How do you refit the serpentine belt on 1997 Jeep Cherokee 4.0?

Answer 1

I just changed a serpentine belt on my '97 Cherokee 4.0 you need to loosen the 2 top mount bolts (I think they're 13mm) on the power steering pump and loosen the 15mm bolt in the middle of the idler pulley. Then loosen the tensioning bolt on the lower side of the Power Steering pump Lower (left hand side facing pump from the front) follow the diagram to route the new belt( should be on a decal under the hood) replace belt then tighten using the tensioning bolt on lower side of the power steering pump to get 1/4" to 1/2" of deflection between puleys (when you press down on the belt) then tighten the bolts on top of the power steering pump And don't forget to tighten the idler puley bolt in the center of the puley. Run engine for 3 to 5 minutes to seat the belt. then recheck the belt tension. Caution! be sure to route new belt propperly or you could run the water pump backwards NOT GOOD