on a 97 Ford Explorer...mine needs a new one.

The only thing I can think of is don't let the idler pully go. there may be others. Also remember the sequence

Use a "BRAND NAME" belt, OR better,they cost more, but LAST!I opted for a cheap one on another type vechicle and when it broke,weeks later,had to replace alot more=water punp,rad,etc.THe tension spring on the s10s have a tendency to break im told.Good luck!

Yea...for $60 any decent garage will do it and do it right.  You really need a special tool to do it and those cost around $25 plus the belt cost $20 it really is the better way to go.

sgtar15

On most cars you will find a schematic of the pulley belt sequence, so don't worry too much.

I still put my own on, and looking forward to the day my Grandson can do it for me!

On my Jeeps, the tension idler pulley is [u]fixed[/u], meaning there is no spring, you must adjust tension on the belt by moving the attaching bolts.

Much, much more work is involved.

Dagnabbit, ya' young whippersnapper!

Whoops! Sorry, for a moment there, I [u]was[/u] my own Grandpaw!

Eric The(I'mMyselfAgain)Hun[>]:)]

Uh OH...I didn't know you needed any special tools, what sort of tool do you mean? I have a brother who is a mechanic, maybe he can do it for me.

If it's like mine was, it was tricky because of the spring-loaded idler puller which is where the special tool was used.  

Except, I couldn't get one, so I wound up using a combination of a line-up tool's flat end, plus a small crow-bar (in two different places, simultaneously).  That made it a two-person job.

By the time I got the technique down, I had ruined one idler pully and broke a piece out of the side of the second one (it was still OK).  Bet I did it 50 times over the years due to water pumps, alternators, smog pump, etc. Eventually I was able to do it by myself.  Carefully.

So watch your brother do it.  I think the 'special tool' could easily be fabricated by a welder wtih a little trial & error.  You just don't want to lose your bite and let the spring arm go loose.  Something's bound to break.

According to my mechanic friend "Stubby", he's says it's easier to change the belt with the engine not running.

coyote3

Belt - Preferably Gates.  Goodyear second best.

Lisle makes a tool kit for snake belts that has saved my knickles over and over on my mother-in-law's 93 Sable.  It is a long flat lever with another extension lever (can be put on at an angle) and various sockets and bits for difference attachments.

Most that I have seen are 1/2" square drive, but some are also metric hex.  The bit you need should be in the Lisle kit - and the kit goes for less than $40 most places.

The Lisle will give you enough leverage to easily release the tensioner and control the release.  I usually change that belt on that be-damned sidewise engine by myself with the thing - you don't need to pull until you are ready to slip the belt back under the tensioner.  The toolkit is worth the cash - it will pay for itself the first or second time you use it.

If you can't find the kit, the next best things is to use a breaker bar and socket (or drive tip) and use a pipe entension to make the thing require less effort and to give you more control.  Either way will work.

It should take you 15-20 minutes (and one beer) to change the belt.  It will be easy for you since your engine isn't wedged in sidewise...

ETH - what Jeep do you have?  Just wondering...

FFZ

9 times out of 10, the "special tool" is just a long breaker bar with the socket on the end.

Otherwise the "special tool" is "Fred, get over here and help me with this."