98 Sunfire 2.4L eating serpentine belts

[SLCraig]

Anyone ever heard/seen this before?
I'm asking on a friend's behalf.

Car is a 98 Sunfire GT with the 2.4 engine.

We replaced a bad alternator last year and noticed the belt was hanging on by mere threads. Just assumed it was original and replaced it. About a year passes. Belt looks pretty much the same today. We're gonna replace it again as its pretty much finished again, but something has to be causing this. I haven't touched the belt on my Saturn since I got it a year and a half ago and it doesn't look any different when it did then.

I'm wondering if one of the accessories like the alternator or power steering or compressor is not mounted straight. It shouldn't be an issue from our alternator replacement since the belt was bad even before it was changed.

Thoughts?

 

[SAATR]

Quite a few possibilities here:

1. Belt tensioner arm, pulley, or idler pulley are binding and putting excessive load on the belt, causing failure.

2. Pulleys are out of alignment.

3. Plastic power steering pump pulley is chipped, cracked, or has sharp edges and is shredding the belt, which heat and cold cycling and stress only exacerbate.

Cheap belts will only disintegrate faster in such conditions, so buy a quality Gates, Dayco, Continental, or Goodyear belt.

 

[40Deluxe]

I would say bad tensioner

 

[Lethal1ty17]

tensioner is the most likely culprit

 

[SaturnIonVue]

My first thought in reading this is to wonder if the belt and the pully actually match up with each other. I had a similar situation some years ago with a replacement alternator that did not match up with the ribbed belt and would not really fit or run correctly. It looked and ran on the pully OK, but over time it would wear the ribbed belt out. On checking closer the belt and the pully were different with respect to the number of grooves on the belt and the number of grooves on the pully!

It could be too, that the replacement alternator might be slightly different with respect to how it bolts up and therefore not be properly aligned. Even just a few miliimeters off center could cause what you are seeing. Just thinking.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: 40Deluxe
I would say bad tensioner


I'm going off memory because obviously buddy's car is not in front of me, but I believe the tensioner has a smooth pulley on it.

I believe the compressor/ps/alternator are ribbed pulleys.

Only thing I can think of is the number of grooves on something is different, but I will have to see the car again. The belt was wearing badly like this even before the alternator change.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: SAATR
Quite a few possibilities here:

1. Belt tensioner arm, pulley, or idler pulley are binding and putting excessive load on the belt, causing failure.

2. Pulleys are out of alignment.

3. Plastic power steering pump pulley is chipped, cracked, or has sharp edges and is shredding the belt, which heat and cold cycling and stress only exacerbate.

Cheap belts will only disintegrate faster in such conditions, so buy a quality Gates, Dayco, Continental, or Goodyear belt.



One of these...I'm guessing 2 or 3. Happen on a friend's old 99, and it was #2.

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: Lethal1ty17
tensioner is the most likely culprit


+1 on the tensioner. I replace them every time I replace a serpintine belt on our vehicle. They do wear out.

Also be sure that belt is the right one for your vehicle. Some auto part stores will sell you the wrong belt if they do not have the right one in stock.

 

[Oldwolf]

I have one of those engines and believe it or not you can put the belt on incorrectly and it will still drive all the accessories. Make sure you have it on the way the manual states. Other than that it is odd the belts are self destructing. All the pulleys except for the tensioner are ribbed iirc. Sometimes the grooves can get filled with dirt and grime maybe accelerating wear. I take a wire brush now and then to clean the grooves of the pulleys out. This especially helps when you get that squeaky belt sound now and then.

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: SAATR
Quite a few possibilities here:

3. Plastic power steering pump pulley is chipped, cracked, or has sharp edges and is shredding the belt, which heat and cold cycling and stress only exacerbate.


Power steering pump is driven direct from the camshaft on this engine...

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: SAATR
Quite a few possibilities here:

1. Belt tensioner arm, pulley, or idler pulley are binding and putting excessive load on the belt, causing failure.

2. Pulleys are out of alignment.

3. Plastic power steering pump pulley is chipped, cracked, or has sharp edges and is shredding the belt, which heat and cold cycling and stress only exacerbate.

Cheap belts will only disintegrate faster in such conditions, so buy a quality Gates, Dayco, Continental, or Goodyear belt.



One of these...I'm guessing 2 or 3. Happen on a friend's old 99, and it was #2.


I am also guessing 2 based on only a quick glance last time I saw the car. If I'm unable to tell by the naked eye, got any help as to which accessory was the problem on your friends car?

 

[StevieC]

Check for a pully that isn't on the crank/cam shaft far enough in like it should be and sticking out and causing the belt to ride slight sideways and not straight up/down in perfect alignment.

I have seen this happen a number of vehicles.

If that checks out then I would go with tensioner as well.

Does it tend to wear faster from left to right or right to left or evenly throughout the belt? This could help determine the problem.

Steve

 

[Cutehumor]

well, when I replaced the OEM alternator in my 96 sunfire circa 2001. I broke the tensioner getting the OEM serpentine belt off with a craftsman wrench. I guess I "sprung" it too much. You may have damaged the tensioner somehow. is your friend's tensioner original?

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
well, when I replaced the OEM alternator in my 96 sunfire circa 2001. I broke the tensioner getting the OEM serpentine belt off with a craftsman wrench. I guess I "sprung" it too much. You may have damaged the tensioner somehow. is your friend's tensioner original?


I doubt he will know, he has only had the car since sometime in early 2009. I will see if I can tell what the state of the tensioner is. I will be helping him with this repair...

 

[SAATR]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: SAATR
Quite a few possibilities here:

3. Plastic power steering pump pulley is chipped, cracked, or has sharp edges and is shredding the belt, which heat and cold cycling and stress only exacerbate.


Power steering pump is driven direct from the camshaft on this engine...


Oh, mea culpa! Been a while since I've had to lay hands on a Twin Cam, and I had forgotten that they (like the Ecotec) have a direct drive PS pump.