Need Drive belt help please, followed instructions, still doesn't

[thenavarro]

have a base 2001 986. I lost a drive belt so I went to replace it tonight. Everything went well, but when I changed it and started it up, immediately the belt slipped to the outer edge of the power steering pump and the air conditioning, #4 and #5 in the pic. Upon closer examination, it appears that my #3 deflection roller 1 is not angled properly, IE, the belt doesn't go squarely on it, the belt rides out toward the front of the car and therefore when everything rotates, the belt slides off the deflection roller causing it to then slide off the power steering pump and then the air conditioner.

The deflection roller doesn't seem to be moveable forwards and backwards, except rotation, so I don't know how to adjust it. It really appears to me like it needs to move closer to the front of the car by a shim. Also, the belt appears to be tight so I think the tensioner is working and I had to use the 24 mm socket to move it, but I'm not sure how to check for sure. When I put the socket and breaker on the 24MM bolt and turn clockwise the tensioner moves to the left, however when I release, the tensioner returns but it does not return all the way to the right, in other words if I apply pressure counterclockwise I can move the tensioner further to the right. Does this mean that the tensioner is not retracting all the way to the position it should be in and is therefore defective? I did this test without a belt on . I'm just testing the tensioner. If its properly functioning, should you be able to move it to the right by turning counterclockwise on the bolt? Anyone know the part number for the tensioner and can a person with little experience install it.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I would hate to have to pay a tow truck $150.00 to tow it it Dallas if someone has an easy fix. Does the bolt that holds the deflection roller ever bend down and cause it to get out of line, if so, do you buy a new bolt or a new roller??? How hard is that to install, can I install it using the same access I did to get to the belt, IE, only going through the front engine panel? What about the tensioner? What would you try next? I'm not very mechanical so I was proud just to get this far, but then it doesn't work. Any help would be appreciated. The picture I included with the numbers is a stock photo that everything is functioning properly. The other pictures are my actual car.

Nothing seems to be seized, everything spins, its just like its misaligned between 3, 4, and 5. Thanks,

Thanks,

Mike

Edited February 14, 2007 by Loren
cleaned up image layout

[Tool Pants]

Looks like the belt is seated on the drive pulleys.

But it looks like the belt is "walking" off this idler pulley.

Remove the belt and unbolt the pulley, and check the condition of the bearings.

[thenavarro]

THanks, I'll try it out tonight.

Mike

Looks like the belt is seated on the drive pulleys.

But it looks like the belt is "walking" off this idler pulley.

Remove the belt and unbolt the pulley, and check the condition of the bearings.

[pjslowik]

How many miles on your engine? You might be better off replacing those idlers anyway.

[jmatta]

Did you have to remove half your interior to get at the belt? What a PITA if so.

[Tool Pants]

It is not hard to replace the belt. You move the seats forward and remove the access panel.

Another thing. After I replace a belt I start the engine with the panel off to make sure the belt is seated and running true. I assumed this was done before the pictures were taken.

[jmatta]

Very cool...I love to see the hidden parts of my car that I've yet to discover. The only time I've had the engine cover off was to install the Evo Hi Flow, but it's only traveled 11k miles at this point.

[RFM]

Looks like the idler pulley (#3) is not in line, starting from the front a- cover, b- idler, c- shim(approx. 4 mm.), d- spacer.

Succes.

[thenavarro]

Jmatta,

Access to it is not hard at all, here's a good step by step. http://www.realtime.net/~rentner/Blog/B600...7809/index.html

I ended up taking it to a local shop today to see what they could do. I called Warranty Direct and they would not cover it if I tried myself, so I asked them if they would rather pay for a tow, labor and the parts as opposed to just paying for the parts if I did it, and to my surprise, they wanted the shop to do it. Oh well, hopefully I won't be out any expenses and will be driving again by this weekend. Shop said it appeared to be the upper idler pulley bearings AND the tensioner. I'll let y'all know how it turns out and how much Warranty Direct pays for. Thanks for your advice.

Mike