My 97 Ram 1500 belt has been making noises for a few days, bought a Duralast belt monday it pretty much stopped then got really bad like something hitting the fan, I noticed the belt was slightly off track about a quarter inch on the bottom pulley, I readjusted it and when I started it up it slipped off again like it was and split the belt, I put the old belt back on being careful to make sure it was on correct and it did the same thing, slipping off on the bottom pulley, I loosened the belt, put it back in place, same thing as soon as I started it up, it slipped off track.
Any ideas? How to fix this?

 

Welcome to DF!

Make sure the pulley is clean, and that all the pulleys are lined up. Something ain't quite right there.

 

You mean the damper pulley? Is the tensioner pulling the belt tight? Any worn bearings in the tensioner, idler or water pump?

 

The original harmonic balancer on my 1997 went bad, the rubber was coming apart causing the pulley to wobble, making the belt squeak. Might check your harmonic balancer too.

 

What he said

 

The tensioner feels like its pulling the belt tight. I took the belt off checked all the pulleys, none are loose and seem to be okay.