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Serpentine Belt diagnosis and replacement

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ghent96

CEG'er
Joined
Oct 24, 2007
Messages
132
Location
Kansas City
Just wanted to post this as a suggestion for a new addition to the HowTo or maintenance sub-forums. Seems a fairly common thing, I'd think, but I couldn't find anything about how to do it here.

Seems fairly simple, just hold down the tensioner wheel, right? Any suggestions welcome.
 
ghent96 said:
Just wanted to post this as a suggestion for a new addition to the HowTo or maintenance sub-forums. Seems a fairly common thing, I'd think, but I couldn't find anything about how to do it here.

Seems fairly simple, just hold down the tensioner wheel, right? Any suggestions welcome.
Click to expand...
Yes, just hold down the tensioner wheel to get it loose and then remove it. There were a few threads in the old forums. The serpentine belt tool sold at Advance or Autozone is about $25. Some have just used the back of a hammer to push the tensioner wheel down to create the slack required to install. Use duct tape to tape up some parts of the belt (at the bottom side) while you are trying to line the belt up. This will help the belt "stay" while you go from one pulley to another. And it helps if the car is up on ramps or jackstands. You can go under and above the engine to line up the belt.

I need to do this again one of this days. I just got the belt. And was thinking of getting the tool when I found out it was $25 and I will only use it once every 4 years or so.

Advance or Autozone will loan it out free. That's what I will do when I decide to change the belt one of these days.

Edit. Thread from old forums. Serpentinebelt
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/s...er=1031104&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1
 
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Thanks for the link...
o... for frickin' 'ell... The tensioner on my v6 was so stuck and/or tight I couldn't even move it with a crowbar and all my weight on it! I went to autozone less than a mile away, got a new belt, and their tool, and much to my chagrin discovered there's not enough room in the v6 engine compartment to even move/lever the tool far enough (forward) to even properly get the belts on and off!!!! You run into the engine mount! I see some others in the old thread ran into that problem as well. Thanks a lot stupid Ford for yet another really stupid design! They should have cut the square hole (socket) for the breaker bar or serpentine tool at a different angle. Not enough room to get it in at any different angle than coming in straight down from the top! Also, not enough room to get a normal socket wrench in there to work around the socket angle problem.

Stupid Ford!

I thought I was seeing daylight through the belt, and figured it was worn dangerously thin. Turned out to be tiny bits of embedded glass or sand. Still, figured it was worth changing. It's 8 years old, never changed (car manufactured Nov 1999)

Ultimately, I slightly bent their tool, and then had to pry on the new belt with the round side of a long wrench, over the top pulley, then crank the engine over a couple times to properly seat the belt. Belt looks nice, cheap part. Dayco Poly Cog with the lateral grooves so supposedly it runs quieter. We'll see.

1000-mile road trip coming up tomorrow! :D Not even Ford's bad design can put a damper on that.
 
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I just use a regular Craftsman 3/8" ratchet with a piece of pipe on the handle...:shrug:

It's not even their fancy "thin profile" ratchet, just the plain old thick headed one, and I have no clearance issues. Y'all must be doin it wrong. :laugh:
 
tensioner

tensioner

Can someone tell me exactly where to find the square hole to put the tool in to release the tension? maybe a picture? much appreciated :)
 
I find it much much easier to release the tension working from under the vehicle than above.

I also just use a plain old 3/8" ratchet without any cheater bars.
 
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