I just replaced the AC compressor and Dryer in my daughters 96 Accord 4cyl.
It was not as tough as I imagined. A shop will do the evacuation and fill.
My question is, How tight should the belt be? I have it pretty snug but I am getting a squeal out of the alternater when it's under an electrical load, like the AC on and fan on high. If I wait a few minutes after start up and get the car going down the road, it works fine.
I am old school with the fear of damaging a bearing.

 

Find the longest side of the belt and push down with your finger while looking straight along it. It shouldn't go more than a fourth to a half an inch. Keep in mind if it's a new belt it will stretch after a few miles and will need to be retightened.

 

Thanks, for tension tip.
Is it normal for the alternator to put up such a fight while under what seems to me to be a regular load?

 

Nope, load or no load an alternator should spin freely.

 

If he's assuming when the belt is on the alternator and the crank, then yeah it would. It's not the alternator it's the crank pulley connected to the engine with the spark plugs in that's creating the fight.