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.

 

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

 

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

 

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?

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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?

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????