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Old January 25th 05, 01:22 AM
maxpower
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Alignment is the big problem, Even just a tad out will cause squealing, belt
shreading and belt falling off, especially if water or antifreeze hits it.
That will make it slide right off.
If the A/C drain sock is missing it will dump the water on it when you make
a turn and cause slippage, noises and once again, fall off. A missing drain
hose from the wiper module will dump the water on top of the belt also and
cause this.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I do not problem with the serpentine belt, idler and tensioner and
> would like to share my experience.
>
> I have a '97 Town and Country LX bought brand new, now 78,000 mile and
> still have the original serpentine belt, idler and tensioner. I noticed
> the squeaking high pitch sound from the beginning, we thought it was
> normal, because it disappeared, and came back from time to time. Now I
> knew it might depend on if it rain or not. We started to notice the
> noise got louder because it is wetter in 2004 winter in CA, hence I
> finally concluded that it is time to get a new serpentine belt after
> reading all postings on Internet.
>
> I believe that not every T&C, Caravan have the problem described here.
> There are million of Chrysler cars with similar belt/pulley design. It
> seems to me it is an alignment issue - A car would need front wheel
> alignment if the tires keep on worn out on one side of the wall.
> Similarly, if the serpentine belt keeps on slip off, putting it back
> without inspection is not a solution. Or if the belt is shredded
> repeatedly, putting a new one is not the solution either. Even a new
> idler or tensioner without realignment does not guarantee solution
> either.
> May be the real problem is it is hard to align all the elements (i.e.
> pulley) correctly or the brackets to hold them are subject to bend.
>
> Having a tensioner tool (homemade or not) and a spare serpentine belt
> in the car seems a good practice.
>
> p.s. This is unbias opinion. My job is computer related, and unrelate
> to any car company.
>
> /Steve from S.F, CA.
>



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