Went to Autozone got a Goodyear Gatorback serpentine belt and decided to try to put it on myself.

Was a little harder that I thought, only because i was trying to put the last loop on the top pulley. After a half hour of trying to stretch it, I decided to try a different pulley. Finally figured out that it was easiest to pull it up to the pulley that has the smooth side of the belt touches the smooth ridgeless pulley.

Probably should have been obvious, but I didn't think it mattered which pulley you used with the tensioner released. Anyway its done and works great.

 

I need to do that.

 

I've never messed with belts before. For some reason the thought scares me. That and the fact I have no idea how to do it.
Im gonna learn one day, b/c it is good knowledge to have.

 

i havent had to change the belt on my 4.6l yet but the one in my jeep i prolly changed about 15times in 2 months. it kept slipping off everytime i went off roading, anyway i could do it in about 15min from all the practice lol.

 

really? i thought this was like the easiest thing i ever did to my truck. with a spring loaded tensioner, get a ratchet in there, release the tension, route the belt, and done. it took me less than 10 minutes.

 

Mine was not "fun". I would recomend wearing long sleeves and gloves when you do it. My hands and forearms looked like I went a couple of rounds with a mountain lion when I was done. There is almost no room to get your hands in there and the bloody fan is razor sharp.

 

Too funny, if I took pictures, you would thnk I got in a fight with cat. Fyi, if I was to do it again, I could probably do it in 10 min, but having never done it, and figuring it out took way more time. I watched a couple videos on YouTube, but none said the obvious to use the smooth pully to mount the belt. Thought the belt was a hair too short for the longest time.

 

I put a belt on my 97 F-150 5.4L every 50,000 miles. I sold it Monday with 259, 916 miles on it. Every belt I put on took me only a few minutes. Use the right tools and the job is a breeze.

 

i can put a belt on my truck in about 10 minutes and that includes time to R&R the intake. Probably helps that I do about 5 belts a day at work on cars that are a million times harder than my truck.

 

Here's the latest Blue

http://info.rockauto.com/Gates/Detai...leetRunner.jpg

 

- Yea, the 98's are cake compared to others. The 04 + models take a little more time.

 

yeah i can do an 04+ in about 15 minutes lol

you get really quick after a while. 15 minutes work for a job that pays about .8 if i remember correctly is kinda nice. now the newer FWD imports are a PITA! either the engine bays keep getting smaller and smaller or my hands are getting bigger.

 

Parts Information OEM Part # Price

Drive Belt

Serpentine Belt


Without AC
F65Z8620HA $57.53 Notes

With AC
YL3Z8620FA $46.13 Notes


Labor Information Warranty Standard

Drive Belt -Serpentine Belt


Replace - Skill Level Mfg. C 0.2 0.4 Notes.

Yea, they use to charge 0.6 for just the belt lol.

 

All this talk about being easy. I might have to try it. Any tips? Gonna look at my chiltons, but if you guys are doing it in 5-10 min, then there must be some type of hints.

 

This is a very easy but not cheap maintenance item. Basically work from the bottom up remembering how the old one came off it that helps. One 1/2" breaker bar on the tensioner and pull towards the driver side. Do this while you have a grip on the belt pulling it over the alternator pulley. Those with mechanical fans and shrouds need to unbolt the shroud to get it over the fan. It is very simple.