4 years later....
I changed the tensioner spring and the roller. Plus the harmonic balancer (ouch my wallet). All seemed ok but 6 months later (7k miles) my serpentine belt has failed.
It started making funny noises at idle and in slow traffic. I opened the hood at a red light and I got so horrified : only 1/2 of the belt was still on the car. I turned around cowardly and headed home. At 1-1 1/2 miles from home the battery light went on on my dashboard. At home (I made it!!!) there was nothing left of the serpentine left. MAINLY NOTHING!!!
All the ribs came apart and parts of them broke into smaller parts too. You couldn't simply think there was a serpentine belt there once.
HORROR.
I will be towing my car (I do have a solid bar to tow) to my mechanic for an investigation + a new OEM(!!!) serpentine belt.
The Serpentine belt was an aftermarket one but still... I cannot believe how something can eat itself so completely so fast.... It's like it was never there.
I checked my engine bay 2-3 days before this horror and NOTHING seemed problematic. No cracks no shredding no nothing. All of the sudden it happened. All the pullies are clean, aligned and rotate freely...
. I do have the plastic mud protector (plastic "skid plate"). I can only think of the following things :
1. Bad belt - bad material etc. etc. etc.
2. FOD - Foreign Object Damage. WHAT EFFING FOREIGN OBJECT!?
3. IDK - I Don't Know
Any ideeas?