Changing a serpentine belt is identical on all General Motors automobiles. The serpentine belt is one full ribbed belt that controls the entire equipment on the front of the engine. These equipment are the power steering pump, the alternator, the water pump, the air conditioner and the crankshaft. Every accessory has a pulley that the serpentine belt is routed round to manage the accessory.
GM Vehicles Serpentine Belt Replace Instructions
Open the hood of the car and find the serpentine belt diagram. All GM makes and type have a serpentine belt diagram on high of the fan shroud. The diagram is an image of all the accessory pulleys showing the serpentine belt being routed across the pulleys. This diagram reveals the precise route of the serpentine belt across the pulleys. If you don’t see the serpentine belt diagram, take a notepad and a pen and draw out the routing of the belt.
Find the serpentine belt tensioner. All GM type have a serpentine belt tensioner on the front of the engine. The belt tensioner has a pulley on one finish and a spring-loaded arm on the opposite side of the tensioner. The tensioner is the part that retains the belt tight on the pulleys. The belt tensioner additionally has a bolt head within the center of the spring-loaded a part of the tensioner. This bolt head is the place you relieve the stress off of the serpentine belt with a ratchet and a socket.
Relieve the strain off of the serpentine belt by putting the right size socket onto the middle bolt head. Most GM automobiles require a 13 millimeter socket, however some require a 15 millimeter socket. Put the 3/8-inch ratchet onto the socket and switch the tensioner to relieve the strain. The tensioner will solely flip one way. When you relieve the strain off of the serpentine belt, slide the belt off of the serpentine belt tensioner and take away it from the engine compartment.
Route the brand new serpentine belt throughout the underside crankshaft pulley first. Then use the serpentine belt routing diagram to route the belt across the remaining pulleys. Route the belt across the belt tensioner pulley last. Put the ratchet with socket again onto the bolt head within the heart of the belt tensioner and relieve the stress once more. Then slide the belt onto the belt tensioner pulley. Release the belt tensioner and it’ll pull the slack out of the belt and set the belt to the correct pressure within the pulleys. Examine to ensure that the belt is within the entire pulleys.
Crank the car and examine the serpentine belt to guarantee that it stays within the entire pulleys.
[source ehow.com]