Hey guys, I was going to replace the drivebelt on my van (just like I did on my Ram 1500 Truck in like 5 minutes). However, it looks like a much tighter fit and a bigger task. I did some searches and saw where some of the belts slip off after repalcing due to worn out tensioners. I may go ahead and just replace both. Can someone point me to a helpful thread or e-mail pics to broncojoe@bellsouth.net - Thanks

 

REMOVAL
Raise vehicle on hoist.
Remove the drive belt shield (Accessory Drive Belt Shield).
WARNING: DO NOT ALLOW DRIVE BELT TENSIONER TO SNAP BACK, AS DAMAGE TO TENSIONER AND/OR PERSONAL INJURY COULD RESULT.

Position a wrench on the belt tensioner lug (DRIVE BELT TENSION RELEASE).
Release belt tension by rotating the tensioner counterclockwise (DRIVE BELT TENSION RELEASE).
Remove the drive belt (ACCESSORY DRIVE BELT).
Carefully return tensioner to its relaxed position.

 

Come on master tech not everyone is cool and has a hoist. I recently did mine with poor man's tools. It looks hard because you can't see what your doing but once you start feeling around it's not bad at all. Tizzy post this great pic in another thread.



It took me about 20 minutes and I replaced the both idlers. I would highly recommend the idlers too. They are cheap and wear out almost as fast as a belt.

1. From the top get a 19mm wrench on the tensioner. Pull up and pull the belt off the top idler and alternator.

2. Remove the intake hose and fish out the belt. If you are replacing the tensioner anyways unbolt it with a 13mm wrench. It makes belt retrieval easier.

3. If you are replacing the upper idler do it now (15mm wrench). Also, this is a good time to replace the tensioner idler (13mm wrench) if not going with the complete tensioner.

4. Bolt the tensioner and idler back in. Make sure the tensioner is keyed in correctly.

5. Fish the belt down in. Lift the car just before the tire lifts. Unbolt the splash guard (1 10mm bolt) Reach up and get it situated on the lower pulleys and around the tensioner. Get back up top and pull the tensioner with your 19mm wrench and get the belt first on the alternator. A little more pull will get you under the upper idler.

6. Make sure the belt isn't binding up around the upper engine mount, replace the intake hose and splash guard bolt and you're done. Save the old spare along with a 19mm wrench for an emergency roadside repair.

 

I was trying to find tizzy's post with picture, so i did the next best post.

 

Wow - Thanks guys - the pic really helps a lot!

 

Thread name was 2001 3.3L Dodge Grand Caravan - Serpentine belt by KnuckleHead01

 

Thanks!

 

I used what I believe to be an easier way to pull the tensioner back.

Rather than using an open end wrench from the right as is shown in the picture above, I grabbed the tensioner arm from the opposite end with a pipe wrench from below. You have a better angle to grab it from with zero chance of it slipping off, assuming you have the wrench adjusted correctly. A nice big pipe wrench gives you all the leverage in the world. An eight year old could pull it back using this method.