i had a serpentine belt replaced about 10 months ago by someone else. then less than a month ago while i was driving to school, i took off from a stop and i heard the belt break and hit a bunch of stuff. i replaced it myself and also replaced the belt tensioner because it was locked up. well yesterday as i was cruising down the highway at about 55 i heard the belt break again. the odd thing is its torn in the same place it was as last month. is there a reason for this or is it just bad luck? someone at a local parts store said something about the pulleys not being aligned or something. could that cause this?

 

yea sounds like something isnt lined up. put on a new belt and look to see how straight it is.

 

Close inspection of all the pulleys is in order. Check for alignment and damage. And be certain on the correct belt size for your application..

 

Have you routed the belt correctly? Have you changed anything like an alternator or A/C compressor? Do you have underdrive pulleys? What engine and year?

JMC

 

X2

 

its a 97 with a 4.6...the belt was routed correctly and i havent changed anything...it was the correct belt...ill be replacing the belt tomorrow so ill check for any damage or anything then

 

jhedges15:

You said in your original post, the belt broke in the same place twice? is this correct?
If it is, was the second belt the same brand as the first belt that you replaced it with? There could be a manufacturing defect in the belt if so.
Try a different brand of belt. Gatorback, is one name that pops to mind.
Also, be sure you get the right belt. The crack heads at this one parts store (A.Z.) tried to tell me that i had the wrong pulleys on my truck, cause i asked for a 6 rib belt, and they give me an 8 rib belt. I also have a 4.6.
Check to see if you have the correct belt ribs for your pulleys as well.
Just thought i would throw that out there too.
Also might want to check if the tensioner is the right one..... if that thing is a fraction of a distance forward or aft of the running line of the belt, then that would make it sling belts. and maybee thats why it locked up too.
My $.02
hope this helps and you get it figured out to get back on the road!

 

i think the different pulley rib count is between the winsor and romeo

 

the first belt was replaced at a local valvoline shop i think (i was out of town for the weekend so my parents took it somewhere) and the second i replaced myself with a belt from napa...im pretty sure it was the right belt because when i told the guy it should be a 99" 8 rib belt (i checked on troyerperformance.com before i went) he said that was correct

 

Another thing to check is the pulley on all the accesories, if there is any damage to the ribs or the edges of the pulleys that pully will eat your belt. Alot of times a pulley will get bent or gouged when someone pulls it off without a gear puller.

 

just make sure next time your checking the new belt that it doesnt fly off and hit you in the face

 

alright i got the belt installed and everything easilly with no problems. i drove it and its been fine. its been sitting the last few days as im installing headers. i was under the truck the other day so i took a look at it and i noticed the belt was slipping off the back side of the crankshaft pully. heres a few pics of it





this could be what happened earlier and could be why the last two belts broke on the last rib. does anyone know what could cause this or what i can do about it?

 

The crankshaft pulley, AKA harmonic balancer, could not be seated all the way, looks like the belt isn't riding on all of the pulley grooves, but the pics are not too clear to tell for sure.

 

whatever it is, that would tear through a belt pretty quick. Somethings not lined up.

 

i would have the power steering pump pulley checked to make sure it is on all the way because it has to be taken off if it was ever replaced and if its fine a pulley may be warped