have 96' dakota. this thing has been one problem after another. the belt slipped off a couple days ago. I put it back on, but every time i start the truck, it slips right off again. Being car illiterate, i don't even know where to start. A couple of questions...

1. Are all of the pullys along that line supposed to spin freely when the belt is off? (engine off, spinning by hand)

2. How far can i run with no belt? would be nice to get it inside ( no garage, its cold working on the truck in the snow)

3. Does the belt stretch out after years of wear?

and 4. Should i just drive the damn thing off a cliff?

Ok, number four is just out of frustration.

Thanks for your help.

 

The water pump, power steering pump and alternator should all spin fairly free with the belt off. The a/c compressor, idler pully, and tensioner pully should all spin very free. The crankshaft pully should not spin free!!

The belt can definately stretch, but usually not by too much without snapping. It sounds to be like the tensioner spring is bad. Check all the pullys, put on a new tensioner and put on a new belt and you should be good to go.

As for how far, without the alternator spinning you'll drain the battery as it will have to power everything, and without a water pump, you'll start overheating after a few minutes. So I would say if you run it for about 5 minutes at a time and let it cool completely down, you might have a half dozen trips or so depending on the battery. Oh, and it will be very hard to steer too.

 

Ok, all the pullys act just as you said accept the water pump. I cant get it to spin. This is a problem i take it?

 

That would definately be a problem! The water pump shouldn't be much harder to spin than the power steering pump except that it has the heavy fan attached to it.

 

Ya replace the water pump. And replace the belt too. As a matter of fact I just replaced mine today.

 

cool, thanks guys. gonna try and change this water pump out. i'll let you know how it goes.

Oh yeah, anything important i need to know about changeing the water pump? cant be that difficult right?

 

Not to difficult. Just have to remove alot to get to it. Replace the bypass hose at the top. And if replace the heater tube hose O-ring.

 

As a matter of fact, yes, there is one important thing to point out... when buying the water pump, also buy a new bypass hose. It is the ~4 inch hose on top of the water pump. It usually has to be cut off! Even if it does come off easy, replace it anyway.

Otherwise, its really easy. Drain the antifreeze. Take off the a/c compressor, then the accessory bracket and push them to the side, then the water pump is right there!

 

One of these days I'm going to beat you to a post Felipe!!

 

One day!