looks like the tensioner is new.
when i said out of alignment. i was talking about the two pieces of the tensioner itself. what happens is they wear out over time. then the gap between the piece that the pulley is on and the piece that bolts to the block is not the same. it will be wide on one side and narrow on the other side. this will **** the pulley and make the belt want to "walk off" one of the other pulleys cutting it down a bit each time it goes around.
it is possible the lower pulley is the culprit, that is a lot of movement in/out.

 

That movement is a bit much but, I would think that if everything else was aligned perfectly the grooves in the belt would help keep the power steering pump pulley running pretty straight with the others since it moves in and out so easily. does any other component look like it has been replaced recently? Could they possibly have the wrong pulley on them? I've replaced alternators before and gotten the wrong pulley and had to put my old one on it. Just a thought

 

More pictures of the tensioner. It feels pretty damn solid.

 

I just noticed that the power steering pulley has some of the old belts residue or some type of gunk in between the "rails/teeth".

 

Hmm, maybe the combination of it shifting and blocking the belt from sinking all the way down is a bad combo. Its probably making it hard for the belt to stay in play. But that belt was damn tight in there. Hard to believe that these 2 issues could push the belt to the side. Still wondering if theres something else, but i cant find any other problems.

 

That build up would contribute to the belt tensioner hopping around like in your video. Good place to start

 

I wiggled the power steering pully for 10seconds and walked away. Came back and there was a drop on the cardboard thats on the floor.

I guess the wiggle made it leak. It wasnt leaking before and the van hasnt been running since yesterday.

So if theres a seal, its broken and possible causing that wiggle room?

 

Power steering pumps have quite a bit of in and out movement. I got a 89 460 that has run with a rib gone for years. It doesn't appear to hurt it and if I replace it it will do it again in 10-15 miles. It is an alignment issue. Had one do it after a water pump replacement had to change pump again to fix it. Pulley mount wasn't on far enough.

 

I put the tensioner back, but... how exactly do i apply tension to slip in the other belt??

 

ah i found it. i used a 15mm socked wrench.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...non-turbo.html

Took me 10-15min to go around the belt and line everything up. Then used a inch thick (hollow) pipe about 2ft long to give me more leverage. Belt installed. The belt feels MUCH better (tension wise) than the other one did.

Even though i still have a bad powersteering pump, I can at least take it to my mechanics shop and fix the power steering pump since its now leading a bit and its loose. Also, the day the belt started ripping (2days ago) about 2miles prior, I felt the powersteering give out for half a second, 3x.

 

Ok. I ran the truck this morning. Belt seems to be pretty lined up. I removed the gunk from the power steering pulley.

One big difference is the tension of the belt, it feels more loose, but in a good way. I was surprised that it was extremely tight before. I dont know how that happened other than: 1. The gunk removed (from 3 pulleys but mainly power steering) allowed the belt to sink in more, giving it more room to breathe. 2. When I removed and re installed the belt tensioner, I might have installed it a little "looser" by accident? I just put it back and tightened that 1 bolt, but maybe there was a microscopic difference? Who knows. and 3. Maybe this belt was from a different brand? I dont remember what brand the one from last week was.

Other than that, i have no explanation. It seems pretty aligned.

 

One should always clean serpentine pulleys with belt replacement.

Ensure all pulleys are clean and de-glazed with a scotch bright pad or fine sand paper.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Glad it's working properly! Those little problems can be frustrating

 

Well, the belt shredded again about 2 days ago. Replaced it asap since we were on a job and had to summon my powers (15min replacement).

I can see the side of the belt showing little thread again. This will be the 4th belt in the last month.

I noticed that when I do a throttle quick release while driving, it squeaks. Maybe this is the problem?

I have no idea what to do. if i take it to a mechanic, they will say its fine since technically if you watch it, even for 1hr straight, it looks perfectly normal. Can't blame them. But something is obviously going on. I dont know if this video is related to this mysterious belt issue, but i don't know what it could possible be at this point.

 

If you could have someone working the pedal while you got your head under the hood you could probably narrow it down