Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 98 contour problem with belt keeps breaking

This Is The 4th Time Now My Belt Has Had To Be Replaced In 3 Years. It is a 4 cyl. Automatic 2.0 Last Time The Belt Was Replaced And The Pulley Wheel. It Continued To Squeel When I Ran My A/c Or Heat. When I Turned It Off The Squeeling Noise Would Stop. Then Here Recently It Squeeld Even When A/c And Heat Was Off. The Past Few Days It Smelt Like Rubber Was Burning. Tonight My Lights Started Going Dim And My Radio Kept Going On And Off. This Is The Same Thing That Happened Last Year Right Before My Belt Broke. I Got Home Tonight Looked Under My Hood And Part Of My Belt Was Shredded. I Pulled A Few Pieces Off Of It. The Belt Did Not Break But Some Of It Is Shredded. Now My Car Will Not Start At All. I Am Wondering Why I Have To Keep Replacing My Belt Every Year. The Belts Are Supposed To Last 3 Years. Can Any Help With Any Suggestions Or Has Anyone Else Out There Had The Same Problem. I Am Not Sure Why The Car Wont Start Now. The Belt Has Not Broke. Also The Last Time I Took The Car In To Have The Belt Replaced. They Said You Had To Use A Special Tool To Replace It. I Could Not Do It Myself Last Time. Any Suggestions On How To Replace This Belt. The belt is still tight and in place. But I pulled some pieces off. The car will not turn over now. PLEASE HELP! Thanks!

V6 Duratec or L4 Zetec engine?

I have the L4 Zetec engine and I've been able to change the belt without using any tools at all! I simply grasp the belt tensioner with my hand (under the alternator) and then pull up while removing the belt from the Power Steering pump pulley.

I've not worked on the V6 model.

I also found that the belt tensioner was broken upon removal of the belt. The tensioner was very stiff and felt as if the the spring inside was loose and probably broken. Once replaced, the belt became much easier to replace than before.

Special tools = no tools required

I put a reply into the other forum you belong to.
You can also go to AutoZone.com for the tutorial

Cheers.

sounds like your A/C compressor is siezed up.
or the A/C Clutch is junk.