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Serpentine Belts
A serpentine belt is a single, continuous belt utilized in driving devices – such as power steering pump, alternator and others – in an automotive engine. First used by Mercedes-Benz, the belt is more efficient than the older multiple belt system.
2,994 Questions
Why does the serpentine belt on a 1998 Plymouth voyager keep breaking?
The belt tensioner probably needs to be replaced - about $110 @ PepBoys. Check the alignment of all pulleys. If something isn't aligned properly the belt will keep breaking.
How do you tighten the tensioner on a 1997 Chevy Malibu 3.1L?
If your serpentine belt is loose, then your tensioner is either bad or it hasn't been seated properly. If you back out the bolt holding the tensioner, you should see small round projection on the side where the tensioner meets the engine. It should fit into a corresponding hole in the engine block. Tighten the bolt. Don't try and do this with the belt in position, it's next to impossible. Use a 1/4" breakover bar and insert it into the tensioner- you will see a place where it will fit. Place it where the handle is pointing toward the firewall. Push down on the bar and the tensioner should move far enough to position the belt over the tensioner. Release the bar and the tensioner should spring back to where it supplies tension to the belt. If it doesn't- then you need a new one. They're relatively cheap, and it's a good idea to get a new one each time you buy a new belt anyway. If your serpentine belt is loose, then your tensioner is either bad or it hasn't been seated properly. If you back out the bolt holding the tensioner, you should see small round projection on the side where the tensioner meets the engine. It should fit into a corresponding hole in the engine block. Tighten the bolt. Don't try and do this with the belt in position, it's next to impossible. Use a 1/4" breakover bar and insert it into the tensioner- you will see a place where it will fit. Place it where the handle is pointing toward the firewall. Push down on the bar and the tensioner should move far enough to position the belt over the tensioner. Release the bar and the tensioner should spring back to where it supplies tension to the belt. If it doesn't- then you need a new one. They're relatively cheap, and it's a good idea to get a new one each time you buy a new belt anyway. If your serpentine belt is loose, then your tensioner is either bad or it hasn't been seated properly. If you back out the bolt holding the tensioner, you should see small round projection on the side where the tensioner meets the engine. It should fit into a corresponding hole in the engine block. Tighten the bolt. Don't try and do this with the belt in position, it's next to impossible. Use a 1/4" breakover bar and insert it into the tensioner- you will see a place where it will fit. Place it where the handle is pointing toward the firewall. Push down on the bar and the tensioner should move far enough to position the belt over the tensioner. Release the bar and the tensioner should spring back to where it supplies tension to the belt. If it doesn't- then you need a new one. They're relatively cheap, and it's a good idea to get a new one each time you buy a new belt anyway.
How do you adjust an automatic tensioner for your drive belt on a 1993 Ford Tempo?
If your tensioner is "automatic", or spring loaded in other words. It is not adjustable in most cases. They are either good or bad. If the spring does not hold the belt tight any longer, the tensioner has to be replaced, no adjustments are able to be made.
How do you replace the serpentine belt on 1997 Chrysler Town and Country?
Alignment - The link below provides a good solution to align the pulley to keep the belt in place. It is on the bracket of the power sterling, instead of on the idler pulley.
http://www.allpar.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=51435
I do not have problem with my '97 3.3L T&C after 80K miles. Not every cars need the adjustment. I posted the previous (about Autozone's web page) to help you to know if the belt is aligned or not.
Is your belt coming off, like when you go through a puddle? This is a VERY common problem with the earlier Dodge/Chrysler vans. When the belt comes off when you are driving, you lose your power steering, power brakes, and eventually your battery goes dead because your alternator (recharges your battery) is also out. There have been hundreds of complaint to the National Institute of Highway Safety, but to date, there has never been a recall. Bottom line - Someone will have to get killed as a result of this failure or poor design before there is a recall.
ANYWAY, back to the serpentine belt. Our belt on our 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan came off numerous times, before I realized that the idler wheel toward the front and above (right under an air conditioning line dripping condensed water by the way) is actually too far in and has too much bevel on it allowing the belt to slip off easier. In addition to the dripping condensate as a potential problem, there is no splash guarding underneath that area to prevent water, snow, slush, etc. from flying up onto the idler wheel causing the belt to come off. SOLUTION: I found a simple 10 cent washer that has an inside diameter the size of the idler wheel bolt and an outside diameter no greater than the idler wheel bearing housing. I took the idler wheel off and put the washer behind it and reinstalled. That little bit more of space moves the idler wheel out just enough to keep the belt from coming off. My belt has NEVER come off again. Isn't it amazing that a simple washer that costs only pennies, could actually save someone's life. Apparently, Dodge/Chrysler doesn't think so !
51435
The first figure from the web below (credit to Autozone web after I did a search) gives you clue if the belt is in place or not, I believe the engine should be running when checking the position of the belt:
http://www.alldata.com/service_provider/techrx/2001/20010615.html
How much does it cost to replace a serpentine belt?
Charge is minimum 30 minutes labor plus belt including retail markup of 100 percent. My belt was $25 at the parts store. So it was $50 parts, $45 labor, $8 shop supplies and $7 tax. Took 5 minutes.
How to replace a 2002 town and country serpentine belt?
I just went through this repair. It was not bad. Took 30 minutes and very few tools. Get the correct belt. Have the belt diagram from the engine compartment or elsewhere. This job is done from under the car.
1. Turn the wheel to the RIGHT as far as it will go.
2. Raise the right front side of the car if possible. This is NOT nessesary, but makes the job a little easier. Be safe and use a jack stand.
3. Remove 2 of the lower inner plastic fender/splash guards. They have several of those plastic push buttons. I used a claw hammer and fat screwdriver blade to pry them out. The lower guard has a small metal screw. I used pliers on that one. Set them aside.
4. Now you can see the serpentine belt, the tensioner and all of the pulleys. You will need a light of some kind. Take a good look at the belt and note the route it takes. The idea is to take the tension off the belt and easily remove it. The reality is somewhat different.
5. The tensioner is designed to be moved with a 1/2 (or is it 3/8) square drive socket wrench. It has a square hole in it that you should be able to insert a tool and pull down to move the tensioner and make belt removal easy. The frame of the van is in the way of the square hole. However the spring box end of the tensioner has a rectangular lug on it. The lug is about 3/8 inch thick and 3/4 inch long. I put a 12 inch adjustable wrench on it and pushed up. The tensioner pulley then comes down allowing the belt to come off easily.
6. I recommend putting the new belt on the furthest highest pulley first. That would be the power steering pump. Then continue along the bottom following the diagram. But skip the AC pump for now. This allows you to put the belt in all the tight remote places.
7. When you are ready to put pressure on the tensioner again the AC pump will be easy to get to. Good luck.
How do you replace the serpentine belt for a 1999 Grand Am?
It depends on if it has a mount in front of it or it doesn't.
yes in front
In order to change the serpentine belt on a 99 grand am, you have to loosen the motor mount that is directly in the way. Once you have loosened the motor mount, you have to raise the engine (with the use of a floor jack) with enough of a gap to remove the old belt and slip the new belt on. Once the new belt is roughly in place (it doesn't have to actually be on the pullies yet)you can lower the engine back into place and secure the motor mount. Now you have to fight the tensioner, which is located on the lower rear of the engine (towards the firewall). Either get a wrench on the tensioner and slip the belt over, which may not work because you may not be able to get the wrench in there, or try getting to it from the bottom of the car. It's a real blast to change one. Wait to you change the headlights!!
New HeadlineAnd enjoy the day as you try to replace the timing gear cover gasket. That's a RIOT...--trp3141592
Detailed answer
If you have the 3.1 L V-6, it's a job and a half.
Ok, here goes. First, buy, rent, or pay the deposit on the parts store's loaner long-handled serpentine belt tool. It has skinny sockets that you will need to replace the tensioner. Bite the bullet and get the tool. Also--bite another bullet and buy the tensioner when you buy the belt. Get the best quality belt and tensioner you can get: this is NO time or place to go cheap.
If your serpentine belt BROKE, you likely have a greater problem than a worn belt. Before going to the parts store, check to see if the water pump or AC compressor is frozen up. Buy parts accordingly. The forces involved in breaking the belt will also tear the pulley on the tensioner to pieces. Just go ahead and replace the tensioner pre-emptively. That's why you bought it when you bought the belt, so do it now.
Now, grit your teeth and accept the fact that you have to remove all the moter mount stuff. You'll have to support the engine (with a jack on a 2x4 to spread the weight) from underneath. You'll remove the 3 nuts (don't lose the blind bolt under the 3rd nut) on the top of the black stamped steel bracket, the two bolts in the passenger side fender well that hold the bottom of the 2nd stamped steel bracket, the two bolts holding the heavy duty silver bracket, and the three bolts holding the heavy black cast bracket to the underside of the heavy silver bracket.
You will find that getting the 3/8" drive of a ratchet into the slight space offered by GM at the tensioner may be impossible. However, there is a 19mm flat-sided boss on the tensioner facing the front of the car. You can get a 19mm open end wrench, or a Crescent wrench, onto that boss and lift forcefully to turn the tensioner. Turn counterclockwise, as viewed from the passenger side, to loosen the belt. I would still opt to get the serpentine installation tool set from the parts store. (I also went ahead and made a 3/8" tool with more offset than the store-bought one. If you have welding capability, it's worth it to have the home-made tool.)
Since you have removed all the motor mount stuff removed already, this is the time to remove and replace the tensioner. Just do it. A good new one (a Dayco brand tensioner) is about 50 bucks at a parts store. By now you'd pay three times that not to have to do this job again. So just do it. Considering the work you are going through to do all this on your day off, replacing the tensioner as a preventative measure is well worth it. You need skinny hands to get the bolt started, but it can be done without too much grief. Put some Never-Seize on the bolt threads before installation. Note that you have to engage the pin on the tensioner into the hole in the engine timing gear cover before tightening down the bolt. Use the NEW BOLT that will come with the tensioner: it's different than GM's.
You already have removed the black stamped steel brackets that were attached to the fender, right? And you have also removed the heavy silver one that has the three big bolts (15 mm heads, two toward the back and one toward the front) and one empty hole at the front of the silver piece. You have replaced the tensioner because you do not want to go through this again next Spring. To install the new belt, you must LOOSEN the three bolts on the heavy and thick black cast and forged bracket that is attached to the engine. They are low and toward the front. This heavy forged thick bracket was attached to the thick silver piece with the three heavy bolts, and it is the black piece that prevents you from simply installing the belt around the power steering pump pulley. (BTW, removng the power steering pump won't help you--you have to get the belt around the black bracket.) By LOOSENING the three bolts in the heavy black bracket, you can just barely cause a gap at the rearmost heavy bolt location between the stamped steel engine mount boss and the heavy black bracket that will just barely allow you to slip in the belt. You may need to do a little gentle levering, but don't break anything. Note that I said LOOSEN--if you remove the three bolts you'll have coolant all over the place. Even so, you may have to remove the upper one completely to get enough of a gap at the rear for the belt to go through.
Once the belt is "through the loop" of the heavy black bracket, be sure you also get it around (over) the power steering pully, under the water pump pulley, and headed down toward the AC pulley. Tighten the three bolts that you just loosened, and thread the belt on to the pulleys. It goes (ribbed side) back around the alternator, down and around the crank pulley (ribbed side), up and around the tensioner (smooth side), down and around the AC pulley (ribbed side), up and around the water pump pulley (smooth side), over the power steering pump pulley (ribbed side) and rearward to the alternator (ribbed side.) Whew! You'll quickly find that it won't voluntarilty go over the alternator pulley unless you relieve the tensioner. Use the tool you rented or bought or made to relieve the tensioner (see above), slip the belt over the alternator pulley (ribbed side), and then ease up on your death grip on the tensioner tool to allow the belt to tighten itself.
CHECK ALL THE PULLEYS to be SURE the ribbed surface is centered on each ribbed pulley!! Misalignment will break the belt in a hurry, and then you can do this delightful task all over again.
Ok, that was all easy. You started at 10:00 thismorning and now it's 8:30 tonight. Now it's time to reassemble this beast. Whether today or tomorrow is up to you.
If you decided not to replace the tensioner yesterday, this is a good time to reconsider the wisdom of that decision. Thankfully, Auto Zone and Advance are open on Sundays...
You will find that dealing with the motor mount pieces is a challenge, especially in re-assembly. The one and only nice thing GM did for you is to have provided that 4th hole (the empty one) in the silver bracket--it allows you to pry and wiggle the motor mount pieces into alignment. Be prepared to adjust the engine up, down, front, and back a lot. With patience and some jockeying around, it all bolts together in reverse of disassembly.
Check for tools and anything you may have forgotten to tighten. The only left over part should be the original GM tensioner attachment bolt and the old tensioner, both of which you replaced with the new tensioner. Check coolant level. and Voila !! You're done.
Until it breaks again.
--Tom
I just completed this today (Feb 22, 2009), it took about two hours at a slow pace with my son helping. It's my daughters 99 grand am. Also I'm not a mechanic, I'm slow, I just did it to help my daughter. Her serpentine belt is not broken, it's old and worn with lots of cracks and it needed replacement before it broke. All I was doing was a simple belt replacement. I hoped. As it turned out it was.
In order to change the serpentine belt in a garage we first supported the engine using a small wood block and a floor jack. The board was 1x because a 2x4 was too thick for my jack. After the engine is supported it was back to the belt.
To make this job easier we needed some room to wrench. So we removed the Coolant fill/over flow tank by removing the single bolt holding down. With the tank loose we simply lifted it or swung it out of the way as needed through out the project. We then removed two bolts holding another bracket in the way. Not sure what that component was, it's about 4x4x4 black electrical looking widget on a black metal bracket attached to the wheel well by two hex head screws. Now with every thing open we could see better and had much better access.
Next we removed two bolts and two nuts and removed the engine mount plate. Then it was time to release the tensioner. I don't know what Tom above was doing but my 3/8" drive rachet fit right into that perfect 3/8" square hole that GM put there. This does suck because it's located on the lower rear of the engine (towards the firewall). My 3/8" rachet is short of course so I used about a 14 mm deepwell socket with an 8" long 3/8" extension to extend the length of the handle. This gave me the leverage needed opperate the tensioner. The ratchet once it moved forward as the tension released would not come out of the hole from reduced clearance with the wheel well. So it just sat there and we wiggled the new belt around it. I will say this, I had two 3/8" rachets but only one of them would fit, the other was too fat. So it's possible you would have to get another tool. By the way you need a good set of metric sockets.
Now jack the engine up enough of a gap to remove the old belt and slip the new belt on. With the new belt roughly wound around the lower pulley's we started bolting back up the engine mount bracket. We simply pushed on the engine and leaned on the front end of the car to lower/raise the suspension just using our weight and pushing it around a bit. It bolted back up and went back on fairly smooth to this point. Use caution with those bolts and that alluminum block, one of our was stubborn.
With the motor mount now secured again. We released the jack and it settled back. From there we finished routing the upper half of the belt to the point where it was ready for the tensioner again. Once the belt was back on I checked that the belt looked snug and straight on all pulley's, it was. Then we remounted the black bracket thing and the coolant tank and, picked up the tools and started the engine. Ran great, end of job! Job well done.
Doug
What is the serpentine belt routing for 1998 Jeep Wrangler 6-cyl with AC and power steering?
Check the manufacturer's routing sticker under the hood.
What size serpentine belt do you need to cancel out your ac pulley on your 94 Pontiac grand am 3.1L?
you can buy after market ac buy past pulley had same thing happen to my car ac went out.
What is the routing diagram for a serpentine belt on a 2002 Tahoe 4.8 engine?
There should be a diagram under or on the Hood inside the engine bay to denote Belt routing.
If not then acquire a Repair Manual specific to that Vehicle.
When do you replace the timing belt on the Infinity FX35?
The 2003 fx has the same engine as Nissan pathfinder the 3.5 v6 therefore theres no bełt on those engine only a chain. So u font have to sorry about replaicing the bełt anytime soon.;)
How do loosen the tensioner for a serpentine belt on a 1995 crown Victoria?
Look around the belt floating roller. Place a ratchet in the square hole and torque the ratchet. The tensioner will release.
How do you replace the serpentine belt on a 1998 Chevy Prizm?
I have a 2000 LSI model but it is the same body style as the '98. Standing in front of the car look on the left (passenger) side of the engine near the serpentine belt (slightly under the highest part of the serpentine belt. You will see a metal bracket which is the tensioner. It is larger than you might expect a tensioner to be. On the bracket is what looks like a nut that is simply part of the hardware, it can't be removed (I don't know the word for this). Put your wrench or socket (use a long one) on this "fake nut" and pull towards you. You can see and feel the tension on the belt loosen. Be sure to take note of the belt route before removing the old belt. Loosen the tension and remove the old belt. Easiest installation of the new belt is done by putting the new belt on the upper pulleys first, but then getting under the car. For easiest access you can jack up the car (put it on a jack stand) and remove the front passenger tire. After you remove the dust/splash guard under the car, you can easily see the belt pulleys on the under side of the engine. You may need a second person to hold the tensioner in the "belt loose" position while you install the new belt. My wife handled this just fine. This is how I changed the belt; it took me ten minutes. By the way, this is not as difficult as it sounds.
How do you replace the serpentine belt on a 1991 Buick Park Avenue?
To replace the serpentine belt on a V6 3800 series non-supercharged motor, you must jack up the motor and remove a motor mount. Before going any further make sure that the factory belt diagram sticker is still somewhere under the hood; if not, make a detailed diagram of the path of the belt. You must then use a breaker bar with a socket (I believe 13/64") and pull it toward the front of the car to release the belt tensioner. Put the new belt on, tighten it, put the mount back on, and lower the jack. Personally I believe that this one is a tough job for the average person with limited tools, and may be better to bring it to a mechanic. **Driving without a belt can cause the motor to overheat, will cut power steering, and will not recharge the battery, so you should probably get a tow**
How do you fix the belt drive on a '93 Mercury Sable?
I don't have an answere, but a picture diagram would help alot try going to "How stuff works"!
How do you replace the serpentine belt on a 1992 Ford Thunderbird?
1- You will need to disengage the negative battery cable prior to proceeding. This way the fan will not injure you if it should start unexpectantly.
2- Locate the tension wheel. This will be on the left side of the engine incorporated in the serpentine loop. There is a nut on this wheel. Use an appropriate size closed [or box end] wrench or a medium to large socket handle with the appropriate size socket and place on the nut.
3- Pull up on the wrench to relieve the pressure on the belt. There is not much room here so be careful and patient with yourself.
4- Pay attention to the path the belt takes around all the wheels. Note that some wheels are ribbed and some are smooth. The belt will ride with the rib side down on the ribbed ones. There should be a diagram on the frame near the front of the engine compartment.
5- I found that it is easier to remove the exhaust hose from above the serpentine for easier access.
6- With the tension released you can remove the belt.
7- Be careful when letting go of the wrench to get the new belt. The tension wheel has a strong spring inside it that can injure you.
8- Begin to loop the belt in the correct path leaving the smallest very top wheel for last. This wheel will be a smooth wheel that he belt will need to pass under. I found that this is the easiest wheel to reach while placing the belt back on.
9- Again pull up on the tension wheel as far as you can with one hand while you move the belt under the last wheel.
10- Prior to releasing the tension wheel, make sure that the belt is still in all the groves and around all other smooth wheel where appropriate.
!
How do you change the serpentine belt and adjust tension in a 2002 Outback 3.0 6-cylinder?
Here are instructions for a 2004. There should be little, if any difference.
What does the error code PO 030 mean in a 1998 Lincoln Continental?
P0030 - HO2S heater control circuit (bank 1 , sensor 1)
P0300 - Random/ multiple cylinder misfire detetected
Where is the thermostat located on a 1992 Buick Park Avenue?
just in front of the air intake on the 92 park avenue supercharged model not sure on the standard 3.8 liter
How do you install a serpentine belt on a 1999-2000 Toyota Corolla?
I just did this today. First make a diagram of the belt's route around the 6 pulleys. If the belt came off before a diagram is made: From the left side of the engine as you stand in front of it, imagine 6 pulleys. One is on the bottom left side (#1). Two is on the top right side (#2). Three is on the right bottom side (#3). Four is on the bottom between #1 and #3. Five and six are above #4 on each side. Five is on the left side of #4 and six is on the right side. These two are the only ones where the ribbing side is away from the pully. I have an air conditioner. Not sure if that tidbit matters for replacement but I think it does for the purchase of the belt. Here is the drawing:
http:/ytosa.home.att.net1ZZ-FEengine.jpg
NOTE: The link shown above is missing a '/' between ".net" and "1ZZ". For some reason, the WikiAnswers server automatically changes ".net/1ZZ" to ".net1ZZ" so you don't get to see the drawing. Just add the '/' between ".net" and "1ZZ" when viewing the link.
The belt goes rib down around left side of #1, to and around right side of #2 (rib down), around the top side of #6(rib away from pulley), to and around right side of #3 (rib down), around bottom side of #4 (rib on pulley), up and around right side of #5 (rib away from pully), and down to #1 (rib on pulley). Drawing this as you eyeball your engine and drawing a line around the pulleys will help.
http://i5.photobucket.comalbumsy198neel27serpentine.jpg
The tension relief point is above the right edge of pulley #1. There are two bolts. The bottom is a real bolt and the top one is the tension reliever. It's not a real bolt. It just provides the leverage to loosen the system. It takes a mm size above 17mm as that's the highest I had (it takes a 19 mm socket). So I used a 3/4" socket. I put a metal vacuum cleaner wand over the ratchet handle for more leverage. (I used a torque wrench.) Turn it clockwise or towards the front. It loosens the system enought to take the belt off and put another on.
http://i5.photobucket.comalbumsy198neel27TENSIONRELIEF.jpg
I am not a mechanic and this took me approx 15 min to draw the diagram and make the replacement. (Not counting the approx. 2 hrs of internet research.)
neel27: I landed up to this page while searching about installing serpentine belt for Toyota corolla 2000. This helped a lot. I added the pictures I had taken during my work. Kudos to the original submitter.
ytosa: I added the drawing of the side of the engine, the socket size 19 mm, and a torque wrench alternative. Thank you for the submitter. I was able to replace the belt, following the instruction.
cjr008: Excellent page. To put the serpentine belt (drive belt), I found it easier if I stood in front of the car. Then, with my right-hand I pulled the wrench -that loosens the system- towards me and with my left-hand I pushed in the serpentine belt on the tensioner pulley.
