retread

the a/c being recharged might be just enough drag to start the squeal since the belt is not adjustable, most likely glazed another set of eyes might be in order