Alright guys, this is my first car with a serpentine belt and I need some help. I just replaced the belt and it's had an hour and a half of run time max. I replaced the belt because it was squeaking. But now the edge of the belt (side closer to the engine) has started curling up and the belt chirps occasionally. The belt tensioner alignment thingy is pointing all the way to the right, barely inside where it's supposed to be. So what should I be looking for as something has to be wrong with it. There is about a half inch of movement in the belt between the tensioner and the alt. Can get pics if you guys need em.
Thanks
Alex

 

Sounds like.....
A. They sold you a belt a bit too long, based on your description of the tensioner. There are marks on the mount, showing where it should be. I take it yours is not "tensioning" into the right position?

Or B.....The belt is off by a rib or 2 on 1 of the pulleys, causing something to rub on the belt & eat it up.

My $ is on A, if I understand your description of the tensioner correctly.

 

 

How about some pics. The old belt was starting to wear on the edges but not this bad. It's worn about every 5" or so. I checked it several times and it's not off a rib or two. It was fairly easy to replace, I just put a half drive ratchet it the square thing and off it came.
Thanks
Alex

 

Does the new belt have the same number of grooves as the old belt?

 

3rd gens use a 6 rib serp belt, it would be obvious in the pics if it was not correct

As stated above wear like that comes from pulley misalignment. Have you recently removed/replaced any of the pulleys? Remove the belt and check for play in each pulley

 

Yes it's a 6 rib belt. I know the belt is correct, the guy at the parts store actually knew something about cars.

I haven't removed any pulleys but I got the car 3 months ago and it hasn't had much use, so I wouldn't be surprised if one was loose/misaligned. If I do find a loose pulley, what would be the remedy, would I need a new pulley?
Thanks
Alex

Edit: Forgot to ask, is the belt tensioner ok? the one in my manual looks different so I don't know how to read it, I know, stupid question.

 

A counter jockey that knows something about cars???? I call cow manure!

 

Yeah it's crazy. He 40ish and immigrated from Pakistan about ten years ago. Loves SBC's and big block mopars. He's a pretty cool guy.

 

Any chance that you were off on just one pulley? No more than you ran the car it should not have done that, unless something is way out of line.

Do you still have your old belt?

 

I'm certain that I got the belt on strait, I checked it twice before I started the car and I noticed no problems until I actually drove the car. I suppose that's an important piece of info. I ran the car on different occasions totaling 30ish minutes at idle (idles at 1500 until it warms up). I didn't notice any problems in the belt until I started driving it and getting up to 4k, then I noticed the curling. I'll take the belt off and check the pulleys tomorrow when I can see. I've a sneaky suspicion it might be my PS pump as the edges (though not were the belt touches) are chipped and rough, and that's where it was squeaking when I got it.
Thanks
Alex

Edit: No I got rid of the old belt. I suppose it was worn a little on both edges, but the big problem was missing ribs and cracking.

 

When you first started the car with the new belt on, did you bump start it or just fire it right up? You should bump it to make sure it seats right on each pulley.

 

No I didn't bump it, but it didn't start the first time I tried to start it, so I guess I kinda did.

 

IMO, it sounds like it might be off a groove on one of the pulleys. Try to reseat it and bump it on maybe?

 

Alright, I just went out and checked with a flash light and all the ribs were on fine, ran my hand along the belt and everything was flat against the pulleys. Took the belt off and no pulleys were loose but I found this on the PS pump, it looks like a crack to me as one edge is higher than the other and it's not strait like a seam and no other pulleys have them. So what do you guys think.

 

Made that way.

Reinstall old belt. Check ALL pulleys to make sure the belt is on correct. Crank pulley most likely the one to watch for.

 

Are you sure? I checked the PS pulley on both of my birds and neither had any sort of seam

As for bumping it, theres no need. Its a good practice to run your hand along the belt path to attempt to find anything way off but the first time the engine turns over itll either seat a misaligned belt or spit it off. It wont catch a rib and ride on it until the belt wears out

 

Found the problem. The alternator has the wrong pulley on it. The alt is a reman and the pulley is for a five rib belt. At a glance it looks ok but if you look carefully the inside edge rides the lip. I'm honestly not surprised, and I bet the alternator isn't correct either. Just shows how lazy people can be. As for the PS pump pulley, it does look like it could be made that way, but it's a little sharp on one edge. I might sand it down a little.
Thanks for all the help guys
Alex