1989 Chevy Camaro BELT

BIGMANSTITAN

MEMBER
1989 CHEVROLET CAMARO
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
118,000 MILES

My serpentine belt continues to brake. I replaced the belt tensioner and it still broke. What happens is as soon as I put the belt on and start the car it starts smoking and you see peices of the belt coming off and then I always turn the engine off before it does something bad and once I do that after a minute or so the belt brakes. What is going on? What is making it do that?

1 Reply

TEAG

MEMBER
158 POSTS

It sounds like you have a stuck pulley. Does the car have A/C? The A/C compressor is a common pulley that burns out and gets stuck. Causing what your going through. Best way to check it is #1 visually. With the engine running, see if you see any pulleys that are not rotating. I know you dont want to do this if you have another new belt. Id only suggest that if the old one is tore up and still in operating condition. If not. Id suggest trying to turn all the pulleys by hand. They should all move some what freely. The only one that wont is the crank. If all the pulleys move easily. Make sure theyre all lined up correctly. If they are out of alignment it could also cause the belt to smoke and break but it really sounds like a jammed or stuck pulley. Let me know if that dont work. Good luck. :)