last night i replace the old sepentine belt, the tentioner pulley had gone bad a couple of months agoand a couple of ribs were misisng on from the belt. after replacing the pulley, i forgot to pick up a new belt and figured partial is better than none. back to the issue at hand: i put the new belt in and started my car, instantly the belt slipped off the tensioner pulley and wedged itself between the tensionder arm and the enging block. i checked all the pulleys, i can turn all of them by hand (except the crank of course)what could be making the belt slip off all of the sudden. to be sure i put the belt back on and had my brother start the car so i could watch what happens.

 

i forgot something, we had to drive my car from my brother's to our parrents' (about 10 miles) and my engine ran better w/o the belt than it did w/ the belt. any ideas?

 

Does the belt look straight when you get it on there?

With no belt that free's up HP making it seem to run better. Less drag on the motor.

 

it seemed straight to us, but all we had for light was a couple of almost dead flashlights. i'll geta getter look at it after work today under the shop lights.

 

One of the accessory devices could be slightly loose/misaligned. I would check the fasteners on the A/C compressor, alternator & PWS pump.

There are two different length belts, and the longer belt is recommended for more contact surface with the alternator. The routing is different.


JPN

 

i remember when i started having problems with my tensioner pulley, before i replaced it, i picked up the longer size not knowing there were two different lengths so i ended up returning it.

i got a little distracted last night. as i pulled my car in the garage the driver side axle started creaking and grinding. i already had the new axle and ball joint, so i started tearing it apart to replace those. one of the nuts on the ball joint locked itself down and is now stripped, and i couldn't get the nut off the end of the axle to save my life. does that have left or right handed threads? if the answer is left that would explain alot. on top of all that, i discovered the bushings on the control arm are shot, gotta order those today.

it's a good thing i enjoy mechanical work, if i didn't i'd be both broke from shop fees and drinking heavily.

after work today, i'll take a look at the fasteners on everything and see where that leeds me.

 

The threads on the axle are normal threads. Did you soak it good with rust breaker spray?

For the nut on the old balljoint if all else fails just cut it off.

 

yeah i gave it a good dousing with liquid wrench, apparently not enough yet. but, it got too late into the night and my mom let me borrow her car to go home (my wife kept calling and yelling "blah blah blah when are you coming home? blah blah" if i need a breaker bar, my dad has a 6 foot steel pipe i can slide over the end of the wrench. think i'll get some leverage out of that?

i gave up on tryng to get the nut off the ball joint, drill here we come.

 

That might work good enough to get it loose.

 

Some other alternatives:
*Soak the nut with PB Blaster first.

- Use Craftsman spiral-shaped sockets. They are designed to bite into a stripped fastener.
- Heat the nut with a torch until red hot (be careful not to melt the cv-joint boot) and turn it with a large (10WR) Vise-grip/locking pliers.
- Use a nut cracker and break the nut.
- See attached.

The tensioner pulley actually needs periodic lubrication as per service manual. Consult Tech for absolute necessity on this, though.


JPN

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well, got the new axle in, and got the old ball joint off. found out the bushings on the control arm have been shot for so long that the ends of the control arm are warped. no biggie, i'll just order a new one.

back to the original issue, i found the proble with my belt... the tensioner arm is wabbling more than i did after my first frat party in college. i'm ordering all the parts i need tonight, so they should be here by wednesday. then my dad can stop harrassing me to get my car out of his garage lol. well, Mr. Tech, Mr. JPN, thank you both for all of your help and knoledge. i'm sure it won't be long before I'll need it again.

 

IM glad we can help you get through this.
We are here as much as we can be.

 

Our pleasure; this is the American Spirit.

Come back whenever you need us.


JPN

 

OK got her all back together, and all i can say is "at least the car moves now." steering is acting up, but I have that under a different thread. to replace the tensioner assembly, i had to remove the three computers (at least i'm pretty sure that's what they were) right in front of my right side strut tower. I think one of them has to do with my ABS and now the abs warning light on my dash has turned on. if i'm right about thoes being my computers, what are the odds one went bad while I was waiting for my parts to come in? if not, what the heck are they?

 

The Big-3:

1. Fuel system controller (ECU/ECM/Computer)
2. Ignition system controller (ECU/ECM/Computer)
3. Transmission controller (ECU/ECM/TCM/Computer)

The ABS module is located right by the brake fluid reservoir. Not sure what triggered the code. Try getting codes in the ABS system. Also, next time when you remove the computers, make sure to disconnect the negative battery cable, AND wait 10-15 minutes until undoing them.


JPN

 

the ABS light came off last night when i moved my car out of the parents garage, my dad's a lot happier he gets to park in there again. I didn't worry about pulling the codes for my check engine light yet, she's down for another week while I wait for a steering rack to show up and get installed, and I got distracted helping my brother change the front diferential fluid on his equinox (holy crap does that stuff reak, i almostyacked something fierce)

back to the matter at hand, how bad did mess things up by not taking these steps?

 

The worst case scenario is that you would fry an ECU if you pulled them out while energised. However, see what Moderator Tech says. I just followwhat the manual says, but Tech is a lot more practical than some manual so I would go with Tech's advice over a manual.

If the ABS warning keeps turning on & off, I believe your 850 is 93-95 model, correct?

I hope the diff oil change went well for your bro’s Equinox.


JPN

 

yes, my 850 is a '93. the fluid change for my brother was a breeze, with the exception of that horrible smell and very, verywater dripping from the ice build up on his bumper straight onto my crotch

 

.......Oh no, not there...


JPN

 

The Devil presented himself as a snake. Could your serpentine belt be of the same issue?