Serpentine Belts

Most cars and trucks today have what is called a serpentine belt which runs most accessories.They are very dependable and usually easy to replace. To decide if your belt needs replacing, simply look at the grooved side of the belt to see if it is cracking badly. A couple of cracks every 3 inches is normal, but if you see cracks every 1-2 inches I would recommend that you replace it. On most cars and trucks the procedure is basically the same. First off, get the correct belt by bringing your cars VIN number to the parts store(located on your cars dashboard) the parts store may need it. If there are two choices, get them both so you can complete the repair. Once you have the correct belt, take a minute to review how the belt runs across the pulleys and also check to see if your car/ truck has a underhood diagram of belt routing in case you need it. In most cases you will need a socket wrench or breaker bar with either a 3/8" and /or 1/2" head on it and possibly a short extension. Some models may require a wrench of these similar sizes.Now that you are ready to go to work, you will need to find the spring loaded tensioner which is generally located near the top of the belt path; it usually has a shinny pulley on it. Look at the tensioner and insert the tool into it and apply opposing pressure to release the belt.Now, simply install the new belt making sure it fits into the grooves on all the pulleys. Start the car to check it and you are done and you saved yourelf some money!

First, make sure you have the right size belt. If you've modified your engine, or the previous owner modified it, you'll have to measure out the new length. If you have to measure, use a semstress's tape and route per the diagram under the hood. If the diagram sticker is missing or damaged, your owners manual or a shop manual from an auto parts store should have one.

Second, buy your belt, and start it per the diagram, waiting for the tensioner last. The tensioner usually has a 1/2" square recess that a 1/2" drive rachet/breaker bar etc will fit in. Twisting the tensioner in the correct direction will allow slack for the last bit of belt to slide on. Release the tensioner, and you are done.

Most newer model cars have arrows and needle pointers on the tensioner to prevent turning too far or the wrong way. The tensioner will flex in both directions, but was only designed to allow sufficient slack in one direction. Make sure you replace the belt per the diagram, having your water pump/altenator/power steering pump turn the wrong way could lead to more expensive repairs.

You can find a serpentine belt diagram for a 1987 Ford Thunderbird if you click here. Everything turns the same way but the water pump and the idler which use the outside of the belt.

1-start bu fishing the belt around the fan. These instructions go clockwise. 2-drape the belt OVER your ALTERNATOR(top p-side) 3-then UNDER the TENSIONER (top center) 3-then OVER the A/C PUMP (top d-side) 4-then straight down to RIGHT side of POWER STEERING pump (bottom d-side) 5-then up OVER top of WATER PUMP (middle center) 6-then down and to the RIGHT of MAIN/H.B. PULLEY (bottom center) 7-then around the BOTTOM left side of the AIR PUMP This will bring you back to the alternator. There won't be enough slack to complete the circut so flip the belt off the alternator and use that slack on the air pump put a socket on the tensioner pulley and turn it counter clockwise this should give you enough slack to flip it back over the alternator. MAKE SURE THE BELT IS SEATED PROPERLY INTO THE PULLEYS OR IT WILL EITHER CUT THE BELT OR FLIP OFF AND GET MAULED. Good Luck. Y'huck Y'huck

If you look down at the belt area, you will see a pully toward the front of the car that looks like it's attached to an arm. That is the tensioner pully. The tensioner is spring loaded. If you look at the arm of the tensioner there should be a square hole in it to insert a socket wrench or a breaker bar/pull handle to use as a lever to remove the tension from the belt. If there is no hle, then use a wrench(possibly 15mm) on the bolt head of the pully itself as your lever. As you hold the tensioner out of the way, unloop the old belt. Pay attention to the routing, so you can reinstall the new one correctly. Then, you route the new one in and again use your lever to move the tensioner so you can get the belt over the last pully. I usually put it over the alternator last. Use a light to make sure the belt is fully on all 5 grooves of every single pulley before you start the car.

It should be on the fan shroud. If not, draw one before you take it off. If it is off, go to a used car lot and find a car like yours and draw your own schematic. Or it is in your owners manual or get a manual on your car from the parts store.

Replace belt by loosening center nut of idler pulley, unscrewing the smaller adjusting bolt of the idler pulley until the old belt can be lifted off. Reverse procedure to install, make sure the new belt is properly centered on all 3 pulleys. Tighten until you cannot move the belt 1/4 inch up and down, then start engine, run for 10 minutes, shut off engine, and re-check belt tension. You may have to re-set the tension once or twice more until the belt settles into the pulleys. It is normal for the belt to be slightly loose when cold-- will tighten when the engine is warm.

the alternator serves as the tensioner in atleast the 2.0 engine. I had to replace my belt recently, it wasn't a very complicated matter. Loosen the lower alternator mounting bolt. Then take off the nut on the top left of the alternator. Finally loosen the bolt on the top of the alternator, (it faces you). You can then remove the bolt that runs through the alternator. This will allow you to remove the old belt and replace it.

The schematic should be on the fan shroud.

It took me awhile to find it on the internet when I needed it..go to http://www.autozone.com it will help you out. http://autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/0b/a2/88/0900823d800ba288.jsp There it is for 1988 - 1995 Chrysler FWD V6 engines

if you're under the hood, look at all the pulleys. the big one in the back, that is the one you will need to get to. I am not well with the proper terms or even tools, however, when you go to tighten it, it will turn towards the front of the car. at that time, you can get the belt off. Remember the diagram of how it goes on, cause if you don't, none of your things will work. oh, buy a book also. it is faster than this forum.

You need to obtain a flat serpentine changing wrench. They come in a variety of qualities, but a cheepie will do ~10$. You hook that on the end of the sprung idler pully and rotate against the spring pressure. the belt will loosen, pop it off, and put the new one on. The whole process will take under 10 minutes once the old belt is off. I considered cutting it off, but didn't need to with the wrench. Without the flat wrench, you will fight this for too long and likely not succeed.

I couldn't find a flat serpentine wrench (breaker bar) - the local stores used to carry them. What works just as well is a 15 mm box end wrench (the circular type that encloses a bolt), with a set of vise grip pliers for torque. The wrench is offset just enough to be able to place on the 15 mm bolt of the automatic belt tensioner pulley. Rotate the wrench clockwise (toward the front of the car) to release the pressure on the belt.

A small rope on the end of the 15MM wrench will hold the tensioner or a helper can pull on the rope.

i have a 98 kia sephia, and i actually had to take the (left) motor mount off to raise the engine to allow removal clearance. use a regular floor jack but choose a good spot and a scrap piece of wood to lift motor. using caution and a little patience, it can be done. p.s. the oem kia alternator , is surprisingly cheap.....and the quality is that of what kia fans can expect....?! good luck

I recommend removing the intake manifold to allow clearance, no matter what the design is less than helpful as it should not be necessary to do that ...30 minute job turns into 2 hour job

Hey. You got to start off by taking off you alternator belt. Once that is dont you got to then take your the intake off. Once your intake is off you then take the two bolts, one concter and you positive off the alternator then it will then slide out. Remember when taking off alternator clean conector before putting in new one. Be patient... Good Luck.

Damn this 3rd answer. Someone needs to take a spelling class

My Chilton's manual makes this sound really easy, but its like birthing a baby using forceps, but you don't need to remove the intake manifold or jack up the engine. Here is what I did.

1. Unbolt the main electrical cable from the alternator.

2. Unplug the control wires. The plug has a locking clip that must be pushed toward the wiring.

3. Loosen the pivot bolt on the bottom of the alternator, which has to be reached from underneath the car.

4. Then from above loosen the tensioning bolt and the tensioning mounting bolt. Remove the belt and remove the bolts. Remove the tensioning bracket and tensioning bracket bolt. (Chilton's says to just swing it out of the way, but it wouldn't stay out of the way, and you need all the room you can make)

5. Unclip the fuel line from its mounting clips and gently push the fuel line out of the way.

6. Disconnect all the power steering lines and get them out of the way. This makes a mess unless you drain the power steering fluid first or plug the open tubes with caps or plugs. Remove the power steering line mounting bracket. Also take off the mounting bolt for the A/C lines.

7. Take a piece of 14 gage wire or a coat hangar and hook it on to the alternator like a handle, so you can pull on the alternator without having your hands in the way.

8. Gently pull the alternator out with one hand pulling on the wire handle and the other hand pushing all the other tubes out of the way. I found that the pinch point was between the end of the fuel rail and the air conditioning lines. The skinniest part of the alternator is perpendicular to the rotor and between the mounting points.

9. Disconnect nearest cable from the cruise control box. Mine just twisted off with a 1/4 turn.

10. Installation is the reverse of removal.

If you just remove the power steering brackets you can get it far enough out of the way to remove the alternator

There should be a schematic on the fan shroud for the serpentine belt I don't know about a '98 Riviera but I have a 1996 Riviera & it's in my original owners manual. Athough I do not have a engine belt diagram on the fan shroud, I do have a decal for the enviormental control system. ANSWER: There is a schematic in the owner's manual of the '98 Riviera.

The fan belt on a 2000 Holden Rodeo is tightened by loosening the tensioner and using a pry bar to apply pressure. The bolt is then tightened to maintain the tension.

Loosen the tensioner pulley. Slide the tensioner pulley to the right. The serpentine belt will come loose. Remove the serpentine belt. Reverse the process to install the new serpentine belt.

You can tighten a fan belt by tightening the tensioner pulley. Pry to the left on the tensioner pulley and tighten it.

2006 town n country van 3.3l what is da tool size to release tensioner its not a bolt but a square open

Clean all of the dressing back off and replace the belt.