Serpentine belt diagram?

See picture. The one pulley needs to be move clock wise to get belt on it will say removal in picture but same to reinstall.

Do you still have the old belt? If so, stretch the new belt next to the old belt, and verify the new one is the same length. If your belt routing is correct, that means one thing. The new belt is too short.

You only have an auto tension-er, that is what your pulling back. Nothing else is adjustable. You should have a smooth idler pulley. I find once the belt is in all the grooves of the pulleys, it slides right over the smooth idler pretty easily. Have you tried this?

Hi and thanks for using 2CarPros. Com.

The vehicle came factory with AC. It was not an option. The result is there is no exact way to route the belt to ensure everything will turn the correct direction and work correctly. What I suggest is to get an AC bypass pulley. They take the place of the compressor and you do not have to change the belt or routing. The part is about the same price as a new belt, so you are better off replacing the bad compressor. An after market parts manufacturer by the name of Dorman makes the part. I believe the part number you need is 34223. Please confirm that is correct for your vehicle with the parts store. I attached a picture of what one looks like.

Let me know if this helps or if you have other questions.

Take care,
Joe

Here is a guide to walk you through the steps of changing the belt and the belt routing diagrams below so you can see how the job is done:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-serpentine-belt

and

https://www.2carpros.com/diagrams/ford/escape/2001

Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.