Changing Fan Belt Myself

[ravindasenarath]

Fan belt of my mazda bj5p broke yesterday. I brought a new one and try to install it by myself. After some struggle I was able to install the new one(struggle was to remove the A/C and power steering belt). I tightened the fan belt some what using the adjustment and did tighten the main bolt too. Then I started the engine. For first couple of seconds engine worked quietly as expected but after that fan belt start to give a loud kiri kiri sound. I though the belt is too tight and try loosing it a belt but didn't help. I haven't done this before so afraid to tighten more. My question is is this because belt is loose or something else?

[Davy]

The drive belt is loose. You need to tighten it properly so that it doesn't slip. The "kiri kiri" sound is due to slippage.

Generally, a 0.5 inch free movement of the belt is the normal specification (at the mid point between the two pulleys that are furthest apart). This again needs to be verified with manufacturer specifications.