Ive got a 2001 Monte with 95k miles. About 6 days ago my belt shredded and came off. I was able to make it to autozone and changed the belt in the parking lot. While i was putting the new belt on i noticed some of the rubber from the old belt was melted/stuck in the grooves of the alternator pulley and AC pulley. I got alot of it out but i didnt have much to work with in the parking lot so i couldnt get all of it. I had to wait until i got home.
I did put it off for a few days and almost forgot until today. But its been less than a week and one groove of the belt has already shredded off. Could this simply be caused by debris from the old belt stuck to the pulleys? Or no

 

Could be, but it could also be a worn and/or misaligned pulley. Idler pulleys, belt tensioners, and harmonic balancers do wear out. Check for wobble on any of the pulleys. The harmonic balancer is two pieces but should look like one when viewed from the front. If the hub (center part) isn't smooth across the surface it's separating and needs to be replaced.

 

My Mom's crown victoria had this happen (kinda).. Turned out the AC compressor was froze up.. IDK, something to look into..

 

I am with Plumbob. Check for pulleys that have play in them. If they do, they could be walking the belt off and as that happens, shreds a rib right off in the process.

 

Plumbob
The_maniac
You guys were right, its a pulley. The damn harmonic balancer....lol
This morning i went and got another belt (a better quality belt) and cleaned all the **** off all the pulleys. It wasnt until i put the new belt on that i remembered you guys said check the pulleys for any play. The harmonic balancer wobbles about 1/4 inch.
I was hoping it was just loose and maybe i could tighten it. But i took the belt back off and tried to turn and jiggle the pulley with just my hand, it wouldnt budge in any direction. Maybe im wrong but i assume this means its not loose. Its likely gone to **** and i need to replace it....lol
Anyways, thanks you guys. Ive never had a harmonic balancer go bad on a car before, so i dont think i ever wouldve thought to check for that....lol

 

Oh ya. I almost forgot. I got another question...lol
The past day or so, when im going about 45mph or faster, the car has a continuous rubbing/grinding sound. Sounds very similar to a bad wheel hub. Also the past day or so when i park on my driveway (my driveway has a very small incline, not steep at all) the car rolls back about a half foot when i let off the brake. It never did this before. Even on steep hills it wouldnt move once it was in park.
Could either of these things be because of the harmonic balancer?

 

The harmonic balancer could definitely account for the rubbing/grinding noise, but it usually sounds like a whine or whistle as the pulley slips on the hub. The roll back problem sounds more like the transmission. Possibly a broken parking pawl. Be sure to set your parking brake.

 

I wish more people actually remembered to do this rather than stressing their poor transmissions.

 

Amazing how much more likely this would be if the damn things had manual e-brakes, rather than a black, 2-square-inch pedal.

 

That's the first thing I wished I had when I got my 02 Monte. Although Ill admit the console space is nice...