Drive Belts, Mounts, Brackets and Accessories: Description and Operation
Accessory DriveFord vehicles are equipped with a Poly-V drive belt. To make sure of maximum belt life, newly installed drive belts must be of the same type and specification as originally installed.
The drive belt is tensioned by a spring-loaded tensioner that maintains correct belt tension at all times.
A loose drive belt will result in slippage, which can cause a noise complaint or incorrect accessory operation. An overly tight drive belt will place severe loads on accessory bearings and result in premature drive belt or accessory failure. Refer to the following illustrations for the belt routing.
Drive Belt Tensioner-Automatic
The drive belt tensioner will maintain correct belt tension if the correct length drive belt is on the engine. To verify that the drive belt tensioner is working correctly, check to see that the belt length indicator mark on the drive belt tensioner is between the minimum and maximum marks. Remove the drive belt and rotate the tensioner to verify that the tensioner does not stick, grab or bind. If the tensioner exhibits any of these conditions, install a new tensioner.