95 eating Belts

[smokin'stroke]

Have a 95 7.3 that threw a belt a couple of weeks ago, replaced it and found vacuum pump was bad, replaced that, chewed another belt, found the pully on alternator loose fixed that, hubby drove to get hay and called said it chewed another belt, and have to go get him, what else could we be missing to cause that many belts to go the route? This is the 3rd one getting a little pricey only decent diesel mechanic in area is booked for quite awhile so any suggestions would be great, it is my daughters truck and she is quite mad that she can't drive it around because I don't want her to break down.

[dhanna6powerstroke]

Originally Posted by smokin'stroke

Have a 95 7.3 that threw a belt a couple of weeks ago, replaced it and found vacuum pump was bad, replaced that, chewed another belt, found the pully on alternator loose fixed that, hubby drove to get hay and called said it chewed another belt, and have to go get him, what else could we be missing to cause that many belts to go the route? This is the 3rd one getting a little pricey only decent diesel mechanic in area is booked for quite awhile so any suggestions would be great, it is my daughters truck and she is quite mad that she can't drive it around because I don't want her to break down.

The most common thing is the idler pulley leaning some and throwing it off center. Also, the belt tensioner pulley is a possibility.

[73obs4x4]

i had the same problem on my 95. the front lip on the power steering pulley was bent in ever so slightly and pulling the belts apart. I have no idea how it got that way but ive run about 4k miles since straightening it out and no problems to report

[Falco]

+1 on the tensioner pulley leaning, the bushing in the base wears out....very common problem.

[66Bronco]

Tensioner agreed. The last one on my truck came off in 5 pieces.