(How-to Guide) Replace serpentine belt

[Anthony]

Thought this might help a few people out:

-A new serpentine belt is only like $25 too

Guide to do it:
Use a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar with a shallow socket (I think the size is 5/8 or 11/16 but not positive), put the socket & breaker bar on the bolt for the tensioner pulley (smooth surfaced plastic pulley on a spring loaded arm - usually fairly close to the water pump pulley). With the breaker bar you should have enough leverage(it's a strong spring though so you might have to put a little muscle into it) to rotate the tensioner pulley and arm(usually rotates away from the water pump) allowing enough slack to get the belt on and off. Sometimes instead of using a socket on the pulley bolt if you look at the belt tensioner arm there will be a square hole in it for the square drive part of the breaker bar or ratchet to fit into. Hopefully this will help you - but if it's the belt routing diagram you need I might be able to find it in a service manual of mine and upload a picture of it for you.

Diagram:

 

[ItsAdam1]

isn't there a separate belt for the a/c compressor?

 

[Virginia Donkey]

Yes, there is. This isn't even for our trucks as the AC compressor is on the lower left

 

[porter1121]

Yeah the AC compressor belt rides on the crank damper behind the serp belt and goes to the compressor and its own tensioner....not bad to replace do all steps to remove serp belt then once its off unbolt the shield on the bottom of the engine and crank the tensioner and remove the belt