Belt tensioner/bar not enough tension

No, you should be able to fish the belt over the fan blades, one at a time. Follow this:
Step 1 Open the hood. Disconnect the negative (black) battery cable.
Step 2 Inspect the fan shroud for the accessory belt routing diagram. If the diagram is missing or illegible, use a pen and paper to draw your own diagram before removing the belt. The new belt must be routed around the pulleys exactly as the old one was.
Step 3 Locate the spring loaded belt tensioner on the front of the engine. There is a small pulley attached to the bottom of the tensioner arm.
Step 4 Slide the square end of the breaker bar into the square hole in front of the tensioner pulley. Rotate the breaker bar counterclockwise and the entire tensioner will move enough to relieve the tension from the belt. Pull the belt out from under the pulley and slowly let the breaker bar retract.
Step 5 Remove the accessory belt from each pulley with your hands. Rotate one of the fan blades to the top side of the engine with your hand and pull the belt around it. Repeat this process until the belt is around all of the fan blades. Pull the belt out of the engine compartment.
Step 6 Route the new belt carefully around each fan blade. Wrap the belt around the crankshaft pulley to begin the belt routing process. Refer back to the belt routing diagram instructions to properly route the new belt around the accessory pulleys.
Step 7 Turn the tensioner counterclockwise again with the breaker bar. Position the new belt evenly under the tensioner pulley. Allow the tensioner pulley to tighten against the belt. Pull the breaker bar out of the tensioner.
Step 8 Reconnect the negative battery cable.

It is a big process

Open the hood. Disconnect the negative (black) battery cable.

2

Inspect the fan shroud for the accessory belt routing diagram. If the diagram is missing or illegible, use a pen and paper to draw your own diagram before removing the belt. The new belt must be routed around the pulleys exactly as the old one was.

Locate the spring loaded belt tensioner on the front of the engine. There is a small pulley attached to the bottom of the tensioner arm.

4

Slide the square end of the breaker bar into the square hole in front of the tensioner pulley. Rotate the breaker bar counterclockwise and the entire tensioner will move enough to relieve the tension from the belt. Pull the belt out from under the pulley and slowly let the breaker bar retract.

5

Remove the accessory belt from each pulley with your hands. Rotate one of the fan blades to the top side of the engine with your hand and pull the belt around it. Repeat this process until the belt is around all of the fan blades. Pull the belt out of the engine compartment.

6

Route the new belt carefully around each fan blade. Wrap the belt around the crankshaft pulley to begin the belt routing process. Refer back to the belt routing diagram instructions to properly route the new belt around the accessory pulleys.

7

Turn the tensioner counterclockwise again with the breaker bar. Position the new belt evenly under the tensioner pulley. Allow the tensioner pulley to tighten against the belt. Pull the breaker bar out of the tensioner.

8

Reconnect the negative battery cable.

9

Start the engine for five to ten seconds to seat the new belt. Turn the engine off. Visually check that the belt is properly seated around all pulleys.

Performance Chip

NO YOU DONT HAVE TO REMOVE BELT TENSIONER.ALL YOU NEED IS A 1/2 BREAKER BAR PLACE BREAKER BAR ADAPTER END INTO 1/2 ADAPTER HOLE IN BELT TENSIONER THEN ROTATE BELT TENSIONER AWAY FROM BELT TO RELEASE BELT TENSION ENOUGH TO REMOVE DRIVE BELT.

You will need a 1/2" breaker bar with a handle at least 18" long. Locate the belt tensioner and release enough tension so that the belt can be safely displaced from the alternator or any other convenient appliance. before removing the belt, make sure you make good notes on how the belt is to go back on ( or you may simply refer to the diagram under the hood). Remove the old belt. Thread the new belt into place, getting it ready for the last appliance in line. Displace the tensioner enough to safely attach the belt to the last pulley in line. Release the tensioner and remove the breaker bar. If the belt is correctly installed (make sure it is) then the job is done.


A further suggestion. I had a problem releasing the tension enough to reinstall the serpentine belt so I used an 18" long, 1" (id) black iron pipe as an extension for my breaker bar. It makes a world of difference and one person, even an old guy, can then de-tension the belt and slip the belt over the alternator pulley.

You will probably have to loosen the fan (the 13mm bolts on the fan clutch, not the 10mm going into the water pump) in order to get a 1/2" drive breaker bar on the belt tensioner. I recommend also removing the right (passenger side - on your left as you're leaning over the radiator!) idler pulley - a single 13mm bolt. Having that pulley out of the way makes it POSSIBLE to snake the belt down to the A/C compressor. Once the new belt is wound around all the lower components, heave over on that breaker bar (in the belt tensioner) and slip the belt over the top pulley last. Congrats! Take a sip of your fav beverage, and now have your buddy push on that breaker bar one last time while you put the idler pulley back in place with the 13mm bolt.
FYI, that idler pulley bearing goes out before anything else and may be the reason you're replacing the belt in the first place. $22 at AutoZone.
It only takes about five minutes to replace the belt, but it takes 30 minutes to get the fan out of the way and back on.

Hi, You will need a 1/2" breaker bar with a handle at least 18" long. Locate the belt tensioner and release enough tension so that the belt can be safely displaced from the alternator or any other convenient appliance. Before removing the belt, make sure you make good notes on how the belt is to go back on ( or you may simply refer to the diagram under the hood). Remove the old belt. Thread the new belt into place, getting it ready for the last appliance in line. Displace the tensioner enough to safely attach the belt to the last pulley in line. Release the tensioner and remove the breaker bar. If the belt is correctly installed (make sure it is) then the job is done.
Take care

You have a tension pulley. Usually you will need a breaker bar or a socket with some type of pull handle. You will attach the breaker bar or ? whatever you have and push forward to loosen the belt. Once you have it pushed forward the belt will slide off and installing is the same, just be sure to have it around all your other pulley's and the tension pulley be the last one you put it on. It's really a pulley on a spring loaded arm that tightens the belt. It's the roller that has no purpose but to keep the belt tight. If you look at all your pulleys, each one has a purpose such as the alternator, crank, air, but this will be connected to a arm with nothing more.

You will need a breaker bar to release the tensioner. A breaker bar is a long ratchet that doesn't ratchet. The breaker bar size for your car is 1/2".

You will see a square hole on the tensioner and that is where the breaker bar goes. Put the breaker bar in there and pull on it until it gives you enough slack to pull the belt off. Make sure to pull the right way to release the tension. IF it wont release the tension don't yank on it try going the other way, It will help to have two people to do this job. You only need to pull it off one pully then slowly let the tensioner go back.

To put the new belt on make sure you run the new belt the exact same way as the old. Again you will need to release the tension from the tensioner and slip the belt over the last pulley.

Subikid90

locate the tensioner... you need a "breaker" bar with a 3/8 inch socket head... a rachet would do with a long enough handle. there is a square hole in the tensioner... you need to release pressure on the tensioner long enough to get the belt on.

That wasn't right though. There is a 1/2 slot for a 1/2 inch breaker bar and when two holes are lined up you stick a drill bit or similar peice through to lock it in place till you get the belt routed then pull back alittle bit on the breaker bar to remove tension from the drill bit . Remove the drill bit and release tension on breaker bar and remove it to put tension on the belt.Then check alignment , positioning, routing of the belt visually.

You may have a self tensioner which applies belt tension with a spring.

Look for a spot to put a 1/'2"drive breaker bar on it and release the belt tension, then slide the belt off and install new belt. You may need a helper to remove the belt while you hold the tension off,
Its been awhile since I have seen an Escort, i may be wrong!