Service Schedule on Serpentine Belt

[CharlesJ]

Originally Posted by jayman

Oops, no more attachments for me. I've just reached my 50 MB limit

Can you delete some of the old ones? Is that possible?

[jayman]

I suppose I could do that. Not sure where to start though. I also have a large number of Adobe Acrobat files attached, some folks may miss them. I'd rather see my attachment limit increased

Nudge nudge wink wink hint hint

[radiovan]

What gauge do you use for checking the belt tension? The most common one I see for sale is the OTC 6673. It reads from 30 inch pounds so that might not work well if you need 22 inch pounds for the 2004.

My belt started making a little noise when the engine starts and stops. It looked glazed on the outside so it was probably slipping. I changed the belt but I'm not confident in my uncalibrated thumb pressure. It's quiet now.
Thanks

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by radiovan

What gauge do you use for checking the belt tension? ...

As a DIYer I don't have a gauge. If you don't hear any noise then the belt should be tight enough. The concern is that if it is too tight then you may damage the water pump bearing or idler pulley bearing.

[Carrot]

I have a warning for anyone doing this. The bolt that was coaxial to my idler pulley was really tight, to the point that I had to use a two foot cheater bar to loosen it and even then struggled a little. I thought it was way too tight, but I didn't trust my instincts, and when I went to tighten it back up it I tried to get it back to the same tightness and ended up snapping the bolt. So anyone doing this at home, the factory might have fastened it on insanely tight, and you should do what I didn't and use common sense when tightening it back up.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by Carrot

... The bolt that was coaxial to my idler pulley was really tight, to the point that I had to use a two foot cheater bar to loosen it and even then struggled a little. I thought it was way too tight, but I didn't trust my instincts, and when I went to tighten it back up it I tried to get it back to the same tightness and ended up snapping the bolt.

Thanks for relating your experience. I believe that you are referring to a nut, not a bolt? See the center of my first photo in post #18.

Did you have any trouble obtaining a replacement piece of hardware?

The specified tightening torque is 30 ft.-lb. I agree that the nut was fastened pretty tight and that use of a cheater bar will be very helpful to remove it. I've got a 2 ft piece of iron water pipe that fits over my 3/8" ratchet handle, and a 3 ft piece of steel TV antenna mast that I use over my 1/2" ratchet handle as needed.

[Carrot]

You're right, I thought it was a bolt but it is a nut. I have to order a whole new idler pulley, which cost about $60 from the dealership and should get here tomorrow after placing the order today.

Also, I found that I did not have to remove the RH under cover to replace the belt, although it was a tight fit.