Tossing belts..."Christine" is at it again!

My 1995 Riv with a series one supercharged engine had it's alternator / power steering belt break a couple times, so as suggested by my mechanic;I had him replace two tensioners and pulleys for the alternator and supercharger. Also an additional pulley located just below the alternator tensioner he said it needed. All was well including the disappearance of the awful noises they were making. I've been driving the car for about a week putting about 100 miles or so on it, and would smell rubber burning after driving it. When I asked, the mechanic said it was because the belts were new and the smell would go away in time.

So today (after finally getting my frozen doors open) I was sitting in the car letting it warm up when I heard the familiar sound of a belt slamming against the hood. When I opened the hood, I discovered that the alternator/power steering pump belt had split longitudinally and flown off the pulleys.

This belt throwing occurred once after I had the power steering pump replaced, and then again after the tensioners and pulleys were replaced. So I am wondering if anyone has any idea what the hell is going on. Is there something wrong with the belts/tensioners, etc. or have I just had a series of mechanics who were idiots working on the car.

The only thing I know of that would destroy a belt that quickly is a misinstalled belt (or pulley), meaning the belt was shifted on one of the pulleys by a groove or two. This is easy to do with crank pulley. If your belt is still on, look under the car and see if the belt is installed in the correct grooves. Also check the other pulleys, especially any new ones, are not off-line with the belt route.

You had the P/S pump replaced.....

It's absolutely possible that the mechanic didn't put the pulley back on correctly. On the P/S pump, it needs to be pulled off with a pulley-puller, and installed with the opposite installer. It's VERY easy for a lazy or uneducated mechanic to install the P/S pulley wrong. The pump shaft needs to be absolutely flush with the outside of the pulley. Take a flashlight and look down at the P/S pump. The shaft should NOT be sticking out, or vice versa. If they aren't flush together, the belt is out of alignment with the rest of the belt system, and will squeak, squeal, or break continuously.

That's what happened with my '95 as well. Misaligned power steering pulley threw the belt off after it had split. I was lucky...on my way to the Buick dealer anyway so I left it there and they did a correct diagnosis for once and it has been fine ever since. It's been good for about 10,000 miles (through an engine swap and various other things) .

You should never smell rubber on a new belt. That should've been a flag right there.