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I just did this - it's not an easy job for someone with big hands but otherwise not bad. I'm basing this on my 1997 Saturn SW, most S-series cars should be the same.

Jack the passenger front side of the car up and remove the tire. There is a plastic shield that you will have to remove to expose the front of the engine. On mine, there were some plastic clips that I had to twist/push from the back and it snapped right out (I also found that, if they break, you can fix this with wire ties depending on the location).

From the top, release the tension on the belt and remove it from around the tensioner. This is done with a wrench (14, 15MM?) on the center bolt of the tensioner. Once you've pushed it down the belt can be moved.

The hard part is removing the tensioner. There are two bolts, one on top of/above the pulley and one below. REMOVE THE ONE BELOW LAST! If you remove the bottom one first it makes the unit come loose as you're removing the top one, which is a huge pain in the butt. There's very little clearance. You'll need to use a socket for part of it, then a wrench, then some talented fingers.

After the two bolts, the unit should come right out and the new one should bolt right in it's place. Don't worry if they look somewhat different in how the pulley attaches to the main unit - there was a recall and the part was redesigned. The only catch is to make sure the surface of the engine is clean/without debris - built up dirt can cause the tensioner pulley to have a small angle, which will eventually overheat and break the belt. Also, put the bottom bolt in first - it'll hold the unit in place for the top bolt. Remember that the new part isn't the same as the old - it'll probably move around in the cavity some, so don't tighten the bottom one too much at first or you won't align the top.

Once in, move the tensioner back and have a helper put the belt back on. Replace the plastic shield and tire and you should be set.

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Q: How do you change the serpentine belt tensioner on a Saturn s-series?
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