One problem related to engine belts and pulleys has been reported for the 1996 Jeep Cherokee. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
One of the pulleys brackets holding the "serptine " belt broke causing loss of power steering and minor damage to the engine compartment. The estimate damage is undetermined at this time, until it can be check out. The bracket holding the pulley cracked in half. When I talked with the service department at the Jeep dealer, I was told that this was a normal occurence when the vehicle has in excess of 100,000 miles. Because the bracket is made out of aluminum I have 92,000 miles. Anyway I was told that this is not a manufacture defect, therefore the manufacture will not pay for repairs.