I'm outside now trying to change my water pump but I cant get of the belt. The manual says use a 15mm socket to relieve the "belt tensioner" but there is no place on the tensioner to fit a 15mm socket. please help!!


G:rockon: Raiders

 

I beleive you put the socket on the bolt that holds the tensioner wheel to the tenstioner - and pull with a breaker bar...

 

the belt tensioner is on cars with the single serpentine belt. it's usually somewhere near the top left, and looks like a 3" diamter aluminum cylinder with a round protrusion w/ a 1/2" square cut out of the middle. that's where you put the breaker bar, (and pull to the passenger side if i recall). anyway, if you have multiple belts, there's some sequence of parts you have to loosen to get the water pump belt off. i think in general, the alternator is the 'tensioner' that you tighten up last, so that might be the place to start.

 

Oops. I don't have the single serpentine belt but my other vehicles do and they require a 15 mm socket on the bolt that holds the tensioner wheel to the tensioner. I do recall a half inch drive square in the tensioner on a friends newer Firebird.