03 Liberty serpentine belt length and a/c pulley questions

[jettrue]

Hi!

So my daughter's 03 Jeep Liberty busted a serpentine belt. The A/C went out first and was making rattling noises (which she didn't tell me and kept driving it anyway :emotions34 and then when she was 35 miles away she went to start it at a gas station and it started smoking (belt blew).

We went this morning to replace belt. I get the belt for an '03 4 cylinder which is 91" according to both NAPA's database and O'Reilly's and apparently also when I search online. But it did not fit the Jeep. Went back to O'REILLY'S with broken belt and it measured around 85 ish so I bought both the 84 and 86 and 86 fit perfectly. *Shrug* I swear I have it routed correctly and thought I knew what engine is in the thing and my VIN says it's a 2.4L 4 cylinder 03 Liberty, lol.

But, anyway, long story short, I turned car on and the a/c pully isn't spinning even with A/C off while all others seem fine and there's a bit of rattling from it. A bystander came by to help and suggested using WD-40 to at least get the bearings greased (he seemed to think it was just a bearing issue) to limp it back to town (35 miles away) to get it to my local shop and guy I trust. But I didn't have any and by this time was so late to work we just left it parked.

Am thinking about trying the WD-40 tonight after work and trying to get it home, but don't want to lose another belt and get stuck on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere. Should I get it towed out of town? Or I guess I can just see if the WD-40 works first. Not sure what to do and would appreciate suggestions.

To add, I thought about bypassing the a/c pulley to get it home but now I have no idea what belt size that would require (since apparently I don't have the right size belt system according to what I've gotten) and I'm not sure how to modify the routing. Exact same but jusy skip A/C pulley?

 

[LibertyTC]

The modified belt routing can be found in link below, but KeswickDave (post 14) suggests that there are different OEM belt sizes based on model years so I'd be guessing.
AS yours is an 03 it would be nice to find a post from here or over on lost to confirm an 03 AC Bypass belt size.
Here is one of the links I have bookmarked.
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/cheap-ac-bypass-%2A%2Apicture%2A%2A-45242/index2.html

just found TwoBobs has an 03 & here is some good info: http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/ac-clutch-destroyed-itself-60398/

 

[jettrue]

The modified belt routing can be found in link below, but KeswickDave (post 14) suggests that there are different OEM belt sizes based on model years so I'd be guessing.
AS yours is an 03 it would be nice to find a post from here or over on lost to confirm an 03 AC Bypass belt size.
Here is one of the links I have bookmarked.
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/cheap-ac-bypass-%2A%2Apicture%2A%2A-45242/index2.html

just found TwoBobs has an 03 & here is some good info: http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/ac-clutch-destroyed-itself-60398/

The belt size discrepancy has me all confused! I'm finding multiple searches that say the K060919 is for the 03 jeep liberty but was way too big, I've seen info in the posts you link saying 87" which maybe would have worked, I see people using multiple sizes for the bypassing, so I guess it's just a try until you find the right one kind of thing? I already have a 91", an 84" and a 76" in the back seat of my car right now that didn't work that I need to return.

If I do a search at O'Reilly's and I don't drill down to say anything more than it's an '03 Liberty, I do see the part that worked for me, the 86", K060863. The diagram for this one is spot on also, the diagrams for the other sizes are nothing like my Liberty. There is also a part numbered K060690 that is also listed when I don't drill down any more than saying it's an 03 Liberty for a 6 point system, maybe that will be the right size for this bypass route.

So, I think my plan is this... get up early, see if possibly just spraying it with WD-40 is enough to limp home with AC off with currently fitting 86" belt, if not, go get the 69" belt, try to bypass the AC pulley with the routing I saw this post mention where they don't have to pull off or lift the a/c pulley out of the way (I'll be in a parking lot of a gas station and even if I had a garage with the correct tools not sure I have the strength to get it off).

Another option is that I could probably limp it a mile up the road to an unknown shop with the fitting 86" belt with non-spinning A/C pulley and at least I could just ask them to try and figure out what size belt would work as the bypass and then get it to my local guy. :help:

 

[ltd02]

There are only two stock belt sizes for any of the 02-07 V6 KJs. It's based on the diameter of the two tensioner pulleys. If you have the 90mm/76mm tensioner like most 02s then it's an 87.4" or 87.5" like the GATES K060874. This OE one had a metal 90mm pulley and a plastic 76mm. If you have the 76mm/76mm pulleys (OE both plastic) its the 86.3" like the GATES K060863. The year is irrelevant as long as you know the pulley combo you have. I put a Gates 76mm/90mm tensioner on my 05, replacing the stock 76mm/76mm and just used the larger belt to compensate. As for the bypass, pretty sure you need to loosen and swing the AC comp out of the way to get a smaller belt to pass. I thought it was like an 82" belt but not sure what tensioner was involved in that example. Need to adjust the length accordingly. If you remove the compressor you could run one of these: https://www.partsgeek.com/gbproduct...3BF143fQ1jwStZlxRoCLdkQAvD_BwE&ad=47433950292

If you have a 2.4L then you may have to measure the path avoiding the AC compressor with a piece of string or rope and adjust it down to compensate for the tensioner.

 

[JasonJ]

The belt size discrepancy has me all confused! I'm finding multiple searches that say the K060919 is for the 03 jeep liberty but was way too big, I've seen info in the posts you link saying 87" which maybe would have worked, I see people using multiple sizes for the bypassing, so I guess it's just a try until you find the right one kind of thing? I already have a 91", an 84" and a 76" in the back seat of my car right now that didn't work that I need to return.

If I do a search at O'Reilly's and I don't drill down to say anything more than it's an '03 Liberty, I do see the part that worked for me, the 86", K060863. The diagram for this one is spot on also, the diagrams for the other sizes are nothing like my Liberty. There is also a part numbered K060690 that is also listed when I don't drill down any more than saying it's an 03 Liberty for a 6 point system, maybe that will be the right size for this bypass route.

So, I think my plan is this... get up early, see if possibly just spraying it with WD-40 is enough to limp home with AC off with currently fitting 86" belt, if not, go get the 69" belt, try to bypass the AC pulley with the routing I saw this post mention where they don't have to pull off or lift the a/c pulley out of the way (I'll be in a parking lot of a gas station and even if I had a garage with the correct tools not sure I have the strength to get it off).

Another option is that I could probably limp it a mile up the road to an unknown shop with the fitting 86" belt with non-spinning A/C pulley and at least I could just ask them to try and figure out what size belt would work as the bypass and then get it to my local guy. :help:

WD-40 won't work bud. If the bearing is seized, it's seized... probably locked up solid and could even have welded itself together from the friction. Ask me how I know. My 03 V6 had this same issue. I bypassed mine with a shorter belt, which took a few tries to get the right length. If you have the 4Cyl I couldn't tell you what that length would be.

So two options, take your broken belt and run it how you would need to in order to bypass AC pulley, measure length. Go get that length from an auto parts store, plus the size above and below it.. go see which works and if that fits drive to parts store, return other belts then go home.

OR, just have it towed back home, which is the safest option.

 

[jettrue]

The WD-40 was enough to get the belt spinning with the pulley with the A/C off. Though the bearings we're rattling around and it was a bit noisy. We got it to the shop easily 2 miles up the road. They quoted me $584 for new compressor and belt, which I thought was very reasonable, right? They have good reviews online and am going to have them give it a once over and possibly a tune up and see if they can help figure out why this thing burns so much oil.