1997 Auto. No matter which pulley I start with, even with the tensioner at the limit of its travel, I can't get the AC belt on! I'm using a Gatorback 4040420 (4PK1065) which appears to be the same length as the belt that came off. Any ticks to get it over the pullys?

 

Dunno, but I was surprised to see how tight my old belt was when put it back on. I did notice that when I put tension on the tensioner, it seemed to bottom out and then when I put more pressure on it, it went a hair further.

 

Hi geezel1 -

Well - no tricks, but you have to get under the car and make sure the belt is completely nestled into the ribs on the underside of the crank pulley, and then make sure it stays there.

It can be a real PITA, but if the belt is fully seated in the lower pulleys, you can release the tensioner and slip the belt on.

This is one of those "once you do it one time it gets much easier" jobs.....

good luck!

best regards -

mqqn

 

I went ahead and removed the top stationary pulley. Slide the belt on and with a helper they pulled the tensioner back and then reinstalled the pulley. FYI...make sure the belt is straight before starting car. I made that mistake and the belt flung off. Hope this helps.

 

see my post #4 in this link for some attached links from the archives....

you just need a breaker bar and a swivel or knuckel adapter. IF you don't have the forearm strength lean into it...
IT can be done from above.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ighlight=belts

 

its a tight fit fer sure

 

Thanks for th advice. After further inspection, the new Gatorback may be 1" or so shorter than the stocker. I'll try a longer one (making sure the tensioner is in the right position after I install the belt).

 

I replaced my AC belt with a Gatorback belt. They are definitely a tighter fit but the general consensus is that they are the way to go belt wise. I also did it from the top instead of from under the car. You have to do some feeling around to make sure that everything is lined up properly. There isnt a lot of slack in the belt so you have to make sure everything is lined up just right or it will never go on. Good luck.

 

Get a quote from some shops first for the AC belt.......I put in way too much time and blood trying to do my AC belt

Got the two AC pulleys and a new Gatorback installed yesterday........but it was a major PITA

The placement of the two Auto Trans cooling lines directly in front of the bolt the holds the AC Tensioner Pulley on made this a very difficult task.......at least for me........after banging up my right hand and wrist for almost an hour trying to get that AC Tensioner Pulley off. I finally had to pull the entire tensioner off to remove the pulley........then I couldn't get the tensioner back on from above or underneath

When I broke for beer to cool off , I called a local Chevy dealer and asked what they would charge to remount the AC Tensioner Pulley and install my Gatorback.......the Service Manager paused and said "takes about a half an hour, $45 I double checked the price with him and then drove the Vette right over........took the mechanic 1.25 hours to remount the AC Tensioner Pulley and install my Gatorback
As usual when I went to pay the work order said 1.25 hours $125.
I asked for the Service Manager that I had called......he said "guess I should have looked that one up before I quoted you " I paid $45 as quoted Best $45 I have spent in a long time

BTW, both the AC Tensioner Pulley and the AC Idler Pulley had leaky bearings so they did need changing.

 

Got em both on. The AC belt wasn't that bad once I got the right length.

 

 

I struggled for a good while

I just got that extra purchase on the idler pulley and added that extra bit of leverage and it slipped on. Seriously, just push that extra bit when you think you're pushing as hard as you can.

Here's a few tips others have posted if it helps

Belt Replacement (1NYCGUY)

I have an A4 which seems to have a different setup than the M6. The only real difference is the cooling lines that cross infront of the a/c tension pully. I used a 15 MM socket to do all of the work. I also did everything from the top of the motor. You will need an offset socket handle to deal with the a/c belt. A regular socket wrench hits the water pump pulley so you need a flexible wrench.

The first step is to remove the large serpentine belt this is pretty straight forward. Simply put the socket wrench on the belt tension pulley located on the passenger side at the top of the motor. Push the wrench towards the drivers side of the motor and the belt will slip off pretty easy. Remove the belt from the motor. I have a 2000 which has a large ABS pump so I had to do some twisting of the belt to get it out from between the power steering pulley and the abs pump.

With that out of the way it is time to tackle the a/c belt. The belt runs from the a/c compressor and the drive shaft pulley and is squeezed tight between two pulley's. The lower pulley is the one that needs to be moved to relieve the tension.

On mine there are two steel cooling lines that cross right in front of the tension pulley bolt. There is a clip holds the two lines together. I popped the clip off one of the lines and was able to spread them apart enough to get the socket onto the bolt. I had to put the socket on the bolt first and then insert the handle.

This is where you need to use the offset handle. Put the handle on and push the wrench towards the drivers side. The tension will relieve and you will be able to slip the belt off with relative ease. (the keyword being relative).

Ok that's the easy part. at the point you should have all the belts off.

At this point I took a wire brush and cleaned all the pulleys. This seems to be one of the key reasons why belts squeal. GM also advises against belt dressing. So I didn't use any.

Putting the a/c belt on is where the challenge came.

Slip the a/c belt onto the drive shaft pulley first. I then put the belt OVER the tensioner pulley. I also put the belt OVER the upper guide pulley. this allowed enough tension for me to slip the belt over the ac compressor.

Now after much trial and error I learned that it was smart to close my eyes and use my fingers to follow the path of the belt and make sure that it is on the drive shaft pulley all the way around. There is NO room for error. If it is off by the smallest amount the rest of this project is a nightmare.

Once you are sure that the belt is on its track it's time to reattach the socket and handle. Relieve the tension again and start to work the belt under the upper pulley. To visualize this the belt will be in an hourglass shape as it follows its path. This is where I had my biggest problem. I thought I had pushed the tensioner as far as it would go, but I still couldn't get enough slack to slip the upper part of the belt into place. Finally I pushed just a little further. The belt slipped into place. Once you are happy with the position of the belt. I would start the engine briefly and check to make sure the belt is tracking properly.

Then be sure to put the coolant lines back together and replace the clip so that they are back the way they were from the start.

Next it is time to put the serpentine belt back in place. Start at the alternator and then over the power steering pump etc. Finally back to the upper tensioner. Relieve the tension as before and slip the new belt into place.

That's it. Start it up and you are done. I have attached a picture of the belt path just in case you don't have one. I hope this helps. If you have any questions please feel free to PM me or post here. I am happy to help



Tip (sneakleman):

Took the belt away from both pulleys, routed the belt on the crank and the A/C compressor, then squeezed the belts together with a pair of small channel locks. Took the tension off the tensioner, slid the belts between the two pulleys, and slowly let the tension back on while releasing the belts with the channel locks. Simple as can be.

 

remove the tensioner install the ac belt, re install the tensionor, I just did mine and that was the only way I could do it by myself.