Drive Belt-Misalignment

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2003 Mercury Sable and 2003 Ford Taurus. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

CAUTION: Incorrect drive belt installation will cause excessive drive belt wear and may cause the drive belt to come off the drive pulleys.

NOTE: Original equipment drive belts are made of a special cord construction and are subjected to special testing before they are approved for use.

Replacement drive belts, other than OEM, may track differently/incorrectly. If a replacement drive belt tracks incorrectly, a new OEM drive belt should be installed to avoid performance failure or loss of drive belt during cold operation.

With the engine running, check drive belt tracking (the position of the drive belt on one of the grooveless pulleys, idlers or drive belt tensioner. If the edge of the drive belt rides beyond the edge of the pulley, noise and premature wear may result). If a drive belt tracking condition exists, visually check the drive belt tensioner for damage, especially the mounting pad surface. If the drive belt tensioner is not installed correctly with the locating pins in the locating holes, the mounting surface pad will be out of position. This will result in abnormal drive belt tension and chirp and squeal noises.

If the above procedures do not correct the drive belt noise, try installing a new drive belt. However, the drive belt noise may return (with mileage) if one of the above conditions still exists uncorrected.

With engine running, visually observe the grooves in the pulleys (not the pulley flanges) for excessive wobble. Install new components as necessary.
Check all accessories, mounting brackets and drive belt tensioner, for any interference that would prevent the component from mounting correctly. Correct any interference condition and recheck belt tracking.
Tighten all accessories, mounting brackets and drive belt tensioner retaining hardware to specification. Recheck drive belt tracking.