Alright first off i have a 98 ram 1500 with a 318, 4x4 if it matters.. anyways.. im having a problem with the belt.. first off about a week about it kept just shooting off after about 10-30 seconds of idle after startup, i replaced the idler pulley, belt tensioner, and the belt is also brand new, now that ive replaced all of that, the belt doesnt just shoot off now, now it skips groves and comes off half way and hits the fan.. i cant figure this thing out and its got me frusterated.. i messed with the water pump to see if its lose or whatnot, it feels tight, the only thing i could even get a small wabble out of was the power steering pulley but i definitely dont think its enough to throw the belt like that.. for the 10-30 seconds the belt actually stays on it has a small squeak.. suggestions?!

edit: need anymore info if you have aim mine is Engl1sh F1re, if not ill keep checking back often.

 

One of the pulleys has to be out of alignment. Plus check the routing.

 

at first it looked like the tensioner was a little off compared to the rest but now i got a brand new one on there and nothing else is off.. its got me stumped, routing is correct, followed the diagram, and have it memorized now that ive put it on so many times trying to figure it out

 

Make sure the harmonic balancer pulley isn't loose or falling apart.

 

i looked at the pulleys today they all looked decent to me, i guess ill go take some pictures of the pulleys, not sure if it will help much but its worth a shot

 

you can see the belt is brand new, and the only thing that looks off at all to me is the tensioner, it looks more off in the picture though.. but all the pulleys look like they are in good shape, the edge of the belt has a little wear now from it coming off and hitting the fan, thats about it

 

The tensioner looks a little off. Maybe the bracket that holds the tensioner (also is the mount for the coil) is bent.

 

dumb question but did you wiggle the water pump with the belt off?

 

yes i tried to pull and push and wiggle it and i cant get it to budge, i got a picture kinda up on the water pump showing that it looks like its fairly new, or so it looks anyways, the tensioner i took off looked almost new too. purp ill check the mount but i dont know how it would of bent, truck drove me 1800 miles from utah to michigan just fine(aside from my lugs breaking and tire coming off on the expressway!) about a month after i got back into michigan i had a belt snap and leave me stranded, got a new one and put it on which is this one and it ran fine for another month and now im having all kinds of trouble, ill edit after i go check that mount

-- mount looks fine, didnt see no kinks or bends or anything in it, not loose at all

 

Zman, he mentioned that its a 318, Harmonic Balancer not an issue(ok call me a knitpick). But do check the torque with a torque wrench on the crank pulley bolt. Also check the AC clutch/pulley. If its locking even for a second,it will throw the belt.