The belt is the correct length. It’s not supposed to slip over the tensioner if you don’t have it under tension. And you’re not supposed to stretch the belt. You load up the tensioner.

 

The belt is the correct length. It’s not supposed to slip over the tensioner if you don’t have it under tension. And you’re not supposed to stretch the belt. You load up the tensioner.

yeah I think you misunderstood. the point of that picture was to show that when the belt is fully tight around all the other pulleys there is still that much room to go when the tensioner is loaded up. I'm not sure if you can see it in that picture but there is a nail in the pin slot holding the tension on the tensioner. The tensioner is fully compressed in that picture, and the belt is relatively tight around everything else, and there's still a LONG way to go, way too far for me to be able to get it on. so hopefully now you see my issue.

 

Here’s a trick I used to use when installing the serpentine belt in my departed 2001 330Ci.
- loosen the idler pulley so that the assembly can rotate
- route the belt
- compress the tensioner
- get the belt around the tensioner pulley
- use a pair of pliers to rotate the idler assembly so the tab aligns with the slot
- tighten the idler assembly bolt.

 

Yea, you need to get a breaker bar and compress the tensioner.

 

Normal.

 

I don't think you guys have fully read the original post, or perhaps it wasn't clear... the tensioner IS under tension, all the way. In the pictures above, the tensioner is fully compressed. The pin is in locking it in into place. And the new belt is easily 2+ inches shorter than the old one.

 

Why is the old belt so much longer than the new belt?

 

Seems like someone sold you the wrong one.

 

I'm baffled by what you expect this post to accomplish. You CLEARLY got the wrong belt. Perhaps its the wrong belt in the right package, perhaps the belt itself is marked wrong, but if it's 2" shorted than the old one, then it's the WRONG BELT. What do you expect here? Is someone going to give you a tip for installing a belt that is 2" too short? I don't think so.

Take the new and old belts back to wherever you got them from, and get one that is the CORRECT length.

Regards,
Ray L.

 

The belt that he has is shown to be the right one for his application using three different seller's cross-references, and he did go to the area parts stores and compare to what they have in stock and he said that they were the same length as the new one.

That said, you're right, I don't know what this thread can accomplish.

 

The old belt fit. The new belt does not fit. It doesn't matter how many books say its the right belt - It's NOT the right belt for HIS car. Perhaps someone, somewhere in the distant past, swapped out some parts (pulleys, idlers, etc.) so HIS car no longer accepts the "correct" belt, but that doesn't not change the conclusion - He needs a belt the same length as the old one. Nobody here can change that.

Regards,
Ray L.

 

I have a brand new Contitech 6PK 1538 at hand. The outer length is ~1560 mm. What's yours? Mine says Made in Germany.

 

Something very similar happened to me when I went to replace my belt for the first time. After looking into it more I discovered the PO of my car fitted the motor with Turner Motorsport power pullies. The belt I'm using is a 6PK 1590.

Surprising that nobody has mentioned how that water pump pulley doesn't look OEM.

 

The correct belt for a stock pulley setup is pictured. It's 6 peak x 1538 millimeters.

As Sykriss points out, the WP pulley is not OE. If it's a different diameter, it could be the cause of all this.

Also note that putting a pin in the tensioner to hold it is not enough to slip a new belt on with original pulleys and original length.

My conclusion is that your WP pulley is larger than stock (an under-drive pulley) and it's ruining your belt fit. Does your old belt not have the numbers on it still? Or, if you can find out who makes that pulley (looks like UUC makes yours), you could call that manufacturer to ask what the new length should be. I would recommend just getting an OE pulley and use the OE length belt you've bought.

Something very similar happened to me when I went to replace my belt for the first time. After looking into it more I discovered the PO of my car fitted the motor with Turner Motorsport power pullies. The belt I'm using is a 6PK 1590.

Surprising that nobody has mentioned how that water pump pulley doesn't look OEM.

I have a brand new Contitech 6PK 1538 at hand. The outer length is ~1560 mm. What's yours? Mine says Made in Germany.

Length is measured by inside and it's 1538 mm.

 

So I looked up the part number from my original UUC pulley kit order, and according to the pictures in this ECS Tuning page the belt included is a 6PK 1600. So for anyone else out there searching in the future, if you have the UUC pulley kit you may need a 6pk1600 belt.

EDIT: I called UUC and they said the cross reference number for the belt in the kit is K060630.

 

That is a 6 rib 63.0" belt, or 6pk1600 (6 groove, P=metric measurement used, K=cross section type, 1600mm).

 

I meant to say PS not WP sorry. WP pulley has UUC written on it.

 

Yeah, either way, they came together in the same kit so I'm sure it's fine.

As an update, I got the 6pk1600 belt and it fits perfectly. Problem solved!

 

I ran into the same issue with my Rogue Engineering power pulleys. Belt was short.
Stock: Conti belt# 6PK1538, Correct for Rogue Engineering PP: Conti belt #6PK1560