I have a '95 GCL with 4.0L six and 144K miles.
Over the winter, I heard a loud squealing coming from the engine compartment when I started the engine, and lasted about 5 seconds then disappeared. It only seemed to occur at cold engine startup. Now that its warmer, I noticed it happens whenever I turn on the AC compressor. I dont normally use the AC in the winter since I only use manual temp. controls and rarely turn it on for defrost. Therefore, I assumed the squeal was coming from the drivebelt rather than the compressor. I should also mention that I had to replace the original factory drivebelt about a year ago.
I tightened the belt tension bolt per instructions, and the squeal seems to have vanished. Hurray.
Question I have now....how tight should I make the drivebelt? I dont have access to a fancy "belt tension gauge", and no auto parts store in town seems to stock them or even know what they are. Right now, I can only get about 1/2" of play in the middle of the belt (between idler pulley and power steering pump). It seems pretty tight, but I'd like to get a scientific measure of its tension to make sure its within spec. I've heard that excessive belt tension will cause extra wear & tear on pulley bearings...like the AC compressor, power steering pump, etc.
Thanks for any help. Where can I buy/rent a quality belt tension gauge?