serpentine belt

[jeepmaster]

i just picked up the XJ today from an oil change (10 bucks w.coupon i couldnt pass it up) and the mechanic said that my serpentine belt was cracked and should be replaced and i should also have a coolant flush. he quoted me at 180 for both jobs. ive decided to do the serpentine belt replacement myself. i got a new belt at the parts shop for 38 bucks and plan to put it on tommarrow. the guy at the shop said it was pretty straight forward and all i had to do was unbolt a couple screws on the water pump and slide it back then remove the old belt and put the new one on, then push the pump forward again and get some good tension on the belt and bolt it down again. it seems really easy for a $100 job at a service station. my last project (cat) didnt go so well, so i was just wondering if there are gonna be any hidden suprises. i also wanted to know what all would be involved in trying to flush my own coolant system or if i should just suck it up and give them the 80 bucks to do it. thanks ~ master[addsig]

[XJNick]

Water Pump :-? ? It should be the Power steering pump that pivots and is used to adjust belt tension. There are 4 bolts on the P/S pump that must be loosened... 1 on the front above the pulley, 1 on the front below the pulley, and 2 on the rear of the pump. Then there is a bolt near the underside of the reservoir that faces the drivers side, turning this bolt will pivot the P/S pump and relieve belt tension. Of course the rear bolts are hard to get to .

Hope this helps
-Nick

edited by: XJNick, Feb 25, 2003 - 07:58 PM[addsig]

[Bullet3600]

I didn't even go through all that to do mine. just remove a single bolt on the idler pulley and remove, then put on the new belt then the idler pulley and then to get the belt on i just slipped it over the power steering pulley. I found this much easier than unbolting the whole power steering unit...........Bullet[addsig]

[remember5]

Don't even start without a cheap Haynes manual. That at least will show you the location of parts, not only to change the belt but to flush the coolant system. It will also show you how to do a lot of simple jobs that shops will screw you on.[addsig]

[MudDawg]

If it's a 4 banger...the alternator is the tensioning point.

Dawg[addsig]

[pinaplebob]

When I replaced my belt I had to loosen all four bolts and it was a pain. There is a bolt that you can't see under the pulley that you also have to get to. It's a pain. I would also reccomend taking out the air box. It's like three bolts.

pinaplebob[addsig]

[RayOvac]

Coolant flush is really easy...I flush mine every year. First of all make sure the engine is COOL before you do this...you could be burned badly if its hot so let it cool if you have been driving it recently. Touch the metal radiator cap...if its hot then let it cool more. Then find the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator. On my YJ its on the passenger side. Yours might be different...you will just have to look for it. Get some buckets and drain the radiator. Remember antifreeze is poisonous to animals so choose disposal wisely.

Now with the drain plug out still take off the radiator cap and stuff a garden hose in there and turn it on. Start the engine and turn on the heater. Now just keep water going into the radiator and letting it drain out. Keep at it till the water coming out is clear. This may take a while depending on how dirty the system is. My YJ's system was really bad...the coolant was BROWN from all the rust. This saddened me because I am so religous about flushing my radiator every year...this gets neglected way too much.

Anyway after it comes out clear put the plug back in and and fill the radiator up with water and put the cap back on. Let it run for about 10 mins or so and then shut it off and let it cool for a while. Then open the drain plug again (careful the water may still be hot) and let it drain. Then run water through the radiator with the engine running again till its clear once more.

Finally shut off the engine and let it drain completely and then close the drain plug and fill the radiator with 50/50 antifreeze/water mixture (60/40 if it gets below 0 where you live). Don't forget to fill the overfill bottle to the proper level as well.

Test it with one of those coolant testers with the little balls in it. ALL the balls should float...if they dont drain some fluid from the radiator and add some straight antifreeze to it. Drive it around a bit then let it cool and test it again. Thats it...you just saved $80!

edited by: RayOvac, Feb 26, 2003 - 02:08 AM[addsig]

[dingus]

thanks rayovac! that was a great write-up...[addsig]

[judge09]

That was a very good write up RayOvac....I am going to give that a shot once it gets about -4.[addsig]

[Bullet3600]

I'd remove the thermostat to do a complete flush of the engine, with a garden hose constantly having cold water going in the thermostat won't open completly. You don't want any junk circulating around in the block...........Bullet[addsig]

[jeepmaster]

nick - yea my bad, got the pumps mixed up

bullet - so i just need to take one of the pulleys off and i can do it that way, and tell me more about cleanin out the block too, the mechanic said it was pretty dirty so id like to get it as clean as possible

ray - you are the man. i just printed off your write up on the flush and im gonna use it as my instructions. if you left something out i WILL find you lol. thanks a lot man

pineapple - how long did it take you? just as a rough estimate for how long my moms car is gonna have to sit outside in the snow (its still comin down, where are you global warming!?!?!)[addsig]

[Bullet3600]

Yeah I to change the belt I just removed the idler pulley, it has a sinle bolt right between the a/c unit and the water pump then i slide the new belt on and put the idler back on. The belt will be loose then take the slack side and slide it over the power sterring pulling and all done. As far as cleaning the cooling system the dealer told me to remove the thermosat before doing a compleete flush. He said that the thermostat will never open completly due to the water from the hose being so cold and all the crap in the block and system can't get out past the thermostat. Good luck........Bullet [addsig]

[pinaplebob]

With me being a person who doesn't work on cars that often, and not having a haynes manual, It really didn't take me that long at all. I would say that it took me like a hour and half. It would of been a lot quicker except for the last person who changed the belt (previous owner) stripped the bolt out that is hidden and you have to feel under the pulley. It was the biggest pain in my butt. After much cussing and kicking of stuff I finally broke it free. I've got the bolt hanging from my rear view mirror. It looks like artwork. Anyway, It doesn't take very long. There are I think three bolts, one under the pulley, one on top and one on the side. I'm not 100% on this, so don't quote me. Then there is a bolt that is on a slide track that is under the whole power steering unit that you loosen and tighten to move the whole unit. And that's it. It's really not that bad. hope that helps

pinaplebob[addsig]

[RayOvac]

Yeah bullet it may clean it a little better if you remove the thermostat but I am lazy and dont want to mess with replacing gaskets and messing with RTV and all that if it can be avoided. If you notice in my write up that I flush the sytem TWICE. You might want repeat the flush several times if your system is REALLY bad.


Originally posted by RayOvac

Anyway after it comes out clear put the plug back in and and fill the radiator up with water and put the cap back on. Let it run for about 10 mins or so and then shut it off and let it cool for a while. Then open the drain plug again (careful the water may still be hot) and let it drain. Then run water through the radiator with the engine running again till its clear once more.

Letting the engine run for about 10mins with the rad full of clean water will allow the thermostat to open completely and flush all the junk out of the block. After letting it cool I then flush it again which then flushes all the junk that was in the block. Granted there might be a little bit of stuff left in the block but most of it will get removed. If in doubt get some of that coolant flush stuff and run it through there instead of just water.

edited by: RayOvac, Feb 27, 2003 - 01:59 AM[addsig]

[dingus]

rayovac - i just updated my website, and included your writeup, great job... once again! [addsig]

[randomjeeper]

i wish i would have seen this post 7 hours earlier. i went for an oil change (thinking its going to be around $20) and got my serpentine belt replaced...it cost me $70.00 unfortunately, my total bill came to about $260.00 *they changed almost every fluid possible. there goes my tax return (since i am a poor college student, i was really looking forward to that!). my jeep better be happy for a long time after this one!! i probably got ripped off, but there is not much i can do until i know how to do it myself i did get a free soda though? i think the guy felt bad for me.[addsig]

[dingus]

belt is $30 at pep boys/napa... fluids are like $2/quart (6 quarts for oil, 4 for tranny, 4 for xfer case)...

diffs cost like $5 each for gear oil...

total parts for your job was probably like $90 right?[addsig]

[randomjeeper]

taken straight off of my receipt:
change oil 10/30 6 quarts, oil filter $26.77
service transmission $88.95 supposedly, the guy told me that it took extra amounts of fluid to get the reddish pink color the fluid is supposed to be. he also mentioned that chrysler and ford recommend the more expensive kind. he also took 10.00 off for reason specified as coupon....not questioning it as long as it has a negative sign infront of it!!!
hmv pennzoil $9.00
front diff $19.99 (the guy "cut me a deal" but dropping a few bucks off of this and the rear diff and the transfer case)
rear diff $19.99
transfer case $19.99
replaced serpentine belt $69.99
before tax: $244.68
tax $14.68
a whopping total of $259.36!

-i'm definitely still recovering from this. just trying to keep in mind i love my jeep and it deserves to be taken care of....hopefully next time it will be a little less expensive!!

[addsig]

	Transfer Case Mounted behind and driven by the vehicle transmission, the transfer case transmits power to the front and rear driveshafts in 4WD Jeep vehicles and offers high and low range.

[dingus]

ouch[addsig]