Most all vehicles built after 1995 come equipped with a serpentine belt. The serpentine belt is designed to wrap around all of the engine accessory pulleys at one time so that the accessories can function from one belt instead of two or three different belts. The serpentine belt operates the alternator, power steering pump, air conditioner compressor and the water pump at the same time. Over time, cracks can develop within the ridges inside of the serpentine belt. Once the cracks become excessive, replace the belt as soon as possible to prevent the belt from breaking. Below is a detailed breakdown on how to replace a serpentine belt the proper way.
How to Remove the Old Serpentine Belt
- The serpentine belt replacement instructions below can be used for most all serpentine belt replacement jobs.park the vehicle on a flat surface and engage the parking brake. Open the hood and locate the serpentine belt routing diagram that is either mounted to the top of the fan shroud or underneath the undercover of the hood. The serpentine belt routing diagram shows the exact routing process of the belt around the accessory pulleys.
- Inspect the front of the engine and locate the automatic belt tensioner that hold the tension on the serpentine belt. The tensioner has a spring loaded arm on one end and a pulley on the other end of the arm.
- Determine the size of the bolt head in the middle of the tensioner pulley. Place the proper size socket over the tensioner pulley bolt head. Turn the tensioner from the bolt head counter-clockwise with a breaker bar with one hand until the tension is off of the belt.
- Reach down with the other hand and pull the belt off of the tensioner pulley. Release the breaker bar and remove it and the socket from the tensioner pulley bolt head. Finish removing the serpentine belt from the remaining accessory pulleys and out of the engine compartment. Maneuver the belt around the fan blades if necessary to get it out of the engine compartment.
How to Install the New Serpentine Belt
- Wrap the new belt around the fan blades and around each accessory pulley by using the serpentine belt routing diagram as a guide. Leave the tensioner pulley as the last pulley to route the belt around. Inspect the belt to ensure that it is around and inside of all of the accessory pulleys.
- Turn the tensioner counter-clockwise again with the breaker bar and socket with one hand. Slide the new belt over the tensioner pulley and slowly release the breaker bar until the tensioner pulley pulls all of the slack out of the belt. Remove the breaker bar and socket from the tensioner pulley and out of the engine compartment.
- Inspect the belt again to ensure that it is inside and around all of the accessory pulleys. Also ensure that the belt is centered around the tensioner pulley.
- Crank the engine and inspect the serpentine belt as it is turning around the pulleys to ensure that the belt does not come out of the pulleys. Allow the engine to run for about one minute to finish seating the belt inside of the grooves of each pulley.
- Turn the engine off and shut the hood. Gather up all tools.
Tips:
- Most all vehicles require the same basic replacement process when replacing a serpentine belt.
- If the serpentine belt routing diagram is missing from the fan shroud or the underside of the hood, use a pen and a notepad to write down the exact routing process of the old belt. Use the written diagram when installing the new belt.
- Certain serpentine belt tensioner pulleys come with a square hole instead of a bolt head. Use the square end of a ratchet to turn the tensioner pulleys with the square holes.
Warnings: Keep hands and tools away from the engine compartment while the engine is running.
References:
- Popular Mechanics: How to Replace a Serpentine Belt
- Auto Repair About: How to Inspect and Replace a Serpentine Belt
Resources:
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