belt issues help please

My car is a 95 lumina 3.1 and it has some issues. the main 1 being that it almost never starts. to be specific, the battery is almost new fully charged and from the sound of it the starter motor is working fine. on the rare occasion it is running the timing belt is almost constanly slipping. this would be after mulitple applications of belt dressing per run. is it possible that the belt is the cause of it not starting and if so, would replacing it solve my problem?

You don't have a timing belt on a 3.1 - you have a timing chain. You're referring to your assessory serpentine belt. You mentioned that it slips all the time. Is it making a loud noise, while it slips? Maybe you have a seized pulley. You could also have a damaged belt tensioner, which could make your belt slip, but it wouldn't make your car not start.

I would start with removing the belt, and try to move your pulleys by hand (water pump, alternator, steering pump)

There is another notorious cause for serpentine belt slippage in the 3.1 Lumina engine: the water pump. When the water pump bearings finally go out, the pump will leak antifreeze through a small hole in the pump called the "weep hole". This is an indicator that you need to replace the pump very soon! What happens is that the antifreeze will leak right out onto the belt, which then causes it to slip. If this happens at night, you might also notice a short loss in electrical voltage. Also, check for obvious water/antifreeze stains/soaking on the sound insulation under the hood.

You should also do two things:
1. Make sure the belt is routed properly! There should be a diagram of how to route it somewhere in the engine compartment.
2. Take the belt off and check to make sure the power steering, water pump, a/c compressor, alternator, and belt tensioning pulley are all spinning freely. If not, that may be your problem.

Good luck!
~Annah

...this would be after mulitple applications of belt dressing per run.

Belt dressing is USELESS. If you "think" you need belt dressing, you ACTUALLY need to fix something that's gone bad.

From the rest of your description, the car cranks but won't start. Could be lack of fuel, could be lack of spark, or could be lack of compression. What is the cranking compression, and do you have good, strong spark while cranking? Diagnosing fuel is a little tougher. Rule out the other two first.

We finally took it to a shop to get checked out and guess what? Its the starter and the belt and the tensioner. There is alot work that needs to be done. On top of them recommending all of those replaced, they also said to replace the radiator, the coolant level sensor, the valve cover gasket set and the intake manifold. Their estimate is almost $2000 in repairs most of that is in labor costs. I can get the parts myself and i have access to shop space and tools so im thinking about doing the work myself. if anyone can direct me to some instructions on how to do this work myself it would be greatly appreciated.


and yes people working on their own stuff are supervised

IF you're not losing coolant or oil, you don't need the valve cover and intake gaskets done. The belt and tensioner are about $20 each, and take about 20minutes to replace, so their estimate is brutal rapage. The starter is under teh front of the engine, and requires the removal of a total of 8 bolts/nuts (that's if you drop the inspection cover, only 4 if not). Again, less than an hour job (worse case scenario, as some 3.1 starters can be a #$%%$ to get to) so it may be only a 20 min job also. They are probably trying to take advantage of you and showing you the DEX-COOL sludge. I doubt seriously, unless you ARE using coolant and oil, that all these repairs are necessary.

Actually, I have been losing coolant. I forgot to mention that. Though I havent heard anything about oil loss. I found most of the parts already though im having a little trouble finding a starter solenoid and im not sure if its included when you buy the starter. My other issue is tracking down the coolant level sensor.

The solenoid will come with the starter. The coolant level sensor is GM# 10096163 ($53.20 dealer retail). If you can wait, I can sell you the coolant level sensor for about $30 + s/h (I work at a Delco distributor in Flint, MI) and save you the dealer mark-up. PM me if you're interested with your zip code and I can get you a shipping quote.

ok stupid question but with rockauto.com does the starter come with the solenoid there as well? i see that they sell basically every part for a car seperately and i just need to know if i should order both or if its included

Unless you're buying a generic, cheapo, white box, crap starter, it will come with the solenoid. If they say it doesn't, don't buy it as it will be JUNK!

ok i have the belt, tensioner and starter and should be doing the main work tomorrow. my next work will be with the cooling system and replacing the carpet.

ok i have the belt, tensioner and starter and should be doing the main work tomorrow. my next work will be with the cooling system and replacing the carpet.

I have a '95 w/3.1. I just replaced my radiator, upper and lower hoses, water pump, coolant level sensor, and thermostat. Not too tough really. Oddly, I also replaced the radiator cap with a new stant, and it leaked terribly so I had to go back to the original and all is well. About 1,000 miles ago I also replaced the starter and solenoid. Sounds like we're on the same track. I'm at 245,000 miles.