Serpentine Belts

What engine do you have ?

when serpentine belt breaks alternator and water pump stop working along with power steering pump

We think so.

On the tensioner, sometimes it has a cover on the tensioner that covers the bolt.

you have to push down on the tension pulley, then you would get slack in the belt

the belt is automatically tensioned by a spring loaded tensioner.

HeyKen==You need to repair what turned it on in the first place then have auto zone remove the trouble codes. GoodluckJoe

There is a belt tensioner (spring loaded pulley that automatically keeps the belt tight) that needs to be temporarily slackened while the now loose belt is slipped off one of the accessories. Sorry, but I can't remember what tool is needed to loosen the belt tensioner. Just opening the hood and observing the tensioner is all that's needed. FYI: if you're having trouble locating the tensioner, just look for the only pulley that appears to drive no accessory, i.e., air conditioner, power steering pump, etc. .

Before you do anything either draw a picture of how the belt goes or photograph it. If you don't GOD BLESS YOU. You can look up schematics but most are incorrect. Auto zone had the only correct one for my Rodeo. My belt broke and there was no diagram under the hood.

there is a sticker under your hood with a detailed description of the routing. try there

Should be the same as my 2002 Corolla. First make a diagram of the routing of the belt. The smooth side of the belt goes against the smooth pulleys and the grooved side against grooved pulleys. Remove the plastic cover that's over the engine valve cover (there are two chrome 10 mm acorn nuts and two plastic retainers). As you stand on the right side of the car looking down at the belt you can see the belt tensioner on the left side of the engine assembly. There is a 19mm hex molded into the tensioner. Use a breaker bar or a flex handle with a 19mm socket and push or pull towards the front of the car. When the tension is released slip the belt off the alternator pulley. To install a new belt reverse this procedure leaving the alternator pulley for the last, you'll need to untension the belt to slip it over the alternator pulley. Once you do it you'll realize it's so easy you'll want to do it again just for fun.

New answer: you're right about the 19mm hex and the tensioner, but for a 2003 Toyota Corolla, it is much easier if you take the right front tire off and take the panel just underneath the right side of the engine (side engine cover assembly) away. You will be able to see the oil filter and some of the pulleys from the underneath of your car. (It would be easier if you could lift your car up as you would definitely have to work from underneath the car). The rest is just hard work. I would recommend two person (one working from above the engine and the other helping route the new belt around the bottom and most difficult pulleys). Oh, I strongly disagree with the last part of the first answer above: once you do it you WILL NOT want to do it again just for fun!

Extra comments: Don't spend any time taking off the right front tire off or the panel just underneath the right side of the engine away. Just Remove the plastic cover that's over the engine valve cover to give yourself some extra space, as described above use a ratchet and 19mm socket to hook onto the tensioner, pull it towards you as you are standing at the front of the car, remove the belt. Reverse the process to put the belt on. It's one of those deals where once you know how to do it, it is truly a 10minute job. Now, go do it!

Be sure to diagram the belt and pulleys before you take off the belt. This process should also work for the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 corollas.

Clarification as of 4/5/11 the tensioner is attached to the cast metal bar with the little shock on the firewall (toward vehicle rear) side of the engine block... the 19mm part is actually cast into the metal above the pivot bolt... this was vague to me, so I felt it needed some elaboration into this simple operation. A long breaker bar or a cheater pipe slid over a shorter one provides adequate leverage to move the tensioner with very little effort. Note: someone mentioned above to remove the right wheel and that is just not necessary at all. Removing the valve cover plastic is also not necessary, unless you have HUGE hands, in that case it's convenient.

There should be a schematic on the fan shroud. goodluckJoe

-- More info. --

For a 2.4 L: Attach 13 mm wrench to pulley tension bolt (the pulley without the ridges), and push counterclockwise or toward the body of the car. For the 2.2 L, the Haynes manual lists 15 mm wrench in the opposite direction.

It is the belt driving the water pump, power steering pump, alternator, & A/C Compressor. I think on this engine it is located on the passenger side front of engine.

See http://www.mvreader.com/multiview/dayco/zoom.php?zoom_item=C0001D&l=n&catalog=auto&category=2

Go to Mitchell on demand.

Loosen both bolts on the alternator will free up the belt. When putting on the new one make sure u get the belt real tight around the alternator, by pulling the it hard when tighten the alternator back up or will not charge the battery or the belt might to come off.

your best bet is to look into a chiltons or haynes manual that can be picked up at your local shop.

first of all let me get this out, dodge and basically anything mopar is a piece of , that's the least i coulod say with a few less chosen words but my problem lies in the pully itsself i guess, but i really don't know for sure but if someone could give me an answer i wouold greatly appreciate it, thanks

On a 2002 Taurus with a 3.0 12 valve flex fuel motor, the belt routes from the crank pulley, clockwise to the tensioner, then around the water pump, next the alternator, next the idler, next the power steering, and finally around the air conditioner pump, which leads back to the crank.

The belt that I used my my 1999 ford escort ZX2 is a 6K730 to bypass the A/C. when routing the difference is the belt will come from the power steering to the tension pulley to the crank then water pump and the rest is normal. I hope this helps

I wish I knew! I got the old one off by loosening tensioner, but am having a hard time getting the new one on the same way. Please, somebody help!

What about this tensioner? How do you remove it, or how do you releave the tension so you can replace the belt?

The routing diagram for a Craftsman GT 5000 ground drive belt shows how the best must be wrapped around each pulley. It can typically be found on the underside of the housing or within the repair manual.

To replace the belt tensioner on a v6 commodore you start by removing the fan belt by using a 18mm spanner and rotating the pulley assembly anti clockwise. Undo the bolt by holding the tensioner pulley on and use the 18mm spanner to turn bolt clockwise to undo threaded. Place new pulley onto shaft, drop some Loctite onto bolt and screw in. Rotate pulley anti clockwise and put the fan belt back in.

Subaru 4 cylinder does not use a serpentine belt. The 6 cylinder instructions are rather simple, same as my '88 Cavalier and I presume any car that uses a serpentine belt. This comes from the factory service manual:

remove collector cover

install tool to tensioner pulley installation bolt

rotate tool clockwise to loosen the belt and remove

install in reverse order

If you have a short belt that bypasses the compressor you can drive without air conditioning. If your belt is completely off, you can drive without ac, power steering, water pump and alternator for about a quarter mile before your engine overheats.