serpentine belt

[alyssa9390]

so i have a '92 buick century and with in the last... 2-4 months i have replaced at least 5 belts. Not only replacing them but at least once every two weeks the belt falls off. Doesn't strip nor brake just falls off. I have had a couple people look at it and i was told that it was the tensioner pully or the tensioner assembly.... i'll probably take it in to see if thats what it is.. 'cause other than that theres nothing wrong with my car.. just the damn belt.. and shit i'm a female and i can put it on in about a min without looking at the diagram..

i was wondering though, is this common with old buicks/ or even buicks in general or is it just mine?? And or what else it could be....

[BNaylor]

Welcome to AF.

The tensioner assembly would be a good starting point.

[alyssa9390]

thanks

mmkay.. so it isn't possible that this is common in the make of buick that i drive.. or is it?

and i know that the tensioner assembly is different from the tensioner pully but.. why is it more likley to be the assembly then the actually pullly? the assembly new is $150.00 and the pully is only $30 so thats why i'm so curious..

[BNaylor]

Which engine do you have...2.5L L4 or the 3.3L V6?

I don't believe it is a common problem but the tensioners do wear out based on age and mileage. You can test the tensioner to see if it is working properly. The tensioner pulley should be part of the tensioner assembly. You can inspect the tensioner pulley to make sure it is not damaged, spins freely and lines up with other pulleys (water pump, power steering, crankshaft balancer, air conditioner compressor, etc.) in the drive belt system.

Is the $150 a quote from a GM dealer or aftermarket from an auto parts store?

[wrightz28]

Originally Posted by bnaylor

spins freely and lines up with other pulleys (water pump, power steering, crankshaft balancer, air conditioner compressor, etc.) in the drive belt system.

Agreed, alsocheck all the other pulleys for proper free operation to make sure the tensionser is not a victim of a pulley binding. Another remote possibilty is the chance that at one point too small of belt was installed (this would cause a water pump bearing failure often at times tho)

[alyssa9390]

3.3L V6

and the price is from an auto parts store..

i do haev a lot of miles on my car also so that would make sense.. another thing.. someone mentioned the air conditioner compressor and that maybe when i'm using my air conditioning it isn't working right therefor throwing the belt off ? i think...

how does my air conditioning have anything to do with my belt falling off?

[wrightz28]

If the clutch is seized in the engaged postion, it's lowering your rpms and straining the belt wich would be a condition I described.