1993 Chrysler Imperial Serpentine belt

Quagmire86 · Posted at Tue Oct 13, 2009 4:30 am

Engine Mechanical problem
1993 Chrysler Imperial 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 155000 miles

I have an issue with my serpentine belt that only happens when the roads are wet. The serpentine belt will come off the pulleys. I've checked the alignment (by eye) and it all seems kosher. I even put a new tensioner and belt on (hours of fun). There is no issue when the roads are dry, but as soon as it is wet, it will religiously throw the belt off. I was told that it is a frequent problem with these cars. Something about the splash guard on the lower right front hitting the belt run. But I can't see the problem there since every time the belt comes off, the only way to get the thing on again is to remove the wheel & spash guard to gain access to it. There is only one way for the guard to affix to the frame. I am thinking about replacing the "Idler" pulley but I hate to throw money at a problem and not know if that is the issue.

Docfixit · Posted at Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:04 pm

3.8L ? is belt routed as in diagram?

Quagmire86 · Posted at Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:04 pm

Yep, That is how I repeatedly have been routing it. It is solid when dry, but when the roads are wet, the belt is guaranteed to fall off. I can't tell you which pulley the belt is slipping off from. When I put the belt on and run the engine, I do not see any "Wobble" from any of the pulleys. There is no squeeling or sign of binding when it is running (while it is dry). All the pulley mounts are tightly affixed to their brackets.

Docfixit · Posted at Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:57 am

Maybe worn pully on water pump assume it's real shinny and slick. You said water shield in place so that's out. Try this engine running spray water at crank see what happens.

Quagmire86 · Posted at Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:26 pm

That's a good idea. I will give that a shot. The water pump pulley doesn't look too shiny but the idler pulley is very shiny. Thanks for your help.