Saturn Repair: Serpentine belt (area) squealing, saturn sw1, serpentine belt

Question
1997 saturn SW1 automatic - 171,000 Km

Thanks very much for the opportunity to field some questions here. Forgive my lack of knowledge and probable misuse of terms.

This car has been fantastic so far - no major maintenance required. There are currently two problems - I don't know if they're related.

First, the car is not starting easily. It has to crank for 2-3 seconds before it turns over. However, if the key is turned on to engage the electrical system first for a few seconds, then it requires less time to turn over - about 1 second. This has been happening for months. Similar problem came up before - we had the plugs replaced (or cleaned? I'm not sure) and it seemed to fix the problem, but then the problem crept back within 4-6 months.

A couple of weeks ago, a ferocious squealing
started appearing when the car first starts up, especially when it's been resting for longer periods. I opened up the hood and noticed the sound coming from the area around the belt on the left side. It sounds like something is rusty and squeaking. The sound generally goes away, sometimes almost suddenly. In the last few days it has been getting worse and here are some of the things that induce squealing:
- when car first starts
- when engine is between about 1600 and 1900 RPM, but only when gas pedal is depressed
- sometimes when turning (it 'feels' more related to the steering than it does to the deceleration)
- noticed a few times when car comes to a stop

I've been reading on the forum here about the Serpentine belt and about the tensioner. I couldn't come to any conclusions based on what I've read and my limited experience. Normally I would just take this in to the shop but money is tight and I am searching for the most economical way to solve this.

Thanks!

Answer
Mike,
 Thanks for all the detail.  Detail is a diagnostician's dream.  Anyway, here goes:

1.  Your startup problem is caused by the fuel pump.  The '97 had a faulty fuel pump problem that would allow stored fuel pressure to bleed back into the fuel tank.  This is only fixed by replacing the fuel pump.  

2.  Your squealing noise is caused by your serp. belt tensioner.  It looks like a wheel connected to an arm, about half-way down the front of your engine, closer to the firewall.  If you can move that tensioner up and down with your hand, it's time to replace it.  

Hope this helps

Chris