Question I have replaced my serpentine belt three times now and it tends to walk to the right (passenger side) of he pulleys. I have made sure to seat the belt correctly, and looked at the date the car was made to make sure I bought the correct belt (supposedly there are two belts for that year).
The problem is that i have felt the pulleys -- primarily the tensioner -- to see if they have any play in them and i cannot tell. I've been told that it is usually the tensioner, but as i said i see no obvious play.
As you know this causes the belt to fray prematurely and my vehicle is unusable.
Also the crankshaft pulley seems to "wobble" until acceleration then it seems to "smooth out" in its rotation.
Thank you for your time.
AnswerHi Thomas,
I would suggest that you take a metal straight edge and examine the relationship between all the pulleys:
first, check that each pulley's axis is the same as that of the engine (put the straight edge across each pulley and observe whether it appears to be at a right angle to the axis of the engine) and
second, then still using the straight edge see if the pulleys are all in the same plane to one another. If you find one of the components is not on axis or out of the plane of the other components then that is the one I would focus on too correct this premature wear out.
On the vibration, there may well be a vibration damper behind the crankshaft pulley that is fatigued and needs to be changed. There are 4 different engines that might have been used in you vehicle so I can't tell you any specifics. But those are the most likely reasons for the belt wearing prematurely or walking off.
Roland
