Tips For Removing And Replacing The Serpentine Belt On Your Vehicle

Whether you are replacing the belt itself or the alternator, water pump, air conditioning compressor, or any of the pulleys that your serpentine belt powers, you have to remove the belt and then re-install it as part of the process. For many novice backyard mechanics, this process can seem somewhat confusing. Here's a look at some fundamentals that will make it easier for you to remove and re-install the belt.

Assess The Belt Diagram

Under the hood of your car, usually on the fan shroud, is the belt diagram that tells you how your serpentine belt is routed. This is an important piece of information because it also shows you how the belt should come off and how to place it back on. 

Take note of the diagram to ensure that you know what each pulley is. The largest pulley, typically in the lower center, is the crankshaft pulley. Your belt should also route around a power steering pulley attached to the power steering pump, as well as the alternator pulley, water pump pulley, and the air conditioning compressor pulley. In addition to those pulleys, there is a tensioner that ensures that the belt sits tight on the pulleys. You also may have an idler pulley as well, which also serves to maintain tension on the belt and prevent belt slipping.

Remove The Belt

To remove the belt, you need to release the tension on it enough so that you can slip the belt off one of the pulleys. Typically, the tensioner is at the lower left when you're facing the engine. It has a small ratchet-shaped opening on the front of it. Remove your socket from the ratchet and use the ratchet as-is to move that tensioner. Place the ratchet connector inside the opening. 

You may be able to move the tensioner easier if you use a breaker bar ratchet instead of a smaller one because the leverage will help. Push the tensioner toward the center of the engine to release the tension, then hold it in place as you slip the belt off the pulley that's completely diagonal from it, in the upper right when you are facing the engine. Once the belt is off that pulley, you can release the tensioner and then remove the belt completely.

Reinstall The Belt

The best way to reinstall the belt is to start by running it over the pulleys that are at the top of the engine, but skipping the one in the upper right that you removed first when taking the belt off. Remember that the belt should be smooth-side up across the upper pulleys when it is installed, so the grooves should face down and sit securely in the grooves of the pulley. That ensures proper alignment so that the belt doesn't slip.

Once the belt is over the upper pulleys, follow your routing diagram to run it over the pulleys on the left side of the engine as well as the crankshaft pulley. When you get ready to put the belt on the final pulley in the upper right corner, you need to release the tension on the tensioner again using your breaker bar ratchet. Hold it in place with the tension released until you slip the belt over that pulley, then release it.

Start the engine and let it run for about 30 seconds, then shut it off and check the belt alignment to be sure that it is seated correctly. For more information, reach out to companies like Henderson Hyundai Superstore.