Belt squeak
 

ok so i have a 1998 ranger 4.0 and about a year after getting it the belt started to squeak so far if have replaced the belt, replaced the tensioner, and cleaned and wire brushed all the pulleys to remove glazing. and it still sqeaks and its annoying and kinda embarassing have anyone else had this problem if so what did you do

maybe it's not the belt itself that's squeaking? could be a pulley bearing that is dry...
i tried like crazy to track down a squeak and it turned out to be an alternator bearing..

ok i took the belt off and checked all the pulleys and noticed the alternator made a slight chicking sound when you spin it. This aint normal is it

no but it still may not be the source of the squeak.
you could try spraying some wd40 behind the pulley on to the shaft and see of the sound goes away.
you could also run the engine (when cold) for a few seconds without the belt on to eliminate some other stuff.

Try some water pump lube the type you add to the coolant.

Sean :-drink