99 chevy cav serpentine belt

[spazmo]

so i just had to replace the alternator which was a breeze.....unfortunately gettin the serpentine belt back on is bein a huge pain.....any tips? im sure ive got everything routed correctly, but im not so sure im using the tensioner properly because it seems to only be givin me about an inch or less of extra play in the belt.....this cant be right can it??

[UncleBob]

I could print out the 6 different ways it can be installed, depending on whether its a 2.2L, 2.4L, has power steering and AC etc.....but I'm not feeling up to that much effort.

If you have everything aligned properly, it should fit. Either the belt isn't fully on all the pullies, or the routing is wrong. Sometimes you have to find the right pulley to leave the belt off of when unloading the tensioner and slipping it on, because of the height the belt needs to go over the drive pullies can be difficult. Its best to pick a idler or tensioner to be the last piece of the puzzle, depending on what is convienant

[spazmo]

oh yeah...its a 2.2L with AC and power steering.....the only pulley that is really convienent to leave for last is the alternator, but the tensioneris also fairly close, and i was thinkin possibly better because it runs against the back of the belt rather than the grooved side

[UncleBob]

well, just to verify, here's the belt routing:

[spazmo]

thats definately how ive got it routed, i think maybe im think the wrond pulley is the tensioner.....is it the two piece one on the bottom(kinda middle) left of that diagram?

[UncleBob]

I assume you're correct, the tensioner is the only thingy you can move in the system to change tension. You are using a wrench on the tensioner, to back it off, correct?

But here's it highlighted, to make sure you're on the same page.

[spazmo]

so, i got that all back together...drove the car for 10 mins, and then the bat light came on for a minute when i started it back up, went off after about a minute, but then the abs light came on, and right before i got home the airbag light came on, and when i got home and tried to turn it over it just clicked at me like it had a bad connection or low bat.....im hopin that cleanin off the terminals is gonna help, but whats makin the abs/airbag lights come on? too bad i dont have the money to just pay someone to do all this for me....

[Rufe]

A bit late to help you, however for other readers, here is a technique for changing these belts.

1. run the belt (correctly) over all the pulleys except the tensioner.
2. set the edge of belt on the bolt of the tensioner, to keep it in place.
3. go back over the routing and insure that the grooves in the belt are fully seated (aligned) in the grooves on the other pulleys. If not seated properly, it could cause enough loss of clearance to cause problems setting the belt over the tensioner pully.
4. put a wrench on the tensioner bolt, and turn it to (preload) the tensioner. It should give you just enough room to set the belt without any binding.

If you do not maintain a bit of tension in the belt while doing this, it could slip out of alignment on one of the other pulleys, and you have to start over.