If you're lucky, you need to remove your old serpentine engine belt before you can install a new one. We say that because if you don't need to remove the old one, it's because it shredded itself and is now sitting on the side of the road someplace and cost you a tow truck call.
It's a good idea to consult your repair manual so that you'll know what needs to come off before you can properly access your belt or belts, every vehicle is a little different.
Most cars have a cover to keep hands or object from falling into the spinning radiator fan, this is called a fan shroud. The part of this shroud at the top needs to be removed. Luckily, it can usually be unbolted quickly and set aside. Even if your car has an electric fan, this fan can come on at any time, and it's easy for one of your fingers to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Safety first! There are three types of belt tensioners used for serpentine belt systems. All of them involve a pulley. The first type is tightened or loosened via a regular hexagonal bolt on the face of the pulley. This is also the most common these days. Another tensioner pulley uses a square-faced bolt for adjustment, and a third uses a large tab that can be set to a certain position for proper belt tightness.
To remove an old serpentine belt, or to tighten up a new one, the tensioner bolt on the tensioner pulley is turned until proper tightness is achieved. Please see your repair manual for the recommended tension on your vehicle's engine. You may also need to remove your radiator cooling fan to access the pulleys, They are usually bolted onto the back of the radiator or the radiator support, and should be fairly straightforward to remove. With clear access to your pulleys, you can now install your new serpentine belt.
Remember to align the grooves of the belt with the grooves of your pulleys. Pulleys that don't have any grooves in them receive the flat side of the belt. A failed bearing in one of the idler pulleys like this one is another common source of the noise.
This serpentine belt is still in good shape, no need to replace it yet. This serpentine belt shows cracks, it needs to be replaced. Read Next: Timing belt: when should it be replaced, what happens if it breaks Alternator, how it works, symptoms, testing, problems, replacement Car maintenance checklist with photos Check Engine light: what to check, common problems, repair options Learn your car: how different car parts and sensors work.
Related Articles: Check Engine light: what to check, common problems, repair options. You will recognize these voltage shiftings mostly by looking at the headlights or other electronic components. You can see the light become darker or brighter, and you can also see a pulsing light in some cases.
If you have been driving very far with a loose or slipping alternator belt, it can actually become so bad that the electronic components will draw more power than the alternator can produce. This will cause the car to stall completely, and you will become stranded after the road because there is no chance that you can start it again when the car battery is completely drained.
If the alternator belt is a little bit loose, it can charge the car battery but not good enough. This is most noticeable when you are trying to start the car. If it sounds exhausted on the starter , it can be a sign of a loose alternator belt. If it gets bad enough, it can even cause the car battery to be completely dead the next time you are trying to start your car.
To determine if you should replace or tighten the alternator belt, you need to look at the belt. If it has cracks or looks very dry, it is definitely time to replace the alternator belt. When buying a new belt, you have to make sure and compare it with the old belt to make sure you got the same length, as many car models can have many different belt lengths depending on the utilities like power steering, air condition, etc.
When tightening the new alternator belt, you have to make sure not to tighten it too tight. This will cause a much shorter lifespan, and it can even damage the bearings in the parts like the alternator or power steering pump. Most newer car models use an automatic belt tensioner also, so it is quite uncommon that the belt will become loose. However, it can happen, and if you have a loose belt on a car with an automatic belt tensioner, you have to make sure the replace the tensioner while you replace the alternator belt.
The alternator belt is located on the front of the engine. This is not the same as the front of the car because the engine can be installed sideways in many car models.
Finding the alternator belt is quite easy in most car models though, look for a belt going around different wheels, and you will most likely find it.
In this case, you may have to lift the car and check from underneath. The alternator belt is often quite cheap, so if you know to replace and tighten it yourself, you can definitely save some money. As I talked about before, most modern car models use an automatic belt tensioner, and if you have a loose belt on one of these car models, you have to replace the tensioner.
In some car models, you even have to lift or lowering the engine to reach it properly.
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