Can't get serpentine belt on

hear

hear

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Ok team. Had my idler pulley grenade last week, got the new one one no sweat. Trying to get the belt on and I’m finding it EXTREMELY hard to do.

This is the same belt I’ve had on for about a year so it definitely fits. Or did, anyway. After watching some videos, seems like the recommended approach is to leave the tensioner bolts loose and route it around everything but leave the fan pulley for last, and slip it over once everything is in place.

I’ve verified the routing is right and not caught on any bolts or anything. Tensioner is free to move. But I can’t pull enough slack to get it over that last pulley. I’ve done this before successfully, what am I doing wrong this time?

The replacement idler pulley is the same size as the one I took off, so that is not the issue.
 
sorry for the edit been a while since I worked on my xj. The pulley is below the power steering pump but not the pump it's self. The bolt that tensions the idle pulley is in the bracket for the power steering pump and the tensioner pulley.
Here is a decent video of what I'm trying to say.
 
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There’s the bolt “under” the temp sender that is loose. Then the bolt in the center of the tensioner pulley (pictured, below the power steering pulley) is loose as well. It pivots freely.

Are you saying the power steering pulley itself needs to be loosened?

image.jpg
 
I literally just went through this. The new tensioner pulley I installed,

CONTINENTAL49256Belt Tensioner

made it very difficult to install the exactly the same belt I had before. In order to make it work, I installed the belt without the fan clutch in place. I can't say why it worked, but it did!

20220312_182547-jpg.jpg


Edit: Crap...I just saw that you have a '97, which is a totally different setup!
:(
 
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hear said:
There’s the bolt “under” the temp sender that is loose. Then the bolt in the center of the tensioner pulley (pictured, below the power steering pulley) is loose as well. It pivots freely.

Are you saying the power steering pulley itself needs to be loosened?

View attachment 316225
Click to expand...
Nope just the center bolt that holds the little pulley. Did you loosen the bolt bolt that moves the little/tensioner pulley. It's just above the tensioner pulley on top of the bracket just below the power steering pump.
 
That bolt is how you tension the belt. Turn it one way it loosens the belt and turn it the other way tightens it.
 
Ok yes, I’ve done all those things. I have the idler pulley below the lower steering pump loose. I can make the thing travel along that slot. And I have the LONG bolt loosened as well. If I loosen it any more it’s going to unthread.

I have no earthly idea how I got this belt on before because it ain’t going on now. If I didn’t know any better I’d say it somehow shrank. Shrunk? Shrinkd’d?
 
That’s as close as I can humanly get it. I won’t need the damn tensioner if I ever get it on there. Maybe that’s why the idler bearing blew up.

F901AFF1-F9C2-4E14-94FC-C840F5967AFE.jpeg


D9E6846F-844F-46F7-A22E-FBED3B66A674.jpeg
 
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How long is the belt or what part number is it?

I have a 97 if you want pictures.

I've swapped my belt, one of the idler pulleys...note that sometimes the grooves fill with debris...rubber...I had to dental pick out a couple of pulleys.

-Mac
 
macleanflood said:
How long is the belt or what part number is it?
Click to expand...

It's a Gates K060910, 91-5/8" OC, 2329mm. It's the same length as the old one, which I saved as a trail backup.

Anyway, after another 90 minutes of cursing at it, I finally got it on. I ended up slipping it over the idler pulley last, although I tried that early on. I also tried a slightly longer belt off a 99 Cherokee I happened to have, but it was too long and wouldn't tension. I will add that even with the "right" belt, the tensioner pulley isn't "tensioned in" as far as I remember.

But it's on, not squealing, alternator charging, etc. I don't feel like the tensioner pulley was the limiting factor in getting this on, which is surprising, but whatevs.
 
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I had a 97 TJ like yours. When you loosen the big bolt holding the idler pulley below the power steering pump and use the long adjustment screw to move the idler pulley all the way down the belt will be loose enough to easily fit over the pulleys. I did that several times in the years and never had an issue.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
I had a 97 TJ like yours. When you loosen the big bolt holding the idler pulley below the power steering pump and use the long adjustment screw to move the idler pulley all the way down the belt will be loose enough to easily fit over the pulleys. I did that several times in the years and never had an issue.
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It was all the way at the end of it's travel in the slot, and was not at all impacting the ability to get the belt on. The belt needed another 1/2" of length and it would've gone on easily and tensioned easily. I mean, I got it on initially w/o any issue, so SOMETHING is different.

I did verify the part # on RockAuto, although I don't really have any way of validating that what was in the box is the correct model, other than that it's the same length as the one I took off.
 
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hear said:
It was all the way at the end of it's travel in the slot, and was not at all impacting the ability to get the belt on. The belt needed another 1/2" of length and it would've gone on easily and tensioned easily. I mean, I got it on initially w/o any issue, so SOMETHING is different.

I did verify the part # on RockAuto, although I don't really have any way of validating that what was in the box is the correct model, other than that it's the same length as the one I took off.
Click to expand...
I just went through the very same thing in the fall when I replaced both idler wheels. The only way I was able to get it on was to have the belt almost over the PS pulley and my daughter just click the key to kick it on while coerst it with a board. It wasn't fun. I have replaced belts before but never had any issues. I even checked to make sure the pulleys or wheels were the same diameter and the belt the same. I really hate the older design of tightening up the belts.
 
hear said:
It was all the way at the end of it's travel in the slot, and was not at all impacting the ability to get the belt on. The belt needed another 1/2" of length and it would've gone on easily and tensioned easily. I mean, I got it on initially w/o any issue, so SOMETHING is different.

I did verify the part # on RockAuto, although I don't really have any way of validating that what was in the box is the correct model, other than that it's the same length as the one I took off.
Click to expand...
Did you compare the pulley sizes? I went thru the same issue last summer when I overhauled my cooling system. The Idler pulley was larger in diameter. I ended up going back to the dealer to get the correct one.
 
williambmac said:
Did you compare the pulley sizes? I went thru the same issue last summer when I overhauled my cooling system. The Idler pulley was larger in diameter. I ended up going back to the dealer to get the correct one.
Click to expand...
Yes, put my calipers on it before I ordered, and stacked them on top of each other to verify the size.
 
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