96 Jeep Grand Cherokkee Problems?

Question

Everytime I have my heat on my belt squeals and my battery gauge stops working, another thing is I put coolant in my Jeep on November 15, and now that is gone..does anyone have any Idea's what the problem could be?

Answer 1

You have warn out belt.When you turn on the heat in most cases you have the defroster on which causes the a/c pump to come on.When it does that belt is not tight or its worn so it squeals because its slipping which in turn cause that same belt works the alternator that charges your battery and when its slipping the alternator is not working properly so then the gauge shows this as a draw on the charging system.Get the belt replaced and all this should stop.
The antifreeze issue may be from a leak in one of your coolant lines or hoses.If you cant see it coming from one of them,then it maybe leaking from the intake gasket or one of the head gaskets.Just be sure to check your oil to be sure you are not getting coolant into the engine oil.If you pull out the oil dip stick (what you use to check your oil) and if the oil has a milky look to it,then you have antifreeze in your oil and that's bad.Get it fixed very soon or you could burn up the engine.If not, try filling it up and then warm the vehicle up then shut it off and let it cool and check it again.Sometimes you have to wait to top off the coolant till after the thermostat opens and lets what you added before into the engine and lowers whats in the radiator.Keep doing this till it eventually remains full.You may just have had too low of coolant to begin with.

Answer 2

When your belt squeals that means that your belt/belts are loose. The problem is probably the alternator belt. Do you have v-belts or a serpentine belt? The thing is that when you turn on the heat the car demands more electrical energy so it puts more of a load on the alternator. That's why you hear the squealing.

I'm not sure what's up w/ your battery gauge. That's a weird prob.

All of your coolant is gone? WOW! check your oil and make sure it's ALL oil. If there's coolant mixed in with it then you have a bad head gasket or a cracked head. This allows the coolant to get into the combustion chamber and it burns that way. Do you have white smoke coming out of the tailpipe? If so then the aforementioned speculated prob. is indeed your prob. This is a pretty pricey repair! Good luck my friend

Answer 3

I think you have numerous problems.
The reason you belts squeal when the heat is on, isnt because they are too loose. If they were too loose, they would squeal all the time.
But im guessing your alternator is dying. This would explain why the battery guage dies, and why you hear the squeal.
Now the coolant issue.
if its disappearing and your seeing no coolant leaks, the only explaination is that your burning it.
2zj cherokees have a history of bad water pumps.
Now if its your water pump, this would also explain the squeal.
A head gasket failure would explain where the coolant is going.
The first thing i would work on, is where is the coolant going. Do you have fine head gaskets, and its just leaking from the water pump, onto the pulleys, causing them to squeal, or is it actually burning the coolant. If the water pump needs replaced, it may solve every issue you have.

Answer 4

at about 100,000 miles most Jeeps have to have a new water pump and thermostat and T. housing and gaskets and often a new timing chain ------ this is normal and these parts will keep you on the road and save you engine from failing completely.... the squeel is from a loose serpentine belt and needs to be changed -- the a/c compressor is on when the heater is on ---that is the wat it works on most all cars now --- loss of radiator fluid is a problem that you need to fix now or chance the loss of the engine from overheating -- and the correction of this is covered in the first half of ths answer and you and print this out and go to your local auto supply store and discuss all of this with the parts dude and more answers and help and support from the guy that will sell you the right parts........... wc