Serpentine Belt, what the heck is the problem Options

[Tru_Pol]

Ok so last month my serpentine belt started to go. So I went and got a new one. Since then I cannot not keep the belt tensioned and it will start to squell. I keep having to loosen the bold on the Alt and putting tension on the belt then tighten it done. Last week I ended up snapping the bolt and ran to the store to buy a new bolt. This week (today) it started to squell bad I made it a mile and it stoped, about 3 miles later my engine was smoking. Had to turn around and drive home only to find out the belt snapped in half, from the pully turning it and not turning the belt it burned it in half, and becouse my water pump and everything else was not turning the top of my radiour (sp?) blew off. Now when I replace the belt (again) what do I need to do to make sure it done not get loose, I mean I crack the heck out of the bolt and it does not last.
Im going to replace the radiour and all the pipes too!

What a mess!

Jason

[Rjb23]

Ok let me see if I can explain this better.

On the top of your alternator there is a bolt that holds the alternator in place. On the bottom of the alternator this a longer bolt perpendicular to the one on top, the bolt on the bottom is used to put tighten or loosen the belt, the one on top of the alternator is used to hold the tension on the belt once the proper tension is put on the belt. The one on the bottom you will see pretty easy, its the long one that is connected to the block on the slider bracket. It has been a while since I have done one about a year or so, but there should also be a bolt that holds the block in the slider bracket in place. So basically loosen the top alternator bolt, then the one in the slider bracket, then you can adjust the tension on the belt using the long adjusting bolt. Once you have it tight enough, you should be able to push down on the belt fairly hard and move it about an half inch, tighten the other bolts back up and that should be it.

If you still can't figure this out, go to an auto parts store get one of the manuals off the shelf and look in it. You really need to get a manual anyway if your gonna do this kinda stuff.