Serpentine Belts

On the cars I grew up with the fan belt was a rubber belt that transfers torque from the crankshaft to the shaft of the cooling fan for the radiator on an engine. On the cars we drive today, the name fan belt is a bit misleading now because the belt drives much more than just the fan to cool the radiator. Most cars have one large "serpentine" belt that drives all of the accessory motors. The serpentine belt goes around a pulley attached to the flywheel and powers accessory pumps and motors such as the water pump, air conditioner compressor, alternator, power brakes, and the power steering pump as well as the cooling fan for the radiator.

Incorrect tension, or contamination. A bad bearing in the alternator, A/C compressor, etc will cause excessive stress on the belt, and it will squeal as is slides over the stiff parts. Also, serpentine belts are very sensitive to grease or oil. DO NOT use traditional V-belt dressing on a serpentine belt. The least it will do is squeal. At worst, it will pop off while the engine is running and you're under the hood looking at something. They have quite the bite when they let go.

I assume you are trying to replace the serpentine belt and not the tensioner. There isn't enough space to get a ratchet or breakover bar on the nut... You don't need to buy/rent the special tool. You can simply use 2 combination box/open end wrenchs. Simply put the first box end wrench on the nut with open end sticking up... then 'slip/hook' the other box end wrench over one of the tines of the first wrench (play around with it and it'll make sense). This will give you enough leverage to remove the tension and the belt.

instead of asking this forum where to find the diagram, try asking Google for a diagram. couldn't hurt...

Without a year and engine size, there's no way to be definitive with an answer.

If the car is newer, say post 1993 or so, it's likely to have a serpentine belt - one belt that drives the accessory devices like water pump, alternator & power steering.

If it's older and has a dedicated belt, the basic idea is to loosen the alternator PIVOT bolt and pry the alternator outwards against the belt - tighten the pivot bolt to lock it in.

See "Related Questions" below for more

no.

you will need a belt tensioner set, it has a belt tensioner tool and a bolt/nut that needs to be placed in the correct spot, bolt ususally goes on the belt tensioner pulley. after u have placed the bolt on the belt tensioner pully. use the belt tensioner tool to create slack on the belt by pulling it to the right. then u should just be able to take belt off. might need 2 people

1) Seized idler roller bearing or,

2) Seized A/C compressor bearing or,

3) Seized P.S. pump or,

4) Out of alignment pulley

Rick

I'm a retired ASE Master/L-1 Technician. I still keep current with the latest automotive technology. Visit my blog for cool articles and TSB's: http://free-auto-repair-advice.blogspot.com

Put a wrench on the tensioner pulley. Turn in the direction that will introduce slack to the belt. Remove and replace. For more info visit our enthusiasts forum at

www.trailvoy.com

You don't!!!! If the a/c clutch is stuck and causing your engine not to start, you can do one of two things. You can buy/rent a puller, pull off the a/c clutch and install a new one. The a/c will probably not work, but at least the belt will turn and you can start the car. The other option is to replace the a/c compressor. Now...a cheap way to do this if you don't mind driving a car without an air conditioner (i've done it for 6 years now...in arizona!!), is to go to a junk yard and get an old a/c compressor off of a car that's clutch is not stuck. Put it in your car and it will work. You cannot "re-route" a serpentine belt. I've never heard of anyone ever doing that!

"Mitchell On Demand" is a website that you can find diagrams for cars or trucks. Its free to access at the public library. You will have to pay for use of the printer.

serpentine belt has nothing what so ever to do with break fluid.only reason it would leak thru serpentine belt replacement is if a brake line or part was broken by accident while installing belt

There is a sticker under the hood.

I just did this today (Jan 1, 2005) here is how I did it. Tools: 10mm box end wrench ratchet handle 10mm socket 10mm deep socket (much easier for one bolt) 1/2" socket 13mm box end wrench tire ramps or a floor jack with stands 1. Jack up car and disconnect the negative (black) battery cable. use 10mm wrench to loosen terminal clamp. 2. Remove the 5 or six dust shroud bolts on the passenger side, 10mm socket, set dust shroud aside. 3. Remove the 2 hanging bolts on the coolant resivoir (the deep socket and a extension bar are helpful here) set the resivoir (with tubing still attached) aside. 4. Now you can easily get to the accessory belt. Follow the procedure on this (http://www.rldassociates.com/zx2/howto/belt.htm) page to get the v-ribbed belt off. 5. Remove the two molex plugs, use a flat head screwdrive to lift the catches on these plugs. Just below these two, locate the positive lead from the alt. it has a soft red cap. Use the 10mm socket to take it off. 6. There are 3 gold tone mounting bolts for the alternator, 1 up top, 2 underneath, use the 1/2" to take off the bottom two and then support the alt. while you take out the top one. 7. Its free! It might take a little rotation to get it out past the lines. 8. Hang onto the junk alternator, it fetches a core charge for up to 75$ Autozone will sell you another one for 109 plus tax (with the old one) 9. Retrace your steps with the new one and your off. GOOD LUCK! (if the link should be broken, the tensioner pulley is just above a/c compressor, pull on it with a 13mm wrench towards the back of the car to loosen the belt)

"Service engine soon", usually just means that it's time to change the oil. If you know that particular service has been completed recently, perhaps the technician didn't clear the timer.

This question gets asked so much for all cars that I would say it is already answered many times - just go back on previous posts and find one of the answers. Why wait for an answer? This model has a spring loaded idler pully called the tensioner. The pully has a slot in it's metal mount to insert a flat bar or pry bar into (or maybe even a tire tool)and force the pulley away from the belt - push towards the back of the engine. (It may have a 1/2 square hole for a socket wrench.) When you force the pulley away from the belt you can take the belt off any other pully on the engine then release the tensioner and take the belt off all the pullies. Sometimes this is not easy depending on how strong you are and you don't want to let the tensioner slip with your fingers under the belt and pully before you get the belt off. Make sure you have a diagram of the belt's route back on before you remove it or you will be back asking for that and have no wheels for a day or two. Route the new belt correctly around all of the pulleys except the last one which you can get to easily. Again push the tensioner out and slip the belt onto that last pulley. Release the tension on the tensioner The tensioner has a 15mm bolt head, use a 1/2" drive 15mm socket and breaker bar. There is also a long bolt and spacer that needs to be removed from front engine mount in order to get belt completely off engine, you will need to support under front of engine before removing this bolt. A floor jack works great. There should be a belt routing diagram sticker on top radiator support.

THIS APPEARS to be generic answer, not specific to the Delta 88... Please expand on how to remove the three-point motor mount, or which points need to be removed to get the belt to thread through the mount.

Answer... Oldsmobile Delta 88 (Delta eighty-eight). 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 & 1999. The serpentine belt diagram is in the owners manual, end of chapter 6. You will not have to remove the engine mount, just the one bottom leg of the three legged mount which is really just a spacer, nut, & a threaded post. First support the engine at the oil pan. I used a floor jack and a 18 inch 2x4. The nut is accessed from under the mount and you do not have to remove any plastic or rubber pieces. When I removed the nut, the post came with it (I'm not sure if it was seized, had chemical applied, or was welded). If the post needs to be removed separately, there may be a special tool required as the end is star shaped. I'd try a socket, but gently so you do not strip it. You can get an imprint of the end by placing pressure on the end with your finger.

Remove the post. The spacer then can be removed upward. Put the belt on following the above instructions. Move all tools to the side and test. Once satisfied and the engine is cool, replace the mount leg. The spacer is the hard item to replace,,, Insert it from the top horizontally... the tendency is to align the engine side and diagonally lower the spacer to the mount side. That seems not to work... horizontal twisting the spacer as it is lowered. Insert the post and nut. Tighten the post first if removed separately. Of course, remove the floor jack :)

Troy. #

For an experienced mechanic, this is likely to be a 20 minute job - so labor charges *should* be pretty nominal, maybe $50(??)

The belt itself prices in the range of $20-35.

See "Related Questions" below for more about doing the replacement yourself.

Hi, I got my diagram from the dealers parts department. They just printed it out and that was that.

I am not sure what year vehicle you are talking about, but the tensioner should be located towards the top of the engine. You will need a serpentine belt tool kit in order to replace it because I just replaced mine and it kind of a pain with the tool. Located near the RF tire, there is one large pulley to the left, the tensioner is the next pulley. the 3/8" will fit inside of the hole on the right side of the tensioner. Since the tensioner is under extreme pressure, be careful to 1. notice the configuration of the belt, 2. once the belt is off, try to lock the serp. tool, so that you have enough to push down on the tool to get new belt on. THE PULLEY HAS NO RIBS ON IT, if this might help you

Go to your local library and look at the Chiltons automotive book for your year car. It can help you tremendously. I do know you need a tension bar and two people to do this. Be careful as the belt is under alot of pressure and can snap in your face.

Look on the ribbed side of the belt as it is going over pulleys. If you see cracks it would be wise to replace it.

check on autozone .com or maybe going to your local store and they might have one or be able to help you with it

Use a 1/2" drive breaker bar in the tensioner.

A few things, engine not running, loose belt, or seized pully on idler/tensioner or other acc.