Squealling Belts

[MontanaEagle]

Well, I looked all over, the belts don't look too bad, I plucked at them and they are as tight as they should be.  PS fluid is not leaking, although it was a little bit low (not much, I topped it off but it only took a couple ounces to get it to full).  It still squeals.  I'll have to take some time later and actually replace all the belts and clean up the pulley thingies.

[LaGuardia]

If the squeal appears only when revving (and in a limited RPM range) there's some slack somewhere anyway. They might just "seem" to be tight when not moving. Remember to have a close (not too close) look at them while revving the engine, when you start hearing the noise look carefully and try to see which one is "vibrating". Most likely, the PS one will be the culprit.

If you still can't see the "vibes", then you're right: cleaning the pulleys is the only next step.

To do that, you'll have to remove the belts anyway, so you'll have the chance of retensioning them when you put'em back on.

Just please remember to be VERY careful: it's not a good idea to have your hands around that zone with the engine on, and even if it's off be careful anyway: once I managed to pinch my finger between belt and pulley while turning the fan by hands to check something I don't even remember (too much beer in my tank, I guess) and *ouch* that hurts !

[AMCKen]

If you're really careful about reaching in to moving belts,   a little chalk rubbed on to the belt will stop the squeak at least long enough to tell which one it is. You can rub it on to non-moving belts but you don't get quite the coverage.

[BlueEagle]

I've adjusted/replaced my alternator belt on my Eagle with AC  just a few times, and each time I've said that the next time I will find an easier way to do it. I also say several unprintables regarding the questionable placement of the adjuster bolt being right under the AC unit bracketry.

 I think I am missing something simple that can make this job no more (or not much more) difficult than it is with my small block Chevy pickup. Anybody have a magic trick for this one?

[eaglefreek]

No, it's a little bit of a pain. Not as easy as some other vehicles I've worked on.

[Amc1320]

On my dad's concord the alt belt would only squeak when you turned the headlights on, it's a pain the adjust. We found that if one person was under the car while another was above as a team we could get it tight enough to stop the squeak

[carnuck]

Best way is to swap out to serpentine belt. That or put a double pulley on the alt and a matching pair on AC compressor. Eventually I will finish converting my Eagle to Serp belt with '93 Grand Cherokee parts.

[Imarid]

I'm trying to change my belts on my 1980 AMC eagle. Where do I find the area to release tention?

[vangremlin]

There are probably two belts, one on the passenger side for the alternator and AC if you have it, and one for the driver side for the power steering and smog pump.  On the passenger side, you can loosen up the alternator, and I think there is also a tensioner pulley for the AC. The driver's side is kind of tricky, you have to loosen up the power steering pump, but its not really clear which bolts to loosen up.  Take a look at the technical service manual on this site for more detailed instructions.  I've done this job a couple times and it still takes me awhile to figure out how to release the tension on the belt for the power steering.