bluejeep2001

Late last year i purchased an AC Delco gold HD serpentine belt for my 01. It sat on the hook till i changed out the water pump a week or so ago. From the minute i put it in it squeaked and squeeled on start up and whenever it was under high elec load. I must have adjusted it 6 or 8 times all with no help. I have been running Jeeps for over 25 years and know how to adjust the belt tension. The fix was simple....I found an old Gatorback belt unused on a box full of old engine parts on the shelf. Put that thing in....no noise at all and it was barely tight. Problem is now in the future...whats a good belt? I know they don't make the gatorback any more and I heard the Chinese auto parts store ones are no good either

IJM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Continental now makes what used to be the Gatorback belt.

lawsoncl

So you have a Krikit-II and set the tension to 180-200 lbs? Otherwise, you're just guessing.

Veeb0rg

I've always found Cherokee's need the belt tensioned way higher then you'd think to prevent squeal.

Ralph77

My '96 I used to own was fine with the "Yeah that looks about right" method.
My '00 on the other hand is kind of picky about it.
So I invested in the Krikit II myself.
For ****s and giggles set the tension with the "Yeah that looks about right" method.
1/2" play, can just rotate the belt 45 degree's, etc.
Put my gauge to it and was 40 lbs low.
And that is 40 lbs from the low end of the specs for a used belt.
Oh and whether used or new always use the low end of the specs for tension.

Veeb0rg

My method is to tighten it to a point I'm comfortable with and start the jeep. If the belt squeal's I'll tighten till it stops. It's not "proper" but has always worked for me.

bluejeep2001

If the belt is not defective, adjusting to minimum tension not to squeak, squeel or slip cant be wrong... but for 18 bucks i purchased the tool anyway...just to check

bluejeep2001

So I just got my krikit-ll...the poorly printed instructions are clear as mud. Any offerings on how to use properly..thanks

country2

This thread reminded me that I still haven't used my krikit-II I bought 6 years ago!!

lawsoncl

bluejeep2001

So i got my krikitt and am not having the best of luck. Tried it inbetween the water pump pulley and power steering pulley...not a lot of excess room to place in middle. Then i tried underneath between crank and ps idler/ tensioner pulley, again the tool barely fits so im not really in middle. Both attempts multiple times show barely 100 ish By the finger method its probably as tight as i have ever made it in 20 something years. The longest run is between the alternator and AC bypass pulley but not a whole lot of access. Might have to remove battery The video was helpful but its real easy to do it right when your belt is 2 feet between pulleys

Ralph77

When I do an alternator I take it out from the top.
Remove the battery so set the tension where you are thinking.
But when I am just doing a belt I just do it where I can.
And best I can tell it has been fine.
Hey you can only do so much.

bluejeep2001

Its plenty tight by my standards, i might even back it off a turn or two. Now its a matter of curiosity to see exactly how tight it really is

cpttuna

belt has to be tight. I also found that the brand makes a difference. Wife's 01 hated GATES, but loved Continental.

thowell

I can't get this thing to stop squeaking. I've tried 2 different belts, low tension, super high tension.

Is there any chance that too much belt dressing on the pulleys could cause a new belt to squeak? When I put the new belt on it was perfectly quiet for about 2 minutes, and then slowly started to squeak again. Right back to where I started.