How do you change serpentine belt on a Rendezvous?

Answer 1

Follow the diagram on the radiator support for correct belt routing. To replace the belt you simply swing the belt tensior away from the belt to relax the belt, slip the belt off of the nearest pulley, reroute the new belt in reverse order. the diagram under the hood will direct the proper routing, the belt tensioner, if you aren't familiar with them, is a free-wheeling pulley normally mounted on a spring-loaded bracket that will swing with pressure toward the belt until the belt is released from the pulley, don't confuse the tensioner with the idler pulley, the idler pulley only spins, it doesn't swing to provide tensionTo be more specific in how you actually do this, note that the tension wheel at the end of the tensioner arm DOES NOT HAVE A NUT ON IT. Don't mistakenly put a socket on the bolt at the top which attaches the tension assembly to the engine or you will potentially cause a problem that will be difficult to fix!

If you carefully fell down in the very tight space where the groved pulley is you'll find a 3/8" rectangular hole. This is where you inset the tool to rotate the tension pulley away from the belt. The problem is there is not much space to work in and you will need quite a bit of leverage to move the arm. I strongly suggest using a tool made for this purpose such as the Lisle 59000 ratcheting serpentine tool or similar (check Amazon for a range of tools). You need the two piece tool because you can change the angle to allow the 3/8" drive to fit the square hold in the tensioner arm and at the same time clear the wiring harness that crosses over the engine. The proper angle is going to look something like a backwards "L" at about 120 degrees instead of 90. You will need the full travel of the lever/wrench from the wiring crossover to the firewall to get the new belt on.

If you are careful you can relax the tensioner and leave the wrench in place while taking the old belt off and placing the new belt. Just realize that it is a narrow space and you'll have to reach down and turn the belt sideways to get the old one off and the new one in. (There also an electrical plug sticking out the side of the windshield washer pump that you have to be care of.)

One person can get the old belt off easily once you know how to place the tension tool. However, you will definitely need another hand to put tension on the tool while you hold the slack on the belt with one hand to keep it from coming off the pulleys and use the other hand to slip the belt over the alternator which should be the last pulley you wrap the belt around. A good small flashlight will help you see down into the narrow space to fit the belt of the large pulley at the bottom. Most of the others you will have to place by feel.

You really need the special tool for this job on the Rendezvous as a regular socket wrench is too short for the needed leverage and the standard breaker bar is too long to clear the braces and wiring harness. An 18" - 3/8" ratchet wrench might work, but the correct tool makes it a lot easier.