Serp Belt
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,356
Likes: 2
From: No HOA, New Hampshire
Cruise-In X Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
Serp Belt
I have read that some carry a spare and can change one on the side of the road in 10 minutes. In my garage today it took me 1-1/2 hours with access to all my tools. What is the trick??? And I still have the Frisbee on, but that will have to go. 
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,729
Likes: 190
From: Custer, WI
It took me 4 hours to do plugs and wires..the first week I owned it and I changed the Cadillac's the day before in 1 hour. 
I changed my belt in about 15 minutes. All you have to do is stick your 1/2" breaker bar into the belt tensioner, IIRC, push it down towards the ground, and the belt will come loose. Pull the belt off and reroute the new one. Put the breaker bar in the hole and pull it towards you to tighten in up.
I changed my belt in about 15 minutes. All you have to do is stick your 1/2" breaker bar into the belt tensioner, IIRC, push it down towards the ground, and the belt will come loose. Pull the belt off and reroute the new one. Put the breaker bar in the hole and pull it towards you to tighten in up.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,356
Likes: 2
From: No HOA, New Hampshire
Cruise-In X Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
It took me 4 hours to do plugs and wires..the first week I owned it and I changed the Cadillac's the day before in 1 hour.
I changed my belt in about 15 minutes. All you have to do is stick your 1/2" breaker bar into the belt tensioner, IIRC, push it down towards the ground, and the belt will come loose. Pull the belt off and reroute the new one. Put the breaker bar in the hole and pull it towards you to tighten in up.
I changed my belt in about 15 minutes. All you have to do is stick your 1/2" breaker bar into the belt tensioner, IIRC, push it down towards the ground, and the belt will come loose. Pull the belt off and reroute the new one. Put the breaker bar in the hole and pull it towards you to tighten in up.
When I got the old belt off the tensioner went to its limit and there was no way I could reroute the belt completely. I am thinking if you had to use the bar to tighten your belt your tensioner is toast. There is a really strong spring in there.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,940
Likes: 5
From: Chesapeake VA
I use a 1/2 socket wrench to move the tensioner. I always wear gloves when working on cars.
Once I have the belt off I route the new one in and leave the alternator as the missing element. I then use the socket wrench to move the tensioner and I reach over and slip the belt on the alternator and then let the tensioner do it's job.
Once I have the belt off I route the new one in and leave the alternator as the missing element. I then use the socket wrench to move the tensioner and I reach over and slip the belt on the alternator and then let the tensioner do it's job.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,226
Likes: 9
From: Irvine Ca
Gawd, it is about a 30 second job with the MissFire...er.....Crossfire as the tensioner is on top.
There is a Box shaped hole in the tensioner, you stick the 1/2" break over in that hole and pull...
There is a Box shaped hole in the tensioner, you stick the 1/2" break over in that hole and pull...
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Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2008
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From: Yucaipa CA
holy cow and I thought I was slow. I'm in the near 1 hour range to do this job but a better portion of that is to get my lazy butt outside.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Fort Knox, KY
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Take care on an LT1 or LT4 car. It's easy to sheer off the water temp sensor that bolts into the water pump if you lose your grip on your socket wrench or breaker bar.
This is the kinda' job that goes easier with a helper the first go-round. Then as you become more proficient, you can do it by yourself.
This is the kinda' job that goes easier with a helper the first go-round. Then as you become more proficient, you can do it by yourself.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 797
Likes: 2
From: Westminster MD
I put the belt back on my rebuilt LT4 earlier this week. Took a couple of tries -- this was a brand-new Dayco belt. I guess being new it might have been a bit of a tighter fit than the old one.
I was doing it with the air cleaner/boot off. Unpluggeds the coolant sensor wire to make it less prone to breakage (especially since this is a brand new sensor since the other one got broken somehow...
I used a 3/* ratchet and socket on the tensioner. Short enough to clear the coolant and AC hoses.
After trying to sneak the belt over ther Alternator or AC pulley with no success, I finally ended up making one of the idler pulley's the "last" one. They don't have the outer ridge/rim to go over, which was enough of a different to make it go/no-go in my case.
I was doing it with the air cleaner/boot off. Unpluggeds the coolant sensor wire to make it less prone to breakage (especially since this is a brand new sensor since the other one got broken somehow...
I used a 3/* ratchet and socket on the tensioner. Short enough to clear the coolant and AC hoses.
After trying to sneak the belt over ther Alternator or AC pulley with no success, I finally ended up making one of the idler pulley's the "last" one. They don't have the outer ridge/rim to go over, which was enough of a different to make it go/no-go in my case.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Fort Knox, KY
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Be sure and inspect your tensioner pulley for noise, play, etc. It would suck to buy a brand new belt only to have the pulley bearing seize and throw the new belt after friction-burning it.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,759
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When I got my 89, I couldn't figure out how to get the belt off because my 1/2" wrench couldn't fit on the square tensioner hole:
My wrench would hit the harmonic balancer, so there wasn't enough room to get it on. I've since concluded that the PO has replaced with tensioner with the wrong one. I looked, and it does have a GM part number on it, but it is wrong.
I'm gonna replace it with a $35 Dayco tensioner from Autozone.
My wrench would hit the harmonic balancer, so there wasn't enough room to get it on. I've since concluded that the PO has replaced with tensioner with the wrong one. I looked, and it does have a GM part number on it, but it is wrong.
I'm gonna replace it with a $35 Dayco tensioner from Autozone.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 4,689
Likes: 4
From: Yucaipa CA
When I got my 89, I couldn't figure out how to get the belt off because my 1/2" wrench couldn't fit on the square tensioner hole:
My wrench would hit the harmonic balancer, so there wasn't enough room to get it on. I've since concluded that the PO has replaced with tensioner with the wrong one. I looked, and it does have a GM part number on it, but it is wrong.
I'm gonna replace it with a $35 Dayco tensioner from Autozone.
My wrench would hit the harmonic balancer, so there wasn't enough room to get it on. I've since concluded that the PO has replaced with tensioner with the wrong one. I looked, and it does have a GM part number on it, but it is wrong.
I'm gonna replace it with a $35 Dayco tensioner from Autozone.
Last edited by jeffp1167; Jun 12, 2009 at 07:13 AM.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,759
Likes: 8
Yup, you are correct, it is the wrong tensioner. The PO must of been retarded, or the guy he had work on the car was. I had the rear tail lights out and noticed the power antenna's top ground wire was just hanging in air. The old ground strap was still on the car but had been cut off. I'm assuming a new one was installed, and they cut the old ground wire off, and installed the new antenna and didn't connect one of the ground wires. Also, there was a grounding plate for the botton, where you run one of the screws through, well that was just sitting beside where it was supposed to be screwed into.