Serpentine Belts

Just check every oil flush your serpentine. It could last a long time...and a short time. It depends on a lot of points: wheater, serpentine quality, bearings... When serpentine is about to fail, or, if it seems to be cracked, scratched or any other ...ed, just change it. The answer above is not from a supervisor or team member and should be disregarded. The correct answer would be 35,000 to 40,000 miles. Rule of thumb is 3 cracks per square inch.

Be more informative on "over heats". Is it being driven along time before it over heats? Is the guage showing hot but not boiling out the radiator, is there steam coming from under the hood, is there a sign of leaking under the passenger side dash or under the firewall on the ground, have you had the thermostate replaced, is the water pump leaking?

corral .net

Observe how the belt runs across the pulleys. Now find the belt tensioner( it has a pulley and is usually located toward the top of the belt pathway).The belt tensioner is spring loaded and they have a provision for a 1/2" or 3/8 ratchet to be inserted to pry to relieve the tension in order to remove the belt. At this point remove the belt and reinstall the new one.If your model does not have this provision, a tool by the LISLE company is available at NAPA stores for belt removal. I hope this helps you. Mark

All stepps above are correct except: There is no sprin on this model year. There is a nut behind the idler pully arm that must be loosend. then the tention will be relieved. retighten the nut while prying with a 1/2' ratchet or breaker bar.

The belt tensioner is located below and in front of the power steering pump. It is accessed easiest by taking off the passenger front tire, taking the plastic panels out and looking just in front of and above the alternator. Turn it clockwise to release tension on the belt, NEVER turn it counter clockwise as this will loosen the bolt that holds the pulley on the tensioner and will cause very bad things if it flys off while you are driving on the freeway...personal experience. The tensioner is held on by (2) 10mm bolts, and you will have to remove the pulley to get to them, just make sure you tighten the bejeezus out of the pulley bolt.

Remove serpentine belt and have new tensioner ready, look at it the bolt holding it to the block may be lefthanded thread usually 18 mm. Mosy gm parts are bolted on with metric so try to take it off with left handed thread (clockwise first) if that isn't it then do the normal way put belt back on. A belt tensioner tool is a good investment. they ar eat autozone and cheap and make the job a 5 minute task

You will need to go to Autozone and borrow or buy a tensioner wrench The tensioner wrench fits on to the faceplate nut on the tensioner pully The tensioner wrench is simply pulled clockwise and this releases the tension on the spring-loaded pully and the serpentine belt is then removed with the pressure constantly applied to the tensioner pully so it allows the serpentine belt to be relaxed There is a schematic on the upper inside hood that shows how the serpentine belt is "threaded" through the engine/smogpump/a/c compresser/water pump pully

On the 4.0L engine, you can also do this with an appropriate sized socket (around 5/8, I think) and a breaker bar. Turn the center bolt of the idler pulley COUNTER CLOCKWISE about 1/6 to 1/4 turn, then carefully reach under and behind the pulley to locate the retainer latch (it is a flat piece of spring steel, out of sight on the lower right side behind the idler pulley when facing the engine from the front) and press this toward the tensioner pivot; then slowly release the wrench. The tensioner should then stop on the retainer at a semi-released position so you can remove the wrench. To take the idler off the latch, be sure to rotate it COUNTER CLOCKWISE again until you hear the spring release.

You don't "tighten" the belt, it's self adjusting. If the belt is slipping you probably have a problem with the tensioner spring. Occasionally the spring weakens over time. Pull the tensioner and replace it if you think it's loose.

Note:The drivebelt routing decal on the radiator shroud to help during drivebelt install * To replace the belt rotate the tensioner pulley clockwise to release belt tension * Remove the belt from the auxiliary components and slowly release the tensioner * Route the new belt over the various pulleys again rotating the tensioner to allow the belt to be installed then release the belt tensioner

One of the engine mounts has to be removed to get the belt off. One of the engine mounts has to be removed to get the belt off.

Regardless of what type of vehicle you have, it is extremely difficult to replace a serpentine belt w/o a serpentine un-tension-er tool. This is a thin, long handle with a socket on the end that sticks out at 90 degrees of the handle. The socket slips onto the bolt-head of the tension-er pulley. Once the serpentine belt is threaded around all the other pulleys you put the un-tension-er tool on the tension-er pulley bolt and pull (or push) to achieve slack in the serpentine belt and slip it on the tension-er pulley.

K. firstly, that's a crock. Dodge doesn't capitalize on making MECHANICS rich. Sometimes, probably most of the times, you don't need the whole UNIT, (the tensioner unit) sometimes you just need a new tensioner PULLEY, which is about 20 bucks at eBay motors, and slightly more at NAPA. This so called 700 dollar job, is true when you need the whole "kit n kaboodle" but many times you don't. So yes.....the Pulley is replaceable and NO STUPID ENGINE EXTRACTIONS ARE NECESSARY. This is such a pathetic scam. It takes minutes to bolt and unbolt, a specialty tool may be necessary so to save money (which most of us don't have, and especially when the 700 dollar frickin job costs more than the car is worth, NOW YOU KNOW, tell your frickin mechanic that you know that it should take about 5 minutes to replace the PULLEY, and that's that. I would think that those days are gone where people are being told B.S. so the mechanic could make some money. Dodge, shame on you for not going on to these sites like I did to correct the bookmakers.

Bowers

Clarks Harbour N.S.

Everything written above is a crock...It is an expensive job because you have to unbolt the motor mount and lower torque strut and lift the motor up. It is labor intensive to remove the pumps and pulley's as well. Dodge for some time would only sell the entire engine cover with the pulley attached for $150.00 plus...Now just the pully is available through Gates but you still have to remove the side of the engine.

ASE certified mechanic that has done this job more than once...

Yeah? well once my research (I'm female) was done, and I stress that you must know the difference between the tensioner apparatus (which IS a big job) or just the tensioner pulley, which by the way, (the one belt that controlled the power steering not the alternator) Canadian tire in Yarmouth did it in less than two hours, (replaced the PULLEY PART of it, not the whole part) and it cost exactly 143.00 so there you have it. Maybe they had to unbolt a couple things from the motor but it certainly didn't have to come out, just maybe lift an inch or two with a jack underneath, I'm not sure, so they could get into the tight space, but it was a simple job. That's what I'm trying to tell people. So they can STOP GETTING RIPPED OFF, Google your problem, and don't get ripped off. My first quote was for over 1100.00 So there.

you can for a limited amount of time. without the belt your battery will die, and cause your car to die

Depending on quality it can last 5 years and more, but it's not guaranteed because the life span depends on in which conditions you usually drive.

Loosen the tensioner pulley, take the old belt off, BE CAREFUL TO ROUTE THE NEW ONE THE SAME WAY, and put the new one on. Make sure you get the tension right or you will have many problems. Don't try to start the car with the belt off.

There is a spring loaded tensioner that is supposed to keep the serpentine tight. If it is loose, it needs to be replaced.

They are made of cotton which is what makes them soft as well as comfortable :) They also have elastic around the waist and ankles.

You look at the bolt holding the tensioner pulley and get a six point socket to fit. Use socket on long bar to rotate tensioner away from belt. Be careful that if socket slips off, personal injury may occur.

Most likely one of the pulleys is out of alignment. Be sure to look at the crank pulley to make sure it is rotating in a true circle.

Release the tension by applying a 3/8 inch ratchet into the tensioner bar. Pull it towards you and take off the belt.

This sounds like a classic case of the belt tension being incorrect. The pump is loaded when turning to full lock in either direction and causes the belt to slip when to loose. Adjust the belt and the noise should go away. If it is excessively worn it may pay to replace the belt.

Serpentine puller

Its a belt used to transfer motion, where the cross sectional shape looks like a `V`.

By saying you need to "repair" the drive belts can it be assumed that you mean you need to change them? If so, the best way to find the procedure and proper routing would be to buy a Haynes repair manual for your model from an automotive store or check your local library for a Chilton repair manual. Both contain valuable info on much more pertaining to your car. !

I think the problem may be a missing splash shield, that allows water to splash up on the belt and pulleys acting like a lubricant and letting the belt slide off.