[jcb1100]

Long story short: 1997 Grand Prix 3.8 NA, 116,000 miles. Recently, my belt tensioner pulley melted and was replaced. I kept the old belt, since it looked okay. I noticed that the belt would overhang the tensioner pulley by about 1/8 inch (toward the passenger side wheel well), no matter where I put it on the pulley. I did some searching and didn't see any similar posts. The tensioner seemed to move smoothly through its range, and all the other pulleys seemed to be in alignment and moving freely. The gap between the tensioner and block was uniform.

Today, the old belt shredded, so I got a new one. It also overhangs the tensioner pulley by about 1/8 inch.

Did the belt overhang contribute to the shredding, or was it just time for a new belt? Will the overhang cause the new belt to shred? Is there a looming problem with the tensioner itself?

Thanks for any insight you might provide. I have to drive a long way and I'd rather not get stranded.

Also, the NAPA gut asked if I needed a "first" or "second" version of the belt. Apparently the later one is 1/2 inch longer. I saw nothing on here about different versions for the non-supercharged engine.