Serpentine Belt

[BeaVicross]

I am looking to replace my worn serpentine belt and was just wondering if there are any tricks or concerns that I might need to be aware of? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Neil

[JoFotoz]

Take a look at this thread...

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=9904&highlight=serpentine+belt

:smack:


jo

[circmand]

Take a look at this thread...

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=9904&highlight=serpentine+belt

:smack:


jo

Too bad it is old posts or I would have replied there. I did this myself last night. I bought the belt at Autozone and used their excellent lend a tool program for the tool mentioned. This is an excellent time too differentiate between a job that is easy based on knowhow required and easy based on level of difficulty. The serpentine belt replacement requires like zero know how but it does require patience. The job is not a fix on the side of the road with bare hands as suggested or your tensioner is shot. However due to the placement of the pulleys you can get the tensioner to move just barely enough to get the belt on. If doing by your self it can be frustrating not too mention big forearms can limit your movement. Doing it on a warm motor adds extra fun. But anyone can do it as even the strength needed is minimat with the tool

[blacksambo]

I find a 14mm socket on a15" breaker bar works well to move the tensioner. Just a suggestion.

[circmand]

I find a 14mm socket on a15" breaker bar works well to move the tensioner. Just a suggestion.

it would work if you have one handy. Autozone takes a deposit but refunds all of it and it is the correct tool. I had issues with it hitting the radiator hose just short of enough room to slip on the belt.

[JHarris1385]

This is a project I plan to do this week. How much was the belt? Should you do the water pump as well?

[etlsport]

j,

they are talking about the serpentine belt. you replace the water pump with the timing belt which is inside the engine. the serpentine belt is between the radiator and the engine block, i have removal and replacement down to about 15 min now.

i think my last belt was around 30-40

[JHarris1385]

Completely got confused here, I was not paying attention....I meant the serp. Dont want to mess with anything inside.

[MSHardeman]

Like blacksambo said; 14mm socket and a long "breaker bar" and you can have the belt off and on in just a couple of minutes. I think the hardest part of the whole swap is re-routing the belt. Have a diagram handy and you shouldn't have any problems.

[circmand]

This is a project I plan to do this week. How much was the belt? Should you do the water pump as well?

The belt was like $30 definately print out the attached link in the 1st post it has great diagrams. It was about 15 minutes and that was my 1st time. The only additional info is to get the spring to loosen you attached the 14mm socket to the pulley then pull it as if you were trying to tighten it. The other way just loosens the bolt on the pulley. And no water pump that as stated is with the timing belt.

[JNUVX]

I don't mean to change the subject but this is the closest thread I could find. Here's the story...
My serpentine belt started to shear off so I had it replaced the next day with no problems. The only changes since then have been that Today I had a shop replace my muffler w/the superturbo from dynomax and add a stainless exhaust tip. When I got back to work I disconnected the battery to reset the computer. When I went to reconnect the battery a buddy of mine noticed that two ridges of the serpentine belt were over the edge of the 'water pump wheel' closest to the engine block. We moved it back into place and started the engine; only to have it jump back on the bay edge of the water pump. We have replicated this process two or three times and taken it for a test drive. During te test drive two ridges sheared off the belt. It's at my mechanics shop and will be examined tomorrow morning...where I will watch them examine the vx. I hope things are ok and the belt was faulty or something of that nature.. Also, my mechanic pulled the diagram for the belt and it was routed correctly.. Any ideas guys?! :(

[Ldub]

Sounds like a mis-aligned/bent pulley...:_wrench::_wrench:

[JNUVX]

Ldub to the rescue!! So, I attempted some online research and failed...epically. How do you remedy this problem if it is indeed the culprit? I'm also wondering what would cause this problem..thanx Ldub!

Thank goodness I have the State Farm Smart Car to drive around for the time being...

[Ldub]

Ldub to the rescue!! So, I attempted some online research and failed...epically. How do you remedy this problem if it is indeed the culprit? I'm also wondering what would cause this problem..thanx Ldub!

I dunno about all that...:mbrasd: You aren't outta the woods quite yet. That was just a possible cause of the problem.

Look at all the pulleys that the serp belt travels with the motor running, see any runout/signs of a bent pulley?

With the motor off, do any of the pulleys seem "out of plane" when viewed from the side, visually lining up as many pulleys as possible with each other.

Think of all the pulley faces as one flat/straight line, no pulley should be out of this plane.

It's possible one of the pulleys has worked it's way loose, & has moved out on the shaft slightly, causing the belt to deflect from it's intended path.

Try putting the belt back on, then bump the starter (without starting the engine) while another person watches to see which pulley the belt comes off first.

Always keep fingers away from moving parts, especially fans, belts & pulleys...:yesgray:

:luck:

[JNUVX]

I am going into the shop tomorrow...well...7hrs from now. I think that your recommendation will be the first order of business. On the initial examination we noticed the 'water pump wheel' was a little further towards the radiator than the rest...also...I can't fully express how nice it is to have someone here to talk to. Even at this late hour..when my mechanically inclined but mechanically uneducated brain is stressin ..I'll keep this thread updated...I'm wondering now how a pulley would work itself out of alignment now...

[Ldub]

"On the initial examination we noticed the 'water pump wheel' was a little further towards the radiator than the rest..."

That would do it...:yesgray:


"also...I can't fully express how nice it is to have someone here to talk to."

No worries, I'm here on & off from midnight - 0800 central time, five nights a week (Fr - Tu)...:yesgray:

It gives me something to do at work...:smilewink

[JNUVX]

Ack. So according to my mech, the water pump wheel would not go back into place and he didn't want to force it for fear of breaking anything. The wheel will have to be replaced...nooo! Anyone have ideas on where I could get a new water pump wheel??? Or if there's a fix someone knows of?? :(

[Ldub]

If your VX is anywhere near 65-80 k on the odo, your timing belt is due to be replaced soon anyway, replace the water pump when that's done.
All the same stuff has to be removed either way...:_wrench:

[JNUVX]

I am in agreement w/you Ldub. After I looked at it this morning the mech said the cast aluminum water pulley bracket is what needs to be replaced (about $320 + shipping from Seattle, WA to Juneau, AK agh!). He was unable to realign the pulley and didn't want to force it for fear of breaking it entirely. It almost looks as if someone had done the timing belt and tried to remove the pulley attachment off the bracket....my mech also noted that this wasn't a recent change in pulley alignment which means i've been driving around w/a 3ridged serpentine belt instead of 5 ridges. Weird..and quite ignorant of me. Anyways, i'm hesitant to drive the vx anywhere until I get the bracket installed...I guess i'm learning the hard way. Anyone know of where to find a bracket for less? And again thanks ldub.

[PK]

Is it just me that is confused here?? (It wouldn't be the first time LOL.)

I always thought that our water pumps were driven by the timing belt, not the serpentine belt??
And if it is the timing belt they are talking about, then you certainly cannot see that.

Is this another case of "old timers disease"??

PK

[Ldub]

Is it just me that is confused here?? (It wouldn't be the first time LOL.)

I always thought that our water pumps were driven by the timing belt, not the serpentine belt??
And if it is the timing belt they are talking about, then you certainly cannot see that.

Is this another case of "old timers disease"??

PK

Yep, you are correct sir. It may be they're looking at the cooling fan drive,assuming that it's driving the water pump....:_confused

As far as I can see in Barts timing belt how to, it looks like the timing belt is driving the water pump, I botched that one...:mbrasd:

JNUVX, take a look in the how to section & see what you think.

http://www.vehicross.info/misc/pdf_files/BartsTimingBeltReplacement.pdf

If it's as you've described, you should be able to follow the how to to step 17 & have the source of your problems on the bench.

Sorry for the misinformation...:slap:

Good catch PK...:thumbup:

[etlsport]

i think the idler pulley may be the one in question here

its located right near the water pump (above the tensioner), I thought it was my water pump at first too..

[PK]

The thing that scares me, is that apparently his mechanic is calling it a water pump pulley.

If the mechanic doesn't know the engine well enough to know the difference - run brother, run.

Time to find a new mechanic.

PK

[JNUVX]

Hahaha Sorry Guys. I've been away from the computer...solstice plans had to be carried out in party all night running into the ocean fashion (and theres no cell reception out the road in Juneau). That being said, it wasn't my mechanic that called it a water pump wheel. That was a technical term I concocted because I don't know much of anything about engines. Anyways...the bracket is on the way. I ended up purchasing it for about $100 less than originally quoted from Isuzuparts.com and they split the shipping with me. Ldub, thanx for the link, I am still trying to find a moment to read through the write up. I hope my vx issue is corrected soon...I will keep ya'll updated. Thanks for bein there!

[Dare2Dream]

I'm on my sixth fan belt which I replaced last July. My first five belts were the stock Isuzu belt, ~$18-25. For my last belt I decided to try the Dayco Poly Rib belt since I was getting spark plugs at Advance Auto.

As the name suggests, it's not molded rubber ribs and grooves like all the others. When new, the grooves are just slight indentations. In just minutes it molds the ribs and grooves to your pulleys. So if anything is bent or out of line, it won't make any noise and allegedly runs quieter and cooler than other belts. The poly material will not crack like rubber belts. It was ~$30.

This is when new in July-
http://www.drivehq.com/file/df.aspx/publish/mgpa/img/vx2/406.jpg

This is now after 19,000 miles-
http://www.drivehq.com/file/df.aspx/publish/mgpa/img/vx2/971.jpg

Both sides of the belt look really good with no cracking. If ya wanna give it a try, Dayco #5060900.

BTW, it's not a bad idea to keep your old one in the VX as a spare.

Mark Griffin

Thanks Mark, looks very nice and the quieter/cooler feature sounds good! A couple of year back, the Gatorback belt was quite popular, is that not the case anymore?

Also, Ldub, the diagram you posted in the initial thread is not showing:

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=9904&highlight=serpentine+belt

[Ldub]

Also, Ldub, the diagram you posted in the initial thread is not showing:

Thanx for the heads up...:yesgray:

I done fixeded it....:smack:

FWIW, I still find the gatorback belt to be VERY fasionable...:laughing:

[JNUVX]

So I got the VX back today..i'll try and post a picture of the old fan bracket. The serp belt looks good, and all pulleys are aligned. However, (when I test drove the vx on sunday approx 2mi to see how it was driving after they put the old bracket back on. I noticed strong vibration around 3500 rpms). Now that the bracket has been replaced, vibration is virtually zero while driving. When I am stopped and in gear there is annoying vibration. When I am in park or in in neutral, the vibration is very low frequency and not as noticeable. I searched the forums..and have come up with the maybe the motor mounts need to be replaced? I have also looked at the engine while running, and it seems to be moving a little more than usual...i'm a bit worried and i'm going to keep driving the smartcar until i can get this durn thing resolved 100 percent. Help is very much appreciated.. :)

[BeeVenom]

Gonna replace mine soon at around 40000. Suggest you purchase the Isuzu OEM belt as I did. They're not expensive and are not too difficult to replace. Just takes a little time.

[Bulldoggie]

Just want to comment that I just replaced mine and;
It is easy to change by hand if you are using the 5060900 size belt.
I was told that different numbers showed on their computers for the VX.
Of course I told them that all VX's are equiped the same.
My old belt had the 4060895 # and I could remove and reinstall by hand.
BUT I could not put a 4060895 NEW belt on by hand.
About 1/2 the thickness of the belt would not clear the last pully.
There is a 1/2" difference in length between the two belts.

[etlsport]

Just a word of caution..some of the new kevlar and other non rubber belts don't crack but they do still wear.

One of our suppliers gave us a few tools that looks like a toothpick that kinda measures how deep the grooves are in the belts. When they are too deep its time to replace.

[deermagnet]

...measures how deep the grooves are in the belts. When they are too deep its time to replace.

Good point! It probably should get replaced every 50K miles, even without cracking. I do like the idea of non-cracking belts. :yesy:

Mark

[voyeur]

So your belt is 90" (5060900)... that is 2286mm ...All i can find in UK is 2280 OR 2290... so which way to go 4mm bigger or 6mm smaller.... any suggestions??

[deermagnet]

Our belt is 2288 mm.

Yeah, I just did my own search for UK Dayco Poly Rib belts and they only have 6PK2280 or 6PK2290. No 6PK2288, so, I guess you go with the 2290.

Mark

[voyeur]

ordered the Dayco Poly Rib belts 6PK2290 from sales@camskill.co.uk... £15:60.. which is possibly expensive but I don't really know... cheers for the info...