QuestionIt's a 3.3L engine.
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Followup To
Question -
Every time it rains and I hit a puddle...the car jurks and the belt to the power steering and water pump comes off. I had a guy to put it back on for me before and it didn't take long.
I just want to do it myself this time. The belt is not broken, it just came off of the pullies.
What do I do?
Thanks for your time and info.
Answer -
Hi Bryan,
Can you tell me which engine you have in the van? They are all a little bit different so I need to know that.
Also, perhaps there is a splash guard that would protect the belt pulleys from getting wet when you hit a puddle and that might be why it is comes off so easily. You might stop at a Chrysler/Dodge dealer and ask if there is such a shield for the van, look at it or the graphic in their computer, and then see if it is missing on your van, if there is indeed supposed to be one. But tell me the engine and I may be able to give you the procedure for putting the belt on right.
Roland
AnswerHi Bryan,
Yes, my '93 manual says there is a splash shield that in fact you have to remove to take off/put on the belt, so maybe yours is missing? If you have it, remove it, second.
The manual suggest that you first lift the vehicle (but doesn't say why, probably to remove the splash shield).
To remove the belt you find the tensioner pulley and put a wrench on the nut that is centered on its shaft (this is the pulley that is located about 11:00 o'clock relative to the crankshaft pulley and when you put a clockwise tension on that nut the spring-loaded pulley arm will rotate toward the front of the van and thus if the belt were still on would relieve the tension. Because the belt is off you won't need to do this now, but later once you have the belt around nearly all the other pulleys you will do this to allow you to slip the belt over the last pulley, then release the wrench to allow the tensioner to take up all the slack, automatically.
The path of the belt is (starting at the crankshaft and going clockwise from the lower side of that pulley), up and over the tensioner pulley counterclockwise, down and clockwise around the pulley that is the lowest-rearmost pulley (power steering?), up and clockwise around the alternator pulley, down and forward at a 45 degree angle and under a small pulley (counterclockwise) that looks like an idler pulley, up and over the a/c compressor pulley clockwise), over the top of the water pump pulley (counterclockwise) and you are back under the crank pulley where you began (clockwise). The "wises" are not based on the actual rotation of the pulleys when the engine is running (but rather just the static 'path' of the belt; there is an arrow in the drawing that appears to show the crankshaft turns counterclockwise when the engine is running but I can't be sure of that, you can, and so if that is the case all the "wises" are actually reversed when the belt is moving if that is correct).
Let me know if this makes sense to you on your '98 3.3L. If you find that I am wrong please let me know.
Roland
