installing engine belt

I'm finally to the point installing the engine that I can get the belt on, but it seems like it's an inch or so too short, tensioner pully is as low as it can go, is it ok to get it most of the way on and turn the engine by hand to walk it on completely or am I looking at some other issue?
or should I just measure the belt and get one an inch longer?
TIA

Doug

It should fit no problem. did you make sure you have the right belt?

Should fit with no problems and no prying or other hoops to jump through, if you got the correct belt you got something wrong.

put the original back on and for shits and giggles bought a new one, both won't go on

I run into this once in a while when very tired... did you try putting it on a non grooved pulley last?

There often isn't enough slack in an unstretched belt to go over the edge of a grooved pulley last, but if you get it threaded onto all the grooved pulleys and all but one smooth pulley and then slide it over the smooth pulley it should fit with room to spare.

What brand and part number are the new belts? Countermonkeys give you the wrong belt? I find it hard to believe you could put the old belt back on correctly, but not two new belts.

Assuming you have the right belt, I'd say you don't have it all the way in. Otherwise, loosen the idler pulley a bit and slide it on smoothe side down, don't forget to make the bend around the alternator and take up the slack. Gooved side on grooed pulley, smooth on back (smooth).

it was the end of the day when we were trying, tried getting it on the PS pulley last, wouldn't go over it and it wasn't routed around the idler yet. belt is right, one came off the engine, new one even has the jeep 4.0 routing diagram on the back of the package, although they've screwed me before with parts.

Yeah... PS pulley is one of the grooved ones.

Try putting it on the WP or idler pulley last, I bet it goes on first try.

kastein said:

Yeah... PS pulley is one of the grooved ones.

Try putting it on the WP or idler pulley last, I bet it goes on first try.

Click to expand...

it won't even reach to go over the PS in the first place if I remember correctly

anyone want to see a youtube video of me blowing up an xj? :explosion

this is for a stock 00, can't remember old belt brand, new one is gatorback, they both have different PN's

Odd... have you checked the belt routing? I got mine wrong on the first try when I put my engine back in the 96 and was severely confused for a minute, since it was the same belt I took off.

Should be marked on the fan shroud and possibly in the user's manual.

that was the first thing checked, if my camera wasn't stolen I could show pics if that would have helped, this is also a 2001 WJ engine block but the measurements are all the same as the xj's, might just buy a bigger belt, this project has gone on WAAAY too long

I ran into a similar problem recently on a 91HO.

New belt that was supposed to be the correct length, but there was no way in hell it was going on.

Ended up getting another new one of the same length, compared them side by side and it was obvious that the two replacements differed in length!

So honestly, I would suspect the belt is wrong and too short. Ended up getting one that was an inch longer, worked fine.

:doh:yeah but one that doesn't fit was on the engine originally, technically

H8PVMT said:

this is also a 2001 WJ engine block but the measurements are all the same as the xj's,

Click to expand...

I dont think that is correct,I know the TJ's are different!

The blocks aren't the same. Several mounting bosses are different

Talyn said:

The blocks aren't the same. Several mounting bosses are different

Click to expand...

you ain't kidding:hang:

a friend of mine was patient enough to do all that crap for me, including shaving down the mounts for the alt/ac. I meant the width of the block, everything was mounted up as it should on a 00 XJ

This help?
http://jeep-xj.info/HowtoService.htm

lawsoncl said:

This help?
http://jeep-xj.info/HowtoService.htm

Click to expand...

maybe if I lived in Austrailia

FYI , I spent a lot of time measuring before I worked on the block, all the accessory brackets on a WJ are different, the timing cover is different, the oil filter mount is different as well as the oil pressure sender location wiring,etc. What was done to make it go together was drill and tap three bosses, shave the passenger side of the block to fit the alt and ac brackets , it MIGHT be possible that the ps pump pulley and the alt pulley are an inch farther than they should be, however the XJ brackets all fit in the stock location and other measurements are the same - the belt is an inch or less different, I had some ZJ belts lying around, one of them was loose but fit well enough to tighten it down. The good news is that ALL of the pulleys line up on the same plane so I am pretty sure that this is a minor issue, the standard belt is 95 5/8", one that is 96.5" or so should be just fine, the ZJ belt in the Jeep now is about 97-98" and the idler is very close to the water pump and harmonic balancer, too close for my liking. MY only other comment about this is that adapting a wj 4.0 to an xj sucks, I think if Doug EVER thought it would be this much trouble we wouldn't have done it.