Sunday, May 27, 2007
Changing Sepentine Belt in Explorer
The hood has a diagram and shows that the tensioner requires a 3/8 driver. It's a pain to get the 3/8 driver in there. The fan is in the way and I had to turn it a bit. I disconnected the air filter hose to provide a bit more accessibility. Set the driver for counterclockwise rotation and pull back. Wiggle the belt off.
To install the new belt, I ran it through all the wheels except the one farthest toward the driver side. I use small clips to hold the belt in place. Stick the 3/8 driver back in the tensioner and pull all the way. This should give just enough play in the belt to loop around the last wheel.
I got some Gator brand belt. It was the most expensive($35), but Sepentine belts should last 100K so I figure paying a bit more is not biggie. I saved about $70 for an hours worth of work including the time buying the belt on the way home from work. That's like earning $100/hr before taxes.
To install the new belt, I ran it through all the wheels except the one farthest toward the driver side. I use small clips to hold the belt in place. Stick the 3/8 driver back in the tensioner and pull all the way. This should give just enough play in the belt to loop around the last wheel.
I got some Gator brand belt. It was the most expensive($35), but Sepentine belts should last 100K so I figure paying a bit more is not biggie. I saved about $70 for an hours worth of work including the time buying the belt on the way home from work. That's like earning $100/hr before taxes.
# posted by Mack @ 2:33 AM 
