Why won't the serpentine belt stay on

have you tried it again? watch the idler pulley to see if belt is slipping off there.

have you tried old belt?

TRANSMISSION JUICE MAY HAVE SPEWED FROM RESERVOIR WHEN THE PULLEY STOPPED TURNING AND YOU CONTINUED TO STEER (HYPOTHESIS)

VERIFY THE BELT IS ROUTED AROUND THE PULLEY CORRECTLY, USE A DIAGRAM---DON'T JUST GUESS!--SEE STICKERS UNDER THE HOOD, OWNERS MANUAL

WITHOUT THE EXACT INFO FROM YOU---I PLUGGED IN 1994 E-150 1/2 TON VAN W/ 5.0LSEE INFO IN LINK----YOU CAN CHANGE THE "VEHICLE" AND PUT IN THE CORRECT INFO, IF I'M WRONG, ONCE YOU "CHANGED VEHICLES" TO YOU CORRECT INFO--TYPE IN "BELT ROUTING DIAGRAM" IN THEIR SEARCH BOX......IF YOU GET LOST, I MAY CAN HELP, I WILL NEED YOUR INFO 1ST


1) WITH THE BELT REMOVED, TURN THE PULLEYS WITH YOUR HAND (ALL, EXCEPT THE CRANK) DO THEY TURN FREE?

2) NEXT ATTEMPT TO "WOBBLE" EACH PULLEY, ESPECIALLY "IDLERS" THEY SHOULD NOT!!! THEY SHOULD ONLY TURN!

3) NEXT (I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOUR TENSIONER O THIS CAR WORKS) SEE IF THE TENSIONER (ARM, IF IT HAS ONE) "FLOPS" SIDEWAYS, IT SHOULD NOT, IT SHOULD ONLY MOVE IN THE SAME "PLANE" AS THE GROOVES ON THE PULLEYS OR INLINE WITH THE BELT

4) NEXT, LAST---SEE IF THE A/C OR A HEAT SETTING W/ DEFROST IS TURNED ON....EITHER SITUATION USUALLY ACTIVATES THE A/C CLUTCH AND TURNS THE COMPRESSOR---IF THE CLUTCH PULLEY (ON A/C) TURNS FREE NOW---IT MAY NOT, IF WHEN YOU CRANK UP, IT ENGAGES THE COMPRESSOR (WHICH COULD BE LOCKED UP)

AUTOMATICALLY THE "ONCE TURNING FREE" A/C CLUTCH PULLEY CAN NO LONGER TURN (CAUSE NOW IT'S "LOCKED INTO THE COMPRESSOR" THAT WILL NOT TURN)

ANOTHER WAY YOU MIGHT CHECK THE COMPRESSOR IS SEE IF YOU CAN TURN THE INNER PORTION OF THE A/C CLUTCH PULLEY (CAR NOT RUNNING!!!! OF COURSE!!!)

IF IT WILL NOT TURN, UNPLUG THE CLUTCH, AT THE FRONT OF THE COMPRESSOR, SO IT WILL NOT ENGAGE AT ALL. REPAIR/ REPLACE THE COMPRESSOR LATER....DOING THIS PREVENTS YOU FROM ACCIDENTALLY ENGAGING IT WITH THE C.OCKPIT CONTROLS

....YOU WILL NOT HAVE A/C....DEFROST WILL STILL WORK (LIKE OLDER CARS), BUT MOISTURE REMOVAL MAY SLOW DOWN WITHOUT THE "ASSIST FEATURE"

BUT.....THE A/C CLUTCH PULLEY WILL STILL BE ABLE TO TURN FREELY, UNLESS IT WOULD NOT TURN FREELY IN "STEP 1"

THAT HELP ANY?

THE MEDIC

Thank you for the responses. I just got back to it this morning (monday, it's a work vehicle). I've checked all the pulleys and wheels there doesn't seem to be any wobble, though the power steering wheel will move a bit in and out (less 1/16 of an inch). The defrost/A/C was turned off and the wheel and clutch on the A/C pump do turn. I am going to clean off all the oil the fan sprayed about, repair the leak in transmission cooling line I found, put the belt back on, have someone else start it up and watch (from a safe distance). Again thank you.