Drive Belt questions

I recently changed the water pump on my 90 4.0 XJ. I got a few quetions.

First how do you check the tension on the belt, and how tight should it be.
Two I now have a noise best described by a friend of mine by as birds chirping uder the hood.
I tried adjusting the screw below the power steering pump but no help.
am I missing something .

Thanks

I have the same prob. but never changed water pump. Sorry I can't help but i hope someone can help us.

Does the chirping happen when you're standing still, or only when moving?

to check the tension go to napa and buy a tool called tensionmeter and it's make and model is Cricket II (or something like that). Anyways if you play with the search here on oem you should come across a thread (more then one actually) that talks about the tool and the appropriate tension.
Oh the gismo runs only about $20 or so.

The chirping is all the time

IF I was a betting man, I would say the chiurping is the belt. Might need to be tightned. You might try belt dressing. However, be aware that some people like it and some people curse it.
BSD

Mine only does it when I'm idling and sometimes when it's really wet.

An old-time mechanic's test for a slipping belt is to pour some water on it while it's running. If the chirping goes away with the water on it, it's a belt slipping.

Bringing this post back f/the bottom...

Did you ever find your problem? I replaced my water pump this weekend and noticed that I have that chirping/slight squealing now when my engine is running.

It almost sounds like a bearing going out... but could be the belt slipping I suppose. I was wondering if I needed to loosen my belt... but could be it just needs to be replaced. I did notice the drive belt was quite worn, but perhaps I just need to replace.

Anyway... did you fix your problem? Please let me know. Thanks.

Often the Idler pulley is the culpret. sometimes the Alternator bearing, rear. I used a piece of sander belt cut to the right width. Using my drill chuck as the dirve, I was able to test nearly every pully to find the one that made the noise.

Replace the belt with a Goodyear Gatorback, and retension properly. That should take care of it. The belt will cost about $25-30, and it's worth every penny.

Goodyear Gatorback, or any Gates belt. (I prefer Gates - always have.) Most other belts are either Dayco or Dayco re-brands, and they tend to delaminate and squawk rather badly. I just worked on an XJ where the owner had gotten MOPAR OEM, and it had a "squeal and burn" problem that simply would not go away - and that was even having a Krikit II on hand to check tension! Put the old belt back on, and all was well. He has since replace it with a Gatorback (easier to find than Gates around here - I usually have to order them, if I really want them) and it's running neatly.

Possible causes of belt squeal, if the belt itself isn't causing the problem (spraying the belt with water, or using a violinist's rosin block should point up the belt...)
Idler pully bearing (they're usually easy to replace)
Slippage on the power steering pump pully (hydraulic pumps have significant drag on the system)
Water Pump bearing/shaft seal
Alternator bearing (two on the shaft - a "drive end" and a "rear end")
A/C Compressor clutch or bearing

This is in rough order of likelihood, so you've got a logical sequence to check them in. Go to it!

Getting coolant on the belt can cause belt squeal.