[hartatak13]

so my alternator went out like clock work again @ 85000 miles. (they go out every 40-45000. i had the alternator, the tranny mount, and the big round motor mount replaced all at the same time. After driving the car for about 2 days i popped the hood to check the fluids and noticed the serpentine belt was pretty close to snapping. i figured oh well, it was the original belt it was probably due to be replaced anyways. so i get it replaced, and drive the car for about a week and BAM serpentine belt breaks and wraps around the side motor mount and destroys the rubber cushions on it. i take it back to the shop that did the alternator and explain to them that this problem did not exist before the alternator was done. they look over everything and replace the mount and belt under warranty. i drive the car for another week and pop the hood to check on everything, and the 5 groove serpentine belt is now a 4 groove belt one edge of the belt was completely gone! i took it back to the shop, they looked at it and basically said "thats odd" and replaced the belt under warranty again. on my way home from work THE VERY NEXT DAY, SNAP!, belt broken, stuck on the side of the freeway. pissed.took it back to the same shop told them i dont want the car back till the problem is fixed along with some french words that will go unmentioned. they then proceed to tell me that my tensioner need to be replaced and they wont charge me for labor, i ask why it took them 3x to find a bad tensioner along with some more french. i agreed to let them replace the tensioner. later that day after they finished i get a call from them telling me that they have bad news. they were running the car to make sure everything was fine and the belt jumped off AGAIN! So now they're telling me i need a power steering pump because the bearing in the pump has worn out (no power steering issues with the car AT ALL) and the pulley has too much play in it causing the belt to jump. ive explained to them that the belt isnt jumping off its BREAKING. Its a 2003 ford focus zx3 2.0 zetec auto, a/c 85,500 mi. has anyone had anything like this even remotely similar happen to them? i seriously regret not taking the car to the ford dealer in the first place but live and learn i guess.[wrenchin][rant]

 

[Vexorg]

My serpentine belt made it 128K miles and still looked healthy. yeah... I couldn't believe it. I changed it anyway.

How's your tensioner? in the Serpentine belt path it's good to spin all the pulleys you can to be sure they spin smooth and true.

 

[iminhell]

A belt jumping off is a misalignment issue.
A belt snapping is almost always a heat issue ,,, which is often times a pulley not turning. Which begs the question of which pulley can seize and not make any noise? The Accessory Belt Idler is the only pulley that can do this.

Look at the old belt, better yet take a picture and post it here so I can see it.
If the belt lays on the floor and wants to curl, it's a sure sign a pulley is seized. The heat causes the belt to curl.

If the belt doesn't curl, I'd say it looks broke because something caught it and broke it after it jumped off.


A bearing, weather it be alternator, water pump, A/C or Power Steering will make noise ... screeching.
But the Power Steering Pulley is press fit. Which means a new pulley may be needed if it is infact loose.

Here is what it looks like:

and the guts of the pump:

The hex that looks like it might come out, doesn't. Its a threaded hole that is used for the pulley removal tool, which is a cullet and a bolt. The cullet fits over the ridge on the pulley, the bolt threads into the hole and as you turn the bolt in it puts opposing pressure on the pulley to remove it.

The kicker here is that you have to get the pump above the frame rail which almost requires removing the pump. So if you have to remove the pump why not just replace it as the shop recommends. The cost difference isn't that great and it saves them a big headache.


And being the shop has been very kind to you thus far, I would say they aren't trying to screw you over. They simply didn't take the time I have to explain all the how's and why's. They simply told you the best route that is simplest for them and you.