The smooth idler pulley for my 1998 Saab 900 (2.3l 4 cylinder)has come off it's bearing. The car runs fine, but the pulley is still in place and will eventually cut the belt. Can I remove the old belt and pulley and replace it with a short belt? I could replace the pulley, if it can be done without dropping the engine. An expensive fix is not practical. Thank Tim
You could but the system ratio's would not be right and that would lead to all kinds of problems.
SOURCE: how do you loosen the serpentine belt
remove air filter box completely. loosen o/s/f wheel. jack up the car, and secure. remove wheel. remove plastic shield to expose the cranckshaft pulley.check routing of the belt for replacement. on top of the tensioner there is a square, about 1/2 inch, place a bar in the square and gently push the bar towards the front of the car to release the tension, and remove the belt. change any defective pulleys. refit the belt leaving the top pulley till last.take up the tension of the tensioner, and then fit the remaining belt. make sure the belt is sitting right in it's grooves, and crank the engine first to make sure it is fitted ok. refit air box, plastic shield and wheel.
SOURCE: timing belt and idler pulley remove and replacement
if you line up the marks before removal you can get it withouy the tools
SOURCE: Not good.....replacing timing belt on saab
I'm certain that the camshaft pullies and probably the head have reference marks that must be aligned.
I can't tell you how to set them however and I think you know that guessing could be very expensive.
Check you local library for a Haynes (1st choice) or Chilton service manual or, and I think everyone should own one for their vehicle, buy one.
We have three different vehicles and each has its own manual.
They are not only valuable for DIY stuff but also for judging the fairness of an estimate on a repair you don't want to do at home.
They cost between $20-$30 US and considering what mistakes cost, that's cheap.
SOURCE: Serpentine belt replacement on 1998 SAAB 900 and
let me know if it is still there, they do get damaged, there may be one on the internet somewhere.
SOURCE: I need to replace the serpentine belt on a 1995
Use a 6 or 8 inch 1/2 socket extension bar and place it in the top of the tensioner pulley, there is a notch in pulley for this. The tensioner pulley is near the firewall at the top of the engine....make a diagram of the belt routing and note which side( smooth or grooved) is lying on the pulley(usually grooved side of belt). Next you would pull tensioner pulley forward and slip the old belt off....you would route your new belt the same way and slip it on the tensioner pulley last.....you will need to pull the tensioner pulley forward again to get the slack you need to slide the belt over the pulley. I have found the Saab to be one of the easiest cars to change the serpentine belt on. I hope this helps.
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