Car eats belts... Help!

[LabRat3K]

Changed my serpentine belt over the weekend and now the car eats belts. Within a few miles of driving the ribbed side will be worn down smooth and even (the back and sides are fine). I’ve checked and rechecked the belt routing and I don’t see any obvious obstructions.

Only thing I can figure is that the problem is in the belt tensioner. (It’s the only thing I touched, plus, it has over 100K on it.) But even that doesn’t make complete sense considering the side the belt is wearing on. Could a bad tensioner cause something like this? Anyone ever experience anything like this or have any ideas? Thanks in advance! ... 3.4L btw.

[chazz]

Check your belt pulleys carefully make sure they're not damaged in any way or loose or wobbling,if they look OK then try a different brand belt.

[MustangEater8251]

Triple check by the pwoer steering pump!

Soem oether members ahve ahd problems during installation that it pops off and hangs on the little ridnge jsut outside the pulley.

Every tiem I install my belt I see that it somehow makes its way over the little ridge I am tlaking off.

[LabRat3K]

Thanks guys. Turns out it was the tensioner -– it was putting too much resistance at the point where the belt passes to the crankshaft pulley. Guess it was going bad and I sent it over the edge when I changed the belt.