I need to replace the serpentine on my '97 Powerstroke, which should be easy. Years ago my vacuum pump seized up and the serpentine broke when I was out of town and I had to rely on a small town mechanic to replace the parts. He put on the wrong serpentine (right length, incorrect width) but it did the job for years. He also replaced the tensioner assembly for some reason.

My problem is this: when the tensioner and belt are on, the tensioner arm sits at about a 1 o'clock position. In that position the belt crosses right in front of the tensioner bolt, and I mean right next to it with no room to spare. Therefore when I put on the correct width belt it rubs that bolt and won't function.

I looked at my buddy's '96 Powerstroke and his tensioner arm is much shorter, as in the tensioner pulley is about 1.5" closer to the tensioner bolt and his tensioner arm lies in the 3 o'clock position. In that position the belt runs underneath the tensioner bolt and clears it with no problems.

Here's where I get stupid. I have never changed out a tensioner assembly before and it looks simple with 1 bolt installation. I'm not a mechanic. When I look at several tensioner assemblies online it appears they don't all have the same arm length (from the tensioner bolt to the center of the pulley. Question 1) it doesn't appear but can a tensioner be adjusted in any way? It looks like they only install 1 way and they are fixed. 2) is it possible I just have a bad tensioner that should be extending down into that 3 O'clock position?

Any tips will be appreciated