Hey everyone,
Im almost finished with a head gasket job, just have to put the belt back on. I was stumped at first, (neverdone a head gasket, let alone take off a belt). I looked around on the forum and in the haynes manuals, seems pretty easy, just pull clockwise on the tensioner with a 15mm socket, slip the belt on and slowly release.
Heres my question. How mechanically does it work? When turning clockwise, is the tensioner pully moving up, down? left, right? in, out?
Im going to get a tool from one of the local auto stores around here cause ive got no clearance and im not about to take the upper motor mount back apart, I just put it in!
If anyone knows, please tell cause im curious as to how it actually works.
When turning clockwise, I believe that it is turning up and to the right.
Mechanically, there's a big f-ing spring in there that keeps it in position, holding the belt taught.
nice, thanx for the reply
Even the factory service manual is not very helpful when it comes to how to relax
the serpentine belt tension on my 2002 Cavalier with the push rod engine.....
Not knowing if your 1995 has a similar tensioner, let me ask : Does the tensioner
have a square 3/8" socket hole at the end of the tensioner arm ?
If it does, this means that a socket (like a 15mm) is not needed. A normal 3/8" breakover
'plugs" in there. And, after it is plugged-in, if you need more leverage or power to
lever it, just slip a box-end wrench over the end of the breakover to add some length for
more leverage.
Another thing, it may be necessary to loosen the inner fender well in order to have
enough room for inserting the breakover bar. A 1/4" socket on the end of a nut driver
did this quickly on my 2002.
In the case of my 2002, it was money wasted to purchase a serpenting belt tool.....I gave
it to a friend. It works on his Dodge pickup.
Quote:
Not knowing if your 1995 has a similar tensioner, let me ask : Does the tensioner
have a square 3/8" socket hole at the end of the tensioner arm ?
No, they don't. It didn't start till 98 (at least my 97 2.2 doesn't have a square hole)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, January 19, 2007 5:12 PM
Kardain, for those with a 1997 model, could you elaborate. For instance, did a long,
special, serpentine belt tool and a 15mm socket do what was needed? Were you
able to relax the belt working from the topside or did you have to jack-up the car and
connect to the tensioner and lever from below?
For my year model, engine, it took two of us. One levering the tensioner from below
on a creeper, one up above....definitely a two man job.
I could do it from the top using a 15mm open end wrench and a second wrench for leverage. If I removed the upper engine mount, I probably would not have needed the second wrench.
Kardain, thank you.
One more question...did you have to loosen or remove the inner fender well panel ?
(With an open end 15 mm wrench, I'm lhinking you could slip this in there pretty easily
without going to the trouble of loosening the felder well cover.)
No removal of the fenderwell was necessary. The open end wrench worked just fine. If its not raining tomorrow I'll grab a pic of what I was referring to as well as give an example of the clearance.
Kardain, what you offered to do (illustrations), I'm sure, will be most appreciated !
Leland
if it helps at all on my '93 2.2's I use a 9" ratchet handle and a 15mm socket.
With the socket in place and the ratchet handle straight up I pull the handle towards the front of the car to loosen the tension, (i.e. turn it clockwise).
It does not take much effort at all to loosen the belt--if it does I would think there is something wrong.
Alont
Here's some pics. I never have a shallow-well 15mm socket when I needed it, so this is how I change the belt:
Example of clearance:
Another angle, the engine mount is in the top of the pic:
And this is what I was referring to by using a second wrench (a trick I picked up from my dad who used to be a mechanic... when there's not enough clearance for the second wrench, I can remove it and hold the main one in place):
Shameless product plug time:
If you are doing alot of work under the hood (and you haven't replaced it with a fiberglass or CF hood), I recommend a set of these:
http://www.redlinetuning.com/QL-CHEVY-CAV-9504.html
It gets the prop rod out of your way
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Sunday, January 21, 2007 1:23 PM
Kardain, those illustrations were excellent !
My 2002 has much tighter working space, so, that's probably why
the factory re-designed the tensioner with a 3/8" socket at the
end of the tensioner arm. Even a ratchet wrench won't slip in
so as to plug into that socket, just enough clearance with the
fenderwell loosened to make it with a regular 3/8" breakover.
Sometime you may get a look at a 2002 or similar year-model
and see what I mean.
And working from the topside is impossible !
