Hey all,

My alt belt snapped on me tonight and I have a replacement belt but I haven't the slightest clue how to get the new one on. I searched a buncha times and only came up with people saying it's wicked easy with no explanation. I've never done this before and I feel like such a noob asking, but the Haynes manual has confused me more (because Haynes sucks) and the FSM wasn't helpful at all. Could someone please walk me through the basic steps. Thanks.

 

if you have a/c, p/s and the airpump those belts will have to come off. to remove the a/c and p/s you will see two idlers (one for a/c and one for p/s) loosen these with a 17mm nut (i bielve for p/s and a monkey wrench(what i used) for the a/c) after those are loose then loosen the idler bolts on top of the p/s bracket, they are 11mm i belive. after you wedge those belts off, the air pump belt will need to come off. the air pump it self will have to be loosened. i belive it has an adjustment like the alternator (been a while since i removed mine) once thats loose get that belt off. now this is where it gets tricky. the air pump belt and the alt belt will need to come off through the rad fan. take those belts and put them through 1 or 2 of the blades and simply rotate the fan till its off. instalation is reverse of removal. make sure your belts are tightened to spec. some belt de-squeaker may be needed. hope that helps.

alex

 

worked ike a charm. Since belts are cheap, I eventually ended up replacing them all as none of them were in great condition and one other was real bad. I highly recommend replacing them all anyways for two reasons: 1. When one goes, another will soon anyways 2. Even belts that look like they're in good condition may be stretched or too loose, even at full tension. All in all, with the 2 trips to Auto zone for a ratchet set, and extra 14mm, the belts, disassembly, installation, disassembly, and installation on the last two, + a warmup testdrive it took me 2 1/2 hours with some technical difficulties. My first time too and it was about 15* F. outside without windchill. I've even got emergency tools in my car now too. Yay. I love being my own mechanic. I learn so much from all of you here in the forum. Thanks.

 

Glad to hear it!

It's always fun to see new people learn the joys of working under the hood. Just don't let your friends know (or you'll never be without cars to fix, usually for free).

-=Russ=-

 

Heyyy! I remember the FIRST thing I EVER did was replace the alternator on my Rx7. The second thing was replace the spark-plugs, 3rd was replace the alternator belt (which was pretty confusing) and 4th was to replace the MAIN fuse.

I'll tell you right now, it's a learning curve. Everytime you tackle something new, the next project comes a little bit easier... I know for a fact that with me, in two years I've been able to go from a complete n00b with 0 automotive experience, to someone who knows my Turbo II inside and out.

I'm proud of you maaaaaaaaan.