Mercury mountaineer serpentine belt

i have an 02 mountaineer, I have had the belt replaced about 6 times in the last 18 months. Ihave also had the tensioner replaced 6 months ago. my vehicle squeals, get the belt replaced and it lasts about 1000 mile and starts to squeal again. what could be eating up the belts. I have been to 2 different garages and both have thrown up their hands…any idea?

Assuming that the tensioner is not defective, I think that one of the pulleys is not aligned properly. If one pulley is bent, it can and will eat away at the belt and lead to an early death for the belt.

thank you

Also, if some belt driven component is putting excessive drag on the belt, that could cause it to fail. Sometimes, for instance, the A/C compressor will load a belt excessively. Have an A/C repair shop check for that. The other components are driven all of the time. Usually, turning their pulleys by hand will reveal if one is dragging.

is it possible that the alternator could also do that as I had this problem in the winter as well when no A/C is in use?

People have reported the alternator as dragging, and damaging belts, sometimes. With the belt off the alternator, turn its pulley by hand. If it turns smoothly, and easily, the alternator is probably ok.

Are you sure the A/C compressor doesn’t run in the winter? If you look at the center part of the A/C compressor, you will see that it begins to turn when the A/C is turned ON. Put the controls to windshield defrost, and turn the fan on. Look at the center of the A/C compressor. Is it turning? This is the same as winter-time settings, isn’t it? Results?