Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

Cannot put on replacement. I have turned the tensioner nut all the way to the stopper and it still does not go on. The old one came off easy, but that one will not go on also. HELP! I need my truck to get to work. Is there a special tool I need or trick of the trade.
Thanks to anyone who can help.

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

Have you compared the length of the old one against the length of the new one? Is the new one routed properly?

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

Yes, they are exactly the same. Just about 1/4 inch to short to put back on. Both of them are the same way.

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

Are ya sure the belt is centered in each pulley and not riding on an outer edge which would cause the belt to appear too short? Are the ribs on the belt dropping into the grooves on each pulley?

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

I have notice other people in these threads have had the same situation. One person used a longer belt than the original manufacture reccomended. I had two individuals helping me, we worked on it for about two hours. Followed all the haynes a book directions. Still no go. Very odd.

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

Thanks for your help cowboy. I am going back out there and trying the old belt again. If that does not work, then $120 to the shop. If anyone has this same problem. Let me know what can be done.

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

Very odd indeed, esp if the replacement is EXACTLY the same length as the old and the routing/seating is correct. Never heard of this before myself.

Not a fun thought, but as a last ditch effort yank the tensioner or the pulley, locate the belt around it and reinstall the tensioner/pulley. Myself, I'd be cussing if I had to do that though. Also, I've never heard of anyone having to do this before; it was just a thought.

My 4.0L has a spot to insert a 3/8 drive ratchet in it to give some extra leverage on the tensioner during belt replacement, however, I was able to to the job with just hand force. I assume that if you have this provision, you've found it and tried it by now.

Also, you might wanna post the year and engine in the rig and weather or not it has a/c.

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

If your tuck still one or Advance Autoparts and they can cross reference and get you the right belt. If your Ranger has the 3.0L V6 then it could have one of two engines, the flex fuel engine or the regular gas engine. I believe they both take a totally different belt. Good luck. And if the Ford # is not on it, then if there is a part number on it they should still be able to cross reference it at the auto auto parts store. Again Good luck.

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

figured it out. Purchased the belt from Pep Boys. They do not fit correctly(the part number was correct in their system). The belts are too small. 1/4 inch. Lesson to everyone why you should buy manufacture parts rather than aftermarket. Same thing happened with the PCV valve. Ford part slips on like a charm.

Ford Ranger 99 serpentine belt
 

Bumping this thread.

I recently had to switch out the belt in my 99 v6 Ford Ranger w/ac and found that the part listed on several sites was for a 6 rib 88.25 inches belt.

I had the similar problem as the original poster, and went so far as to order from several different retailers. none of the belts worked. I even called ford themselves and they recommend the same 88.25inch belt. I bought from them, and still no go. Too tight and not possible to fit on the car without a dangerous amount of pressure (risking breaking the tensioner pulley).

So, I searched the net and this thread came up, which validated my concerns that the recommended belt is too short. I did my own investigation and found that the correct belt for a 1999 v6 Ford Ranger is 89.5 inches long, NOT 88.25. So, went to a nearby retailer, and asked for the Gatorback that was 89.5 inches long, and the belt fit like a glove. No problem installing. Went on in 2 minutes tops. Just enough slack when I moved the tensioner to put it on, and a nice and snug fit when I let the tensioner go.

So, this response may be 7 years after the original poster started the thread, but in the case that someone else out there reads this, just like I did, be sure to get the 89.5 inch belt. I just checked several online retailers today and all of them STILL incorrectly list the 88.25 belt. So, if you're going in for a belt change, don't let your mechanic put this belt on, because not only will it not fit, but it will end up wearing out your idler and tensioner (which can cause that familiar chirping noise from your engine).

Not sure about your name cookieshoes, but glad you brought this back up. I need to do mine and just have not gotten around to it. This probably saved me A BUNCH of headache. Figure to try to proper belt first just to be sure, but will go with the longer belt as a backup. The lengths are such good info!

Thanks for the heads up and welcome to FTE!
Great first post. :-X22

I hate getting old, but I need some clarification. Is the 89.5" belt for the 4.0 or just the V-6 in general? :confused:

Rog

First post is reviving an old thread.

My alt went out today and I was able to remove it and replace it with no issues....except one. The belt wouldn't go back on. Cranked the tensioner pulley to the max and the belt was too tight to fit around pulleys. I checked and rechecked the alignment of the belt and it was all good. Tried going over the alt pulley and tried to push the belt under the idler pulley to no avail.

Now the truck is sitting in a parking lot until tomorrow. There is very little on this topic on the web. I found this thread and thought maybe I could get some help. Is this only a problem when you have a non-OEM tensioner? All the belts listed seem to show 88.25". It makes sense that a longer belt would fit, but why so few posts about it? I would think that if it was widespread, we could find more info about it. The shop that replaced my tensioner last year got this belt on. They had to have pried it on.

Any thoughts?

thanks!

Welcome to FTE.

Sounds like the replacement alternator has a larger diameter pully on it, if using the same belt & it now won't go back on.

If the replacement alternator pully is the same dia, are you certain you have the correct length serp belt (see post #10) & your first laying the belt correctly on all the walled pullys, then relaxing the belts tension by moving the tensioner, so you can lastly slip the smooth backside of the serp belt onto the walless idler pully????

Update>

My belt was a Gates 882. I went to the parts shop and had them bring out two belts that were bigger. They showed the 883 and the 888. The 888 had a length of 89.5" so I went with it. Fit like a glove (as OP says). This time I was able to route the belt as usual then slip down under the smooth idler pulley. The tensioner keep the belt tight as there is no slipping or squealing.

I will never know at this point, but my guess (as pawpaw guessed)is that the alt pulley was bigger that than the OEM alt pulley, causing the belt to be too short.

So, for now, this case is closed. Hopefully this thread will continue to save Ranger owners some stress in the future as it did for me. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

OK, good find, fix, feedback & to hear your "on the road again"!!!!

Tell me if everybody already knows this, but when putting on a serpentine belt, fit the belt into all the groves in the pulleys and leave the smooth sided tensioner or idler as the last item. With the tensioner all the way released, the belt will slide over the smooth sided pulley last.

Glad to see this thread up and running. So whats the verdict- 88.25 is a mis -labeled/mis-match and the 89.5 belt is the correct one? My belt needs changing so I popped on here to find this thread. Mine is a 4.0, does that matter? This is my first belt change so it looks like it just slips over the fan?

The origional poster had a 99 3.0L Vulcan, so this thread doesn't apply to your 4.0L & yes it matters which part number you use on your 4.0L.
I'm using a Dayton poly cog on the Ranger & Taurus, both have out lasted the OEM belt & run quieter. I've also heard good things about the GoodYear Gatorback belts.

Make note of how the belt is routed, if the underhood diagram at the radiator support is missing.

Use a 3/8 drive breaker bar in the tensioners molded in square hole, to lessen belt tension to remove the old belt off the idler pully first & off the fan last.

Route the new belt over the fan first, then all walled pulleys, beginning with the crank pully, making sure all of the ribs on the belt center & align with the groves in the walled pulleys.

With the breaker bar, release the belts tension & slip the smooth back side of the belt onto the walless idler pully last, then slowly release the tensioner to tighten the belt.

Double check to make sure the belt is routed properly as indicated on the under hood diagram, or your notes or diagram & is correctly centered on all pulleys, especially the crankshaft pully, Before starting the engine to check things out.

Don't get any oil or coolant on the new belt, or any of the pulleys. Clean them & your hands up if you have to, Before installing the new belt.

Save the old belt under seat for emergencies, because if our serp belt breaks, we're dead in the water!!!!!

Let us know how it goes.

I know this is a old thread but I wanted to post my experience with this similar situation today.
I was swapping out the belt b/c after my coolant system flush the belt was squealing at idle and driving. I got the orig part 88.25" belt from the part store, worked on it for 3 hours trying to get it on before giving up and google searching. Read this thread so I picked up the 89.5" as recommended. It went on very easy, didnt have to pry down on tension pully very much at all. The engine squeal stopped at idle, however on the highway, when in high RPM only the squeal was back, and bad.
So back to the parts store where I purchased a 88.5" belt. Figured that other one was just loose enough to cause what I was hearing.
It was a lot more difficult to get on than the prev one, but it was definately do-able within a couple mins of effort.

Sure enough, no idle sqeal and no high RPM sqeal either! Very happy at this point and will be even happier if the parts store let me return the other two belts...

Hope this helps any future readers!

99 Ranger 3.0L v6 w/AC

Thanks for the heads up. Getting ready to do mine and have had this thread in the back of my mind....now I dont even have to go looking for it!!!