Well folks, I bought a new belt and replaced it yesterday. A bit surprised how hard it was to do considering I had never done it before. I snaked the belt around all the components and when I got to the tensioner, I couldn’t hold it down and wrap the belt around at the same time. Second attempt I rapped around that pulley first and then used an old plastic paint scraper handle to push down the tensioner and my other hand to pull the belt over the alternator pulley. Success! On the way to work this morning the battery light did not come on. There is no longer a squealing sound coming from it, but I do notice a clicking sound that appears to be coming from the alternator. One person asked about the alternator and yes it was pulled out of the car and the unit was rebuilt on site. A local guy has been rebuilding them every since I can remember (his shop used to be across the street from my house when I was growing up…I’m 36 and I can remember passing his shop every day when I was in grade school. The car even felt different when driving it today, like it was more responsive when I hit the gas. Next job…replacing the valve cover gasket…it is leaking oil into the spark plug area.
On the valve cover just try tighting them down really hard but not to hard to bust the old gaskets. If that dont work by the ones with steel in them and you will never have to replace them again
I wouldn’t recommend over tightening the valve cover bolts. They are like oil pan bolts and are usually low torque. Over tightening them could also result in warped valve covers or broken bolts.