Time to change the drive/fan belt?

[dallas007]

Any one change their fan/drive belt yet? If you have, how hard was it?? How long did it take?

Why did it you change it? Look bad or cracked??

Thanks

[mdoyle]

There are two belts, the smaller one drives the A/C compressor and has it's own tensioner and is behind the main drive belt. I pulled the skidplate to access it and it was a piece of cake.

Be sure to change both tensioners while you're at it, the originals will have enough wear that they won't properly tension the new belt, leading to early failure.

If I recall the lower tensioner used a 3/8" square drive to move it, the upper uses a 15mm socket (that's from memory, could be wrong).

Either way, it's about a good 30 minutes of work and you'll save a few bucks over the dealership prices.

While you've got the skidplate off, polish up that logo and undercoat around it!

[dkhummerh2]

Yeah, I had a powersteering pump go out on mine, so I just changed out both belts while I had everything off. I used my same tensioners with no problem. That skid plate is a chore to get down, so make sure you have some help or a lft jack.
dk

[mdoyle]

You can get away using the same tensioners but every service manual and belt manufacturer suggest otherwise if you want the longest life out of the belts.

I figure if I'm already saving a few bucks doing it myself, I may as well do it right.