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Re: Serpentine Belt replacement; 93 9000 CSE Turbo
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Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Fri, 4 Aug 2006 06:25:19 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: Serpentine Belt replacement; 93 9000 CSE Turbo, John, Thu, 3 Aug 2006 13:31:09
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As said, see Quasi's site.

Basically, you will need to jack up and support (jack stands!) the right front of the car. Remove the tire, and then the plastic fender inner liner. It is in two pieces. The only trick there is that the forward piece is held in by bolts under the car, so after you've removed every bolt holding it in place, it still won't move because you've forgotten one. No biggie.

You are now facing the belt side of the engine. Draw a picture of how the belt goes. It is available on many websites, and if you get new pulleys (see below), often it comes with a belt routing. But draw one for yourself. Really.

To remove the belt, you first need to get it off the pulleys. To do that ,you need to release the tension. Find the tensioner pulley, and on that is a bolt with A LEFT HAND THREAD. Put a socket on it, and a BIG breaker bar (18" is good). What I do is put the bar on from the top of the car (hood open helps), and push the bar toward the back of the car. Since it is a left-hand thread, the bolt doesn't loosen.

Here is the trick - the tensioner has a spring shock and a damper. The faster you push, the harder it pushes back. So the trick is to put the socket on with the breaker, and apply a gentle pressure over time. As you press, the bar will begin to move. Just keep the pressure on. It may take 30 or 50 seconds, but the shock will completely compress. If you try to overpower it, it will be like pressing on a brick wall. With the tensioner compressed, you can hold the bar in place easily with one hand, and slip the belt off the idler pulley with the other. Then let it relax.

On Quasi's site there is a tool you can make to keep the tensioner compressed. It does have its uses, and I built one. The trick on that tool is to not skimp on the thickness of the metal bar. Really. Beefier is better.

The belt off the pulley doesn't mean it is free. It is trapped by the tensioner pulley. You now need to remove the bolt from the tensioner pulley. Remember, it is left hand thread, so you loosen it by turning it clockwise. This is where Quasi's tool comes in handy. If the bolt loosens easily no problem. But if the bolt is tight, you could put enough force on it to pull the tensioner shock apart. Not good.

With the bolt out, the pulley comes out, and the belt with it. Installation is the reverse of removal.

I like to replace the belt every 30K miles, and the two pulleys (tensioner and idler) every 60K. If you don't know when the tensioner and idler pulleys were replaced, replace them. The bolt in the idler pulley is normal thread, and easy to remove. The prices for the pulleys and belt are MUCH cheaper mail order than from a dealer.

While you are there, inspect the water pump for signs of leaking. Look for oil leaks from behind the main pulley (aka Harmonic balancer). That might require a new main seal, which is quite easy to do. Inspect the rubber on the main pulley - it is actually two metal pieces with a thin rubber band in the middle. That rubber dies over time, and the pulley can come apart. If it looks suspect, think about replacing it. At a minimum, take some white paint and draw a line across the face of the main pulley. This will allow you to monitor the pulley. If the rubber starts to slip, the line won't line up. Check it every few weeks when you're checking the oil. Also inspect the lower engine mounts for signs of cracking in the rubber.

If the tensioner shock looks like it has been leaking oil, or if it was suspiciously easy to compress, replace it. Not cheap, but cheaper than the results.

Another trick - when you go to put the belt back on, run it through all the pulleys except the idler. Compress the tensioner again (unless you've used the Quasi tool to keep it compressed). The last pulley to slip the belt onto should be the idler. That is because it has no lip, and is the easiest to slip over.

Afterwards, run the engine and look at the belt. It should run right in the middle of the tensioner and idler pulleys. If it is running to one side, it could be a sign that the tensioner pulley bracket is coming off the engine, or that the main pulley is starting to come apart.


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