I recently replaced the alternator on my 97 Ram 1500. Since then I've had issues with the belt shredding. Can anyone point me in the direction of what might cause this.

Thanks

 

What condition was the belt in when you replaced the alternator? Was the belt on/aligned correctly with the others?

 

It's a was a decent belt about 2 years old. The backside of the belt closest to the engine is starting to cut. I guess that means it is somehow riding up on the pulleys?

I checked all the pulleys and they seem fine. Spin ok and no wobble, except for the fan pulley. That was a little wobble in it. Should it be tight? If so how do you tighten it?

 

You replace the water pump. Is it leaking???

Are all the pulleys aligned properly??

 

I replaced the alternator. All the pulleys are aligned and tight with exception to the fan one. That has a little wobble in it. Would that cause the belt to ride up on the power steering pulley and start to cut it?

Can I tighten the fan pulley? Or does that wobble mean the bearing is going out on it?

 

If the fan pulley is wobbling, the water pump bearings are likely the issue. Time for a new water pump. That should also alleviate your belt shearing issue. The water pump may also be leaking a bit out of the weep hole at the bottom of the water pump snout. I'd be surprised if the water pump bearings aren't making some noise..

 

This same thing happened to me just a few months ago with my 2001 5.2 l. There was not even a perceived wobble in any of the pulleys but the belt kept walking forward and getting cut by the front of the pulley. I finally reached down and double checked the tightness of each pulley with the belt off and the water pump pulley with the fan on it was wobbly. I replaced the water pump and no more issues and it was not even leaking yet.

 

IME it's not entirely unreasonable for a fan clutch to have a little play, and you have a relatively large amount of leverage on it with a fan blade.

So just make sure the observed play is at the pulley and not the clutch itself.