How to Remove a Vehicle's Serpentine Belt

Your car has a serpentine belt. It is a lengthy belt with small notches underneath it that goes around the crankshaft pulley, the power steering pulley, the alternator pulley, the air conditioner pulley and the water pump pulley. The belt has a tensioner that keeps it tight. The tensioner needs to be loosened to remove the serpentine belt to check the pulleys.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Ratchet

1. Refer to the pulley and belt configuration chart that every vehicle has. This chart is very important because the configuration varies widely between vehicles. The only way to find out how to release the automatic tensioner, also called a surf belt tensioner, is by looking at the diagram. The chart is usually on the underside of the hood or one side of the vehicle's inner fenders.

2. Find out what size driver you'll need to release the belt tension so that you can remove the vehicle's serpentine belt.

3. Locate the operating lug for the serpentine belt tensioner.

4. Push the lug until it bottoms down. You may need to rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise, depending on the pulley and belt configuration chart.

5. Remove the belt from the alternator pulley.

Tips & Warnings

• Only slip the belt off the necessary pulleys. This move makes putting it back on much easier. If you do pull the belt entirely off, you will need to carefully examine your configuration chart to find out how it should go back on.
• Change the belt every two to three years.
• Belts are set to spring load to the automatic tight position. Be prepared for this so you don't hurt your knuckles or get your ratchet stuck.
• Some serpentine belts are easier to remove than others. Don't get frustrated if the process doesn't appear to go as smoothly as you think it should.