My cousin has an 04 sonata. He has changed the power steering belt 4 times and the belt keeps getting thrown. The belt is always shredded. Not sure if it getting shredded after it is thrown. He tried some cheap house brand belts the switched to Gatorback belts and still gets thrown.

 

It sounds like the pulleys are not lined up properly or the proper belt tension is not being retained after installation.

 

Is thier a special method to test how much tension is correct?

 

On page 6-18 of the owners manual it shows the specifications for the belts. I assume the car is the four-cylinder model as according to the manual the V6 has a serpentine belt driving all accessories whereas the I4 has two separate drive belts. The manual calls for 0.24 to 0.35 inches of slack at the indicated location on the belt.

According to the manual the belt driving the power steering pump also drives the A/C compressor. I would look for any problems with the A/C compressor or the pulley that the belt goes around between the A/C comp. and the power steering pump. Also note that there have been issues with that generation of Sonata of the crank pulley components separating. As this pulley drives the belts I would check that as well.

 

I would check the power steering pulley.. There know to be out of wack.. (replace if so)