Ok, so in all my times working on cars, i can honestly say i have never touched, or heard of how to change a vbelt on our cars. I have only delt with serpentine setups. Now how would i go about changing my belts without any tensioner? Do i have to disconnect pulleys or anything? Reason im asking is i prefer to have knowledge of what im doing before i start rippping stuff off.

Thanks
Chris

 

All you have to do is loosen the bolt(s) that lets the part your changing the belt for pivot. For example, if your changing the belt for the alternator, loosen that bolt(s), and then push the alternator in to take the tension off the belt. Then pull the belt off and put the new one on. Then use either your hands or a belt adjusting tool to make the new belt have tension, and tighten the bolt(s). I hope you can understand what I mean by this.

 

Yea i get what your saying. Is there a special adjustment tool for vbelt setups? I know what your talking about the pivot on the alternator, i was wondering why that was on there. I really have never even bothered to learn about vbelts, nor have i seen one and i only glanced at my belts after i bought the ones i need to change and i didnt get hit in the face by anything obvious like on a serp. setup.

Thanks
Chris

 

Yea, it's called a "screwdriver", or sometimes "prybar", if you're really classy You just need to pull it out so the belt is tight. Just wedge a prybar in there, hold it out tight, and snug the bolts up.

If the belt shakes at high RPM, it's too loose. If bearings howl, it's too tight. You can get a tool for it, but generally 1/2" of play with 5lbs of pressure on the longest run is tight enough. It's really a rule of thumb type of thing. It's easier on bearings to run it loose, so loose as you can go before it slips is best.