300 Tdi Serpentine belt failure

[roverboy]

I've had 2 serpentine belts shread in the last 200 or 300 miles under normal driving conditions. My truck is currently in the shop and they're telling me it needs a new idler pulley, which they have procured and are about to install. Can anyone (Pendy) tell me if this sounds like an accurate assessment? I trust my shop, I'm just really not familiar with this diesel powerplant. Would the idler pulley cause a breakdown in my serpentine belts like this or could it be something else?

FYI, I just has the serpentine belt AND the timing belt replaced about 200 miles ago. The timing belt that they removed still looked new with no visible/abnormal signs of wear. The serpentine belt was beginning to shread on one side. This last serpentine belt that failed ( the same one they replaced when they installed a new timing belt) completely shreaded. I feel like an idiot even asking this question, so forgive me. I really need to get up to speed with this engine....fear of the unknown....

[TDI Guy]

IT could be... Maybe the idler has siezed up and has worn the crap out of the belt. Also since they had all the pulleys off to do the timing belt, I would make sure they put everything back correct and nothing is misaligned. That would cause the edge to wear and shred eventually...

[JimC]

I accidentally screwed up my AC belt by not tightening the tensioner enough. It didnt jump the pulleys, instead it just shredded itself.

[JackW]

I seem to remember an issue with some idler pulleys not properly lining up with the rest of the pulleys in the system - this was a big issue in the mother country and caused some sort of controversy about a lack of recall and response from the dealers on what should have been a warranty issue. I think there were some letters to the editor in one of the British Land Rover magazines a few years ago.

If my memory is correct replacing the idler pulley with the latest version solves teh problem.

[Buckon37s]

Yep,

Its a common problem. The idler pully gets loose/offline and it will cause the belt to move around and can wear it very fast. It happened to me. I now carry a spare belt in the truck. Once I fixed the pully, it never happened again.

[roverboy]

Thanks so much you guys. I'm glad there's such an abundance of Tdi guys here. Thanks again.