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Ahhh...Serpentine Belts!!!

1K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  wingnut 
#1 ·
Blew the belt tonight on I-29 driving into KC. Pulled off into an Embassy Suites just as the lights were fading. Called the girlfriend to come pick me up. Lovely Friday evening. I was supposed to play Santa in the morning at my nieces and nephew's pre school. The blown belt saved from that ridicule!

I'm getting a belt in the morning and will attempt to replace it myself with the help of the trusty Haynes manual.
Any special tools needed? Should I pay for a tow and a mechanic to replace it or is this something that novices such as myself can pull off?
 
#4 ·
Here is an explanation on how to do it, but Haynes probably covers it well enough.

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69723&highlight=serpentine+belt+change

What is not mentioned in that link is that, when compressing the spring by means of your 1/2" drive extension stuck in the square hole of the tensioner, you require a 4mm or 3/16" allen key to slide through the obvious holes on the tensioner bracket in order to hold the tension off the belt. It should be clear when you see it! Make sure the extension is fully into the square hole before leaning on it otherwise you can break the casting around it! Suggest taking that picture with you that EW linked to otherwise the belt routing can be confusing.
 
#5 ·
wonkyhamster said:
Here is an explanation on how to do it, but Haynes probably covers it well enough.

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69723&highlight=serpentine+belt+change

What is not mentioned in that link is that, when compressing the spring by means of your 1/2" drive extension stuck in the square hole of the tensioner, you require a 4mm or 3/16" allen key to slide through the obvious holes on the tensioner bracket in order to hold the tension off the belt. It should be clear when you see it! Make sure the extension is fully into the square hole before leaning on it otherwise you can break the casting around it! Suggest taking that picture with you that EW linked to otherwise the belt routing can be confusing.
That's great. I've printed them. Thanks.
 
#6 ·
that mod doesn't put any stress on other pulleys does it? as much as i'd be tempted to do it if i get an ng900, i don't think there's any way i could convince my mechanic to do it (trust me, my parents won't even let me change my own oil).
 
#9 ·
hkayssi said:
The 1999 9-3 comes with the short belt out of the factory so I don't agree with that statement and some people did that mod years ago and still no problems :cheesy:
Yeah Yeah Yeah;). I knew this wouldn't be popular! However the new belts DID jump the PS pump pulley twice within 3 days (how I know is that one belt snapped a day or so after fitting it and I caught the second one before it totally came off - it had skipped grooves) and I triple checked it was put on correctly. I put the center idler pully back on and no more problems, theory being that the extra wraparound made the belt more secure!
 
#10 ·
wonkyhamster said:
I did it and had problems with the belt jumping off the pump pulley as it wasn't wrapped around so much as with the regular routing...
The lower idler pulley is not there for that reason. It is there to turn one long unsupported belt section into two short sections.

One of the "short" belt sizes often recommended is a tad long. On some cars the tensioner and upper idler come pretty close to each other, and the tolerance on the tensioner is not that great. If it makes contact with the upper idler the belt will come off.

Another possibility is that the p/s pump is starting to wear at the shaft bushing, which also serves as a seal on our pump, and is harder to turn.
 
#11 ·
The indicator on the tensioner is in between the marks on the mount so the belt length is ok. The PS pump pulley is very slightly angled compared with the rest of the belt path. You need a good eye and a straight edge to see it. There is no noticeable looseness of the pulley. Manufacturing tolerances means that nothing is perfect obviously, but I am sure this is causing the belt to skip grooves. So either I fix the alignment, or use the center pully to give more wrap around of the PS pulley. I chose the latter.
 
#12 ·
I agree with Wonkyhamster. The more belt contact there is against any pulley, the less the belt tension has to be.

And with the less tension, the bearings have an easier life.
It is a QC problem that some idler pulleys did not last;but I do think Saab should have used larger bearings for the pulleys - and less tension.
I wonder how the 9-3 units are holding up ??
 
#14 ·
There are many ways to skin this particular cat (ok maybe only 3) but I could also have shimmed the bracket to make the pulley line up, but I decided to take the easier route of using the original pulley. Maybe not the cheapest route as I ended up getting a new Saab center pulley ($$$) as I wanted to give the car less excuses to breakdown!
 
#16 ·
idler pulley

Twasn't the belt after all. Took a look this morning (was pitch black when I looked last night) and found that the idler pulley is gone. Found ball bearings and some shredded metal on top of the DIC.

Bought a new one ($57) and went to replace it. Can't get the darn bolt off. Considering taking a small propane torch to the bolt to try and loosen it.

Any other ideas on how to get to stubborn thing off?
 
#19 ·
I actually just did this repair on my car the other day. My rear, upper idler pulley had disintegrated, and shredded the belt in the process. I had the idlers on my list of things to replace preventatively, but obviously I didnt get around to it soon enough :lol:

Anyway, there is no need to take the tire and fender liner off to get the new belt on. With a flashlight, a stiff antenna or similar long, thin tool (to help nudge the belt around the lower pulleys), and about 10 minutes of patience, its not hard at all. The only thing I removed for easier access and more space to work was the air intake. Be very careful with the bolts securing the idler pulleys, if you break one of these off, I cant imagine what a pain you'd have on your hands trying to fix it. I sprayed mine with PB blaster, and it came right off (I dont think the PB was even necessary in my case).
 
#20 ·
finally got her done

Bought a propane torch and put it to the area around the bolt. Only about 17 degrees out today, so it took a while to get her heated up. Let it cool and took some vice grips to it and she came undone.
Installed the new idler pulley and put on the belt (without taking off the tire). Finally found a metal bar that would fit into the tension release and yanked her down and slid the belt over the new pulley. Jump-started the car and took her home. Seems to be running fine.
Did all this in freezing rain in an Embassy Suites parking lot 45 minutes from home. Thanks to everyone who gave me pointers on how to get this thing whooped.
 
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