Serpentine belt start to squeal at WOT....
- Thread starter jrhartman
- Start date
bmiller04107
New LVC Member
heh heh heh
got enough torque to slip the belt eh? good for you
got enough torque to slip the belt eh? good for you
Are you really going to change the belt by yourself? Cause the belt is PITA to change. I would rather let another person do it unless you are comfortable of doing it yourself. I did it on my mark but at least it had some space to get through the belt. Just giving you a heads up.
mark0101 said:
I was wondering how difficult it is going to be? It has been so cold that I haven't even opened the hood yet to visually inspect it. I am certainly not afraid to tear into a car, I have done head gaskets, intake swaps, etc....and I do have a heated garage to work on it. I also have access to a heated garage with a lift, if I were to need it.
When I searched the forum for this topic I found a few threads in the Mark section that mentioned the serpentine belt with respect to changing the alternator. It mentioned that an alt swap should only take 15-20 minutes including removal of the belt, so I can't imagine that a belt swap is all that complicated depending on where the belt was in the Continental compared to the Mark. I just need to know where the tensioner is and what size socket, etc....
bufordtpisser
Dedicated LVC Member
Alternator Change is easier than the belt
Changing the alternator on a Mark is a lot easier than changing the belt. For the alternator, you just need to use a breaker bar to release the tesnioner and slip the belt off the pulley. A couple of bolts and wires later, you use the same bar on the tensioner and put the belt back on. But if you have a heated garage and the tools needed to do head gaskets, the belt will be a piece of cake. Don't have a write up on the procedure, just make sure that you check to make sure that the idler pulley on the tensioner turns freely as they have a tendency to have the bearings dry out after many miles of driving. Good luck, it is usually one of those less than an hour jobs.
Changing the alternator on a Mark is a lot easier than changing the belt. For the alternator, you just need to use a breaker bar to release the tesnioner and slip the belt off the pulley. A couple of bolts and wires later, you use the same bar on the tensioner and put the belt back on. But if you have a heated garage and the tools needed to do head gaskets, the belt will be a piece of cake. Don't have a write up on the procedure, just make sure that you check to make sure that the idler pulley on the tensioner turns freely as they have a tendency to have the bearings dry out after many miles of driving. Good luck, it is usually one of those less than an hour jobs.
MichiganTeddyBear
Dedicated LVC Member
I can help you out on the older (3.8l's) but not the newer ones... sorry.. 3.8's are not tooooo tough.. I dunno about the others.
Cold??? in Canton??? nawwwwwwwwwwwww I used to live in Canton MI.. now I live in BFN.... (bum F North)... I will teach ya cold!
Cold??? in Canton??? nawwwwwwwwwwwww I used to live in Canton MI.. now I live in BFN.... (bum F North)... I will teach ya cold!
JLewisinSyr
Active LVC Member
It's not impossible, just takes a lot of patience as there is not much room to play with due to the size of the V8. The Marks are easier because they are RWD so the engine sits differently.
I need to replace mine, and also figure out this annoying scraping noise when I start my car. It lasts about 5 minutes. I'm guessing it's the idler pulley or something. Now that should be fun to take off...
I need to replace mine, and also figure out this annoying scraping noise when I start my car. It lasts about 5 minutes. I'm guessing it's the idler pulley or something. Now that should be fun to take off...
aristo1963
Well-Known LVC Member
not hard j but it is a pita.you will have to pull off the right front wheel and move the coolant bottle for best access . slip the belt from the tensioner after making careful note of how it went around the pulleys.the hardest part is getting it clear from the frame just work it down and twist it sideways and work it free.install the new one from the bottom buy working new one in the same way then just route it back into place.
if mileage is high id change the pulley and tensioner set.do not get autozones tensioner it is not the right one.dealer mine was 68 bucks the pulley is arounf 14 bucks az and others do have that one.also a tensioner bar set from az helps greatly as it has a good length and lower profile to get on the tensioner hole.also makes other tensioners easier to do.i changed my last one in around 45 min from jack up to jack down.
john
also they tend to squeel as the tensioners get older and lose strength hence the advice to change it to.
if mileage is high id change the pulley and tensioner set.do not get autozones tensioner it is not the right one.dealer mine was 68 bucks the pulley is arounf 14 bucks az and others do have that one.also a tensioner bar set from az helps greatly as it has a good length and lower profile to get on the tensioner hole.also makes other tensioners easier to do.i changed my last one in around 45 min from jack up to jack down.
john
also they tend to squeel as the tensioners get older and lose strength hence the advice to change it to.
JLewisinSyr
Active LVC Member
aristo1963 said:
Thanks man for the tips. This might be a later today/Monday project.
Future
Active LVC Member
Why not try cleaning the pullies first? Slipping is usually not enough tension, or dirty/greasy pullies. Chances are you have plenty of tension and it's only a dirty belt. Take some basic toothpaste and rub it on one of the pullies, then run the car for about 5 minutes, gently hose the toothpaste off and see if your problem is fixed.
aristo1963
Well-Known LVC Member
Future said:
depending on high mileage the contis tensioner gets weak to the point it can completely fail.not common but if it happens you are stuck period.when i recently redid my timing chains i redid all rotating sources on the front except ac comp.that included alt and ps pump.i think cost was 300.oo for parts,but well worth it for the long run and peace of mind.
Future
Active LVC Member
true, but if it's a basic squeal at high rpm's, it's usually just a simple slip.
If you want to actually get into other technicalities, we could be looking at a misaligned pully, or even a pully that's freezing up.
Yes, actually digging in there is the safest bet as to be absolutely sure, but it doesn't hurt to exhaust other options first.
If you want to actually get into other technicalities, we could be looking at a misaligned pully, or even a pully that's freezing up.
Yes, actually digging in there is the safest bet as to be absolutely sure, but it doesn't hurt to exhaust other options first.
My '98 has the same problem- belt slips at high RPM's. When reaching to redline, it squeals about 1/4 second. Does this behaviour cause hesitation in acceleration? My 0-60 time is about 7,6 sec.
I changed an old belt to a used one, that was handy when I needed it, within 30 min. without any special tools. Just wrenches to get water canister and power steering pump out of the way. I cut the old belt off, it had 1/3 width hole in it. And used the old belt to pull a new belt on the alternator pulley. it was really simple. It first I tried to rotate the tensioner assembly, but my tool kit consisted no 3/4" wrench set. So I was about to quit when had a McGyver thought and it worked!
So it is possible to change a belt without any tools on a road. It is possible to place the belt on pulleys from up and and downside of a vehicle and after that pull the belt on the alternater pulley.
I changed an old belt to a used one, that was handy when I needed it, within 30 min. without any special tools. Just wrenches to get water canister and power steering pump out of the way. I cut the old belt off, it had 1/3 width hole in it. And used the old belt to pull a new belt on the alternator pulley. it was really simple. It first I tried to rotate the tensioner assembly, but my tool kit consisted no 3/4" wrench set. So I was about to quit when had a McGyver thought and it worked!
So it is possible to change a belt without any tools on a road. It is possible to place the belt on pulleys from up and and downside of a vehicle and after that pull the belt on the alternater pulley.
