Here's the story:

The A/C belt would screech for the first few seconds upon startup, usually after a good rain or overnight dew, and would disappear as soon as I hit the gas. As the noise got progressively longer, I decided to change the A/C belt (even though it didn't look worn or cracked). Now the sound stays for even longer upon startup and stays even after gassing it and driving a hundred yards or so before finally going away; the noise has nothing to do with how wet out it has been and is just as bad EVERY time I start it up, no matter how warm the car is. A mechanic-buddy of mine heard it and mentioned bearings, but he only heard the noise from afar.

When I changed the belt, I might have stripped the belt tensioner because it won't tighten all the way (isn't it supposed to stop screwing tight at some point?).

So, questions: Could it just be the tensioner that I have to replace? If not and it's the bearings, where are they and how do I fix them? How easy is the project? Do I just need to replace the pulley/wheel (is that what Auto Zone is calling the "A/C clutch"?), or are the bearings separate from this part?

Someone help a budding mechanic who's too poor to pay someone else to do something I think I can do myself, please!

 

Aside from your tensioner perhaps being stripped, it sounds like your belt is too loose.

 

I can replace the tensioner, right? Easy enough?

 

Yup - fairly easiy - just have to undo the idler pulley bolt all the way and perhaps undo the tensioner bracket bolts... I've not done the repair, but it looks straight forward. I'm not sure if you can buy the tensioner as a seperate part from the idler/tensioner pulley of if they are sold together. I do know that it's a dealer only part. You might be able to pick one up for cheap in the classifieds section. Quite a few 4th Gens are being parted out.

Cheers and good luck.