hi Scotty,I love your YouTube channel,I watch it all the time,and have learned a few things on cars from watching you.my question today,is regarding my 2007 dodge caliber sxt 2.0L.the belt seems to wear out prematurely,and I have to replace it like every 4 or 5 months,and every time I have to install a new belt,it's very difficult.i have replaced serpentine belts in other vehicles,and I know that when I turn the tensioner,to release tension on the belt to remove it,it should have some slack to be able to remove and install a new belt,but that's not the case on this vehicle.when I try to install a new one,I release all of the tension,on the belt,by turning the tensioner clockwise,all the way,but it's still very difficult to get it into the pulleys.is it possible for a tensioner to go bad in a way that it's applying too much tension to the belt to make it wear out prematurely.ive never had this problem before with other vehicles,or am I missing something?all the pulleys are in good shape,not bent or broken or anything.any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated...keep up the good work,and looking forward to your next video.... {pear}:happy:
Are you hearing squealing or squeaking noises when the engine is running? Too much tension on the belt will wear it out prematurely- there's more friction than there should be. Typically squealing, etc is evidence of it.
The 15 year old tensioner would be suspect, as well as just about every pulley on the fan belt circuit. Pulleys can look fine, but their bearings can be wearing internally. That wear will cause excess tension because there's more resistance to the belt spinning the pulley. It will start to slide around the pulley, like a skidding tire, rather than rotating the pulley, like a rolling wheel. Check the individual pulleys by spinning them and trying to wiggle them up and down/side-to-side. They should spin freely and have no play. Any grinding, binding, or looseness means that pulley is no good.
