how to tighten serpentine belt?

alright, i'm from the new school of self adjusting tensioners, lol. i'm working on an 88 4.0 auto cherokee and wondering... how the heck do you tighten the belt!! cant figure it out to save my life, lol. thanks!

You're having problems because the '88 4.0L is not self-tensioning. Tension is adjusted with the power steering pump.

To adjust, you will have to loosen four or five bolts holding the pump to the bracket -- a couple go in from the front and are accessible from above, the others go in from the rear and are accessible from under the vehicle. Once those are loose, there is an adjuster screw that points toward the air box -- turn that in to tighten the belt. Once tension is correct, retighten all the bolts.

You need to loosen up the PS pump, there are 2 bolts on the back of it, and 2 on the front (1 top and 1 bottom) Then underneath of it, there is a long bolt that is used to adjust the tension. THen just tighten up the 4 bolts you loosened, and you're done. I personally, find it easier to remove the air cleaner assy to gain better access to the bolts.

HTH
RaiderXJ

Damn, for once I thought I was going to be able to help someone, and in the midst of typing my reply, Eagle beat me to it!:rattle:

make sure not to over tighten because you can knock out alternator bearings with belts that are too tight.

NAPA sells a belt tension gauge, fits in your pocket too , it is called a Krikit II for about $12.00. Handy item but before you remove the old one figure out where in your belt path you get the best measurement from. Dont feel bad about 88's, cause 98+'s don't have auto tensioners either LOL