Chrysler serpentine belt
Chrysler serpentine belt problems are very common. The following information is how to fix it for good. The 3.3 L and 3.8 L engines are the ones that have the most problems with the engine belt coming off. The model years affected is 1996 through 1999. The vehicles that have this engine option installed are some of the most popular to ever be manufactured. The Chrysler town and country, Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager are the most popular minivans ever produced.
But my neighbor has a Chrysler town and country with a 3.8 L engine. We live in Florida and experience extremely heavy rains and some minor flooding in our area. Every time my neighbor's minivan would go through a deep puddle it would take off the engine belt. After reinstalling it several times and replacing the serpentine belt along with the tensioner this problem continued intermittently.
Chrysler serpentine belt TSB
If there is one thing I can't stand it is having a comeback after an auto repair that I was very careful with and performed to the best of my ability. This being my neighbor's vehicle I definitely tried my hardest to perform a quality repair. I used the best name brand parts and took my time installing them. This did me absolutely no good because after a heavy rain my neighbor would walk up my driveway and say hey, my engine belt came off again. After reinstalling the serpentine belt I checked for pulley alignment and problems associated with belt tension and tracking. I did not see a problem. I went to work and I checked through All-Data's technical service publications related to Chrysler serpentine belt problems. Wow there is a ton of technical service bulletins on the Chrysler 3.3 Liter and 3.8 Liter engines for the model years 1996 through 99. After reading through the bulletins, I was left with the impression that I am glad I bought a Chevrolet. I don't have time to go through all of the bulletins, because this would be as thick as a phone book so I will stay on track and just discuss the Chrysler serpentine belt problem.
Engine belt misalignment
One design defect of the engine compartment is that the underside is completely open and allows water and snow to be thrown up inside and over the engine drive belt. The small splash shield underneath does not divert the water properly. But a new belly pan is not part of the technical service bulletin. Chrysler's solution is the replacement of the idler pulley and the pulleys retaining bracket. Chrysler's engineers have decided that the idler pulley is misaligned by .08 inches. This is why I could not see the misalignment with my naked eye. An updated engine bracket and pulley assembly is available at your local Chrysler parts department. This job is not highly technical, but is time-consuming. You will have to take a lot of stuff off to gain access to the engine brackets retaining bolts. This may not be a very good do-it-yourself auto repair depending on your skill level.
And when I make this statement these repairs were actually done about eight months ago at the beginning of our rainy season. The Chrysler town and country has driven through puddles that they should have turned around and not gone through. But yet the belt is staying on. In my opinion this repair has solved the Chrysler serpentine belt problem. Give this drive belt page a  Custom Search To learn more about me and why I think you can fix your own car. Take a visit to the home page for the you fix cars website. On this page is a description of how this website was designed to help DIY car mechanics and provide
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