Serpentine installation issue

BENJAMINZGREEN

MEMBER
1999 FORD WINDSTAR
3.8L
V6
AUTOMATIC
146,000 MILES

Hello.

I found out that my tensioner pulley broke so I replaced it. Originally, I found the serpentine belt sitting there so and broke, so I assumed it was a bad belt. Got a new one and installed it. The new belt slipped off. I found out that the tensioner pulley had completely broken off and was free spinning due to age and rust. Replaced the tensioner assembly and now I can’t get the belt back over the alternator pulley. No matter what I do it won’t go over. I need another 3/4 inch of slack. The tensioner is all the way loosened; it literally won’t move any further. I have a 15 mm wrench and I have a strap tied to the open and part of wrench so I can pull it when I try to get belt over. No matter what I do I can’t get enough slack to get it over the alternator pulley. Am I supposed to loosen alt bolts or tensioner bolts and tighten them back whenever belt is on?

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

There are a couple things that can cause this, but we need to start with the basics. First if the tensioner is new and the belt is new, let's make sure we have the correct parts, and they are installed correctly.

I am attaching some info below on how to do this and here are some guides that will help as well.

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

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

I understand we will most likely not find anything here, but we need to make sure you were not given incorrect parts.

Many times, I have been given the wrong belt when there are different engine possibilities. Basically, they may have given you a belt for the 3.0L rather than the 3.8L.

If these parts are correct, then we need to ensure the belt is routed correctly.

Let's confirm all this and then we can take the next steps. However, that would be instead of having the alternator as the last pulley, put all grooved pulley on and then let the idler or a smooth pulley be the last one as they are easier to slip the belt on.

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