How do you change the serpentine belt on a 2005 Kia Optima?

Answer 1

If it is anything like my 2004 Kia Optima with the 2.4l that comes with aircondition, it is relatively painless.

First - open the hood and look to the passenger side of the engine. In between the block and the belt tensioner there are two 14 mm nuts. The one hidden down by the block is the securing bolt (1) - the one out front (2) is used for tension adjustment.

Loosen bolt number 1 then loosen bolt number 2 - the belt will become loose. Keep going until you can literally pull the belt off the top pully's then work the belt off of the rest of the pulleys (if you have trouble just leave the belt in place; the next step will make it easier to remove the belt).

Now jack the car up and remove the passenger side front tire. Behind the tire is a plastic shield. Using a 10 mm socket with an extension remove the 3 bolts holding this shield and pull this down and out.

Now get under the care near the passenger side front and locate a second plastic shield. Remove the 2 bolts and the shield comes right off.

Now you should be able to see the main crank pulley and the bottom part of the air conditiong pump. If you didn't remove it before before - remove the belt from the bottom.

Take your new belt and wrap it around the main shaft then snake it around the underside of the air conditioning pump. Go back up top and work the belt around the rest of the pulleys.

Make sure the belt is seated properly and tension it back up. Be sure to secure the tensioner bolt. Just for kicks start the car and see if there are any squeaks with the air conditioning running. If there are then tighten the tensioner by redoing the process until there are no more squeaks. If there are still squeaks then something else is going on. Could be a dirty pulley or bad bearing(?)

Replace the plastic shields and the front tire. Viola' you're done.

All done for about $30 and a little time.