4 Wheel Drive/SUVs: serpentine belt, serpentine belts, v belts

Question
I have a 95 jeep cherokee 4.0l and the serpentine
belt has been replaced several times but an annoying squeal comes back. I have heard other
cherokees with same noise. any suggestions to get rid of this noise? Thanks

Answer
Roger,

Many times, this noise is due to a worn bearing in the idler wheel.  A quick check to see if this might be the problem, is to squirt a little oil, or WD40 into the bearing area of the idler, and see if the squeal stops.  If you do this, be careful not to get oil onto the belt itself.  Another thing to do, is to make sure the belt is tight enough, as the serpentine belts need to be quite a bit tighter than the standard v-belts.

Carl