The serpentine belt on My '97 Ford Explorer broke apart while driving. I pulled over immediately and got to work on fixing it. I noticed the Idler was bent so I bought a new belt and idler. The Idler wheel was busted but it didn't mess up the bolt so that was an easy fix. I noticed after putting in the new belt that the tensioner wouldn't hold the tension so I bought a new one to replace it. I installed the new tensioner, even though it fit slightly differently than the old one. I was assured after going back to the auto parts store, that it was correct.

The car turns on now and sounds fine, but I can barely turn the wheel. I have no idea what to do.

Could the generator wheel, crankshaft pulley, or something else that has the serpentine belt attached to it need to be replaced as well? What should I do next?

 

There should be a belt routing diagram either on the hood or the radiator cover piece.
Make sure you routed the belt correctly around all the pulleys.
There is also the possibility the power steering pump has quit working. First double check the belt routing.

 

Thanks Hanky.

The belt is routed correctly. I did see the diagram under the hood and double checked online to make sure. I removed the belt and spun each pulley by hand to see if any didn't work. Every one spun except the Crankshaft Pulley.

Could that be the problem or would it still be the power steering pump? How would I check the power steering pump to know if it's working incorrectly? If that is the problem, how hard is that to fix?

 

The idler came apart/broke causing the orginal belt to shread? Or,, did the old belt cause the idler failure? if you can tell..

Did you match up the replacement idler diameter to the original? Depending on brand, sometimes even replaced by specific application, aftemarket sometimes differ. Same with a tensioner.. Who's replacement parts did you use?

When a seemingly small repair turns into a head scratcher using aftermarket, I tend to be suspect of the non OE replacements.. Not all are cause, but I've seen my share of 'by application' parts that are not direct fit and cause problems...

Tensioner fit 'slightly different',, how so?

 

I believe the belt caused the idler fail. It shredded and it looks like it came off it's track and screwed up the idler.

The idler diameter is the same so I'm not worried about that part.

I went into another auto parts store today and asked them about the belt and tensioner. On the back of the previous tensioner the notch was in a different place. While the tensioner looks slightly different, they said it is the correct one. They did tell me the belt is wrong though. Hopefully replacing this new belt will solve all my problems. I'll let you know.

Thanks for the help.

 

The verdict is in...it was the wrong belt. The young fella at the auto parts store never quite had the confidence I was expecting when telling me about what part I should have. Now I know that was for a reason.

I picked up a new belt from a competitor yesterday. It was tough to put on. Required a friend to help me out, but the car is running fine now. The only final thing, is now the "Check Engine" light is on. I don't know if that's a common occurrence when you do this kind of repair and the guys at a shop simply know where to turn it off, or if there's a potential alternate problem. Is this common? If so, where do I turn off the light?

 

Glad it was an easier fix..

Try disconnecting the battery, or pull the PCM fuse.. See if the code/lamp clears.