serpentine belt

[boatbuster]

Anybody know how big of a job it is to replace the serpentine belt on a 2002 Astro AWD?
Thanks!

[old_master]

Remove the upper and lower air filter housings. Remove the upper fan shroud. You can get right at the tensioner and all of the pulleys.

[Blue Bowtie]

If you're lazy (like me) and have arms like an orangutan (like me) you can change the belt with the fan shroud in place. However, the design makes it relatively easy to remove the upper half of the fan shroud and get really good access to the belt, fan, water pump, idler, and everything else on the front of the engine. It might be good to remove it to perform an inspection of the rest of the parts, anyway. Don't forget to clean the crud out of you intake air box when you remove it, and be careful of the MAF while working around it.

Dammit! The Master beat me to it (again).

[boatbuster]

Sorry, I didn't want to start a fight here! I guess I know what I'm doing on monday morning. The belt isn't that bad, but we are going on vacation and it is showing some small cracks. So I figured, better change it now than on the side of the highway.
Thanks guys!

[Blue Bowtie]

What fight? The Master is correct, but it IS possible to do it another way. It might not be much easier, though, and there are benefits to removing the shroud.

Just for grins, clean up the old belt and stuff it back into the sleeve. Put it in one of the rear compartments just in case. Since it isn't broken, it might make a good temporary spare. There are probably lots of places along the highway where you can find a ratchet to relieve the tensioner spring, but not nearly as many places to find a replacement belt, so that spare might just save your hide.

[boatbuster]

I was planning on saving it. Like you said, you never know. Plus, if I have it in the van I will never need it, but if I throw it out you know what will happen!

Thanks!

[brcidd]

In all my years around serpentine belts- I have never seen one break on its own accord- like Vee-belts used too.. Yeah , I see them laying on the ground at stop lights etc-- but if you look really closely- you'll see where they are melted in two-- from a component lock-up- like an a/c pump- or a water pump or alternator bearing failure. The only way I have ever seen a serpentine fail is by shredding- from someone who has put the belt on a groove to the left or right- and that will immediately shred the cords off that side of the belt- Heck- I have seen people run their belts on 5 grooves instead of 6 grooves- and still keep going and going....I agree- the only way to be safe is to change it once in awhile-- but I let mine run a long time.....they are one of the best improvements in the auto industry- that along with fuel injection systems have really made maintaning your vehicle easy....