Serpentine belt issue

Just installed a new serpentine belt. The old one had a rib come loose and wrap around the shaft of the fan. Installing the new one, I noticed it is riding a little off and no matter what I do, it jumps over every time I start the truck. Any thoughts? I’m thinking maybe the idler pulley is worn out, but I don’t know. Pic of old belt and new one installed.

 

Take the belt back off and wiggle all of your idler pulleys. It looks like you might have one sagging a little. If you take off your skid plate, you can access them from below a little better.

 

Most likely you have a pulley out of alignment, if you have no obvious play in any of the bearings the tensioner would be suspect.

 

Good to know...my belt is on my to do list this week

 

Part of the old belt may be wrapped around the pulley shaft between the pulley and the front of the engine. It happens more than you'd think and is hard to see. Easy for even experienced mechanics to miss. This will force the pulley slightly out of alignment and can lead to an oil leak. Happened to me last summer when I waited too long to replace my belt and had it break on me.

 

Let me ask you, are ALL of them refered to as pulleys ?

 

The AI say:

The terms "pulley" and "sheave" are often used interchangeably, with a sheave being the grooved wheel within a pulley system. While some may differentiate between them based on context or industry, they essentially serve the same function: changing the direction of force or transmitting power. In most cases, "pulley" is a more general term, encompassing various types of wheels used in rope or belt systems.

 

Thanks! I removed both idlers and the tensioner pulley. They were chattering a little, so I replaced them. The tensioner assembly was super involved, so I just replaced the pulley, hoping it would do the trick. No luck. The rest of the assembly is sitting on my workbench, staring at me all hateful. Not sure that’s the issue. Everything else seems tight.

 

Do you know the approximate mileage on that belt that shredded

 

Check this.

 

42,000 miles.

 

Only one of the pulleys came with a sleeve. The other 2 were manufactured different. None of the originals had them.

 

You may have the spacer on wrong on the ONE pulley. item B in picture.

 

Your tensioner assy was shot at 42K, something sounds fishy, many go 300K with a pully chance or two during that time.