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Serpentine Belt Removal/Replacement

177K views 142 replies 69 participants last post by  gt601 
#1 ·
I was just wondering how hard it is to change out the serpentine belt on the mada. I know you have to take off the fan and there is only four bolts. What about the auto tensioner how do you loosen it? Any help is appreciated.
 
#2 ·
I would think you should be able to slip it around the fan without removing the fan. You might need to remove the Air Inake Tube out of your way but that should be about it I think. For the Auto Tensioner Idler Pulley, I think if you turn the bolt counterclockwise, it should relax the belt enough to get it off. I've usually just used a socket wrench to move that pulley on my other vehicles.
 
#3 ·
you dont need to remove anything to get the belt off

well other than the airtube to give you some room to see

its tough though there is a special tool that is used to take pressure off the tensioner, then there is a hole that you need to put a pin into to hold the tensioner

i just pulled up real hard on the belt until the holes lined up

then stuck a small allen head wrench in the lines up holes to hold the tensioner so i could remove/install the belt
 
#4 ·
No need to remove anything. The belt goes behind the fan but not over it. Use a 1/2" drive ratchet with a 14mm socket for the belt tensioner. Push to your left (passenger side) to release the tension, and insert a 1/16" allen wrench into the hole on the tensioner and its backplate. That will keep the tensioner in a released position. Look at the tensioner closely, and you'll see the two holes. Draw a diagram of the belt routing before you remove the old belt. Make sure the new belt is seated in each pulley correctly. Installing the new belt should take about 30 minutes if you never did one before. I'm running with a Goodyear Gatorback belt #4070975, a much better belt than the $12 OEM.
 
#6 ·

hahaha

the dealer here wanted $147 for the belt not including labor when i was in for an oil change

went to napa and it was like $50 or so
 
#5 ·
Thank you so much guys! So what bolt do I need to remove? Bolt b on the blow up pic on the side?

 

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#7 ·
dont take out any bolts
 
#8 ·
Rumple, the belt tensioner bolt does not get removed. Turn it counter clockwise, and that moves the tensioner arm and relieves the tension on the belt.
 
#9 ·
Well I got the Goodyear Gatorback belt #4070975 and put it on in about 15min. It was a piece of cake saved me about $120. I got the belt for $31 at Auto Zone. I really recommend this belt because is a lot quieter than the OEM belt.
 
#11 ·
Those are not stupid questions. I think the interval is 60,000 miles that is what they recommend. The belt looked good but it had 80,000 miles on it so I decided it was about that time. lol. So I just replaced it for the peace of mind.
 
#13 ·
It was reccommended to me to replace the tensioner while changing the belt as there is inferior bearings in it. Anyone heard of this?
 
#15 ·
My personal opinion is that it is better than OEM. It is definitely quieter on my Mada. All you have to do is pull up on the belt and that release the tension. When you pull up there is a hole on the tensioner and the tensioner housing all you have to do is put a small allens wrench to keep the tension off. Look at the picture above to see this. Then when you are done just let the tension back off and you are done. There is also no adjustment needed. It is real easy and will save you a lot of money.
 
#17 ·
It is a Goodyear Gatorback belt #4070975 and I got mine at Auto zone. You can probably find it other places too. Just call around.
 
#18 ·
Ok, I'd like to try and do this myself but am not the most mechanically inclined. Which part is the tensioner and how can you see the holes to line up? I'm peeking under my hood and see the belt and how it winds through everything but not sure where to go next. Do I need to remove my air box tube on the right (driver) side to access? There's another hose that is blocking that side too but I'm thinking that's coolant or something I can't just disconnect. If anyone can post a few quick photos on the procedure, that would be awesome, thanks in advance!
 
#19 ·
D ROCK-

You do have to remove the air tube and once that is removed you can see the tensioner and the holes a lot better. I am mechanically inclined myself and this was very easy for me. On a scale from one to ten it was maybe a 3. I will try to take pics but it may take a while lots of school work to do.
 
#21 ·
Interesting note the 05 takes a differnt part #

Autozone list the 4070970 as the correct part number for the Gatorback belt on the 05 when the 4070975 is the correct number for the 04 Armada. Difference being the 04 part (4070975) is a half inch longer.

Wonder why the shorter belt on the 05? Anyways I decided to skip the $35.99 Gator and get the factory belt for $19.87 since it has lasted me for 101,000 miles thus far.

Thanks for the instructions I am headed to the dealer to pick up the belt and knocking this out today as I believe I got my monies worth out of the one that is on there and would rather replace it before it breaks on me.
 
#22 ·
I screwed this project up!!

Where do I pickup my dunce cap?

I attempted to switch out my serpentine last night and after 3 hours!! I had to put my old belt back on. I applaud all of you who did it in 15 mins. I have previously changed a serpentine on my GMC truck and it was way easier plus there was much more room. My Armada's multiple sharp edges cut my arms to bits.

I ended up buying the Goodyear belt with the '05 part number. Perhaps I should switch it out for the '04. That half inch could be the extra oomf I need.

I spent about 10 mins removing the engine shroud and the air tube. No big deal. I then misidentified where the tensioner was located. I was trying to loosen the pulley behind the fan (not sure what that is - but luckily my socket would not fit back there). Against the advice here, I even tried to remove the radiator hose to see what I thought was the tensioner. Very bad idea which spilled about 1/2 gallon of coolant on the floor. I quickly put that back on and went back to my computer in shame. I finally realized the tensioner is on the left and was able to quickly remove the old belt.

I then pulled out the new one, and using the diagram (thanks guys) I attempted to snake the belt on all the while cutting my arms on the fan blades, and the various plastic edges. Swearing did not help get the belt on but seemed to help me. One fatal flaw was not having a large enough ratchet to pull on the tensioner. I only had a 14mm socket to fit my 3/8 socket. I must of tried 10 times and the belt kept slipping off one or the other pulleys. I was getting extremely tired and frustrated. After 2 hours, I decided to put on the old belt which was still tough to get back on. I then remembered I purchased a 3/8" torque wrench with a long handle. That made it MUCH easier to pull up on the torsioner and I could re-attach my old belt. UGGHHHH!!

So feel free to laugh. After a good night's rest, I have to laugh at myself.

So resident experts - a few questions for a desperate man:

1. Has anyone successfully installed the Goodyear 4070970 on an '05??
2. Should I buy the 4070975 for the '04?
3. I assume using the larger 1/2" drive makes a huge difference opening the tensioner? Should I buy the 14mm socket for 1/2" ratchet? (I can't locate my adaptor either)

Thanks in advance.
 
#23 ·
Where do I pickup my dunce cap?

I attempted to switch out my serpentine last night and after 3 hours!! I had to put my old belt back on. I applaud all of you who did it in 15 mins. I have previously changed a serpentine on my GMC truck and it was way easier plus there was much more room. My Armada's multiple sharp edges cut my arms to bits.

I ended up buying the Goodyear belt with the '05 part number. Perhaps I should switch it out for the '04. That half inch could be the extra oomf I need.

I spent about 10 mins removing the engine shroud and the air tube. No big deal. I then misidentified where the tensioner was located. I was trying to loosen the pulley behind the fan (not sure what that is - but luckily my socket would not fit back there). Against the advice here, I even tried to remove the radiator hose to see what I thought was the tensioner. Very bad idea which spilled about 1/2 gallon of coolant on the floor. I quickly put that back on and went back to my computer in shame. I finally realized the tensioner is on the left and was able to quickly remove the old belt.

I then pulled out the new one, and using the diagram (thanks guys) I attempted to snake the belt on all the while cutting my arms on the fan blades, and the various plastic edges. Swearing did not help get the belt on but seemed to help me. One fatal flaw was not having a large enough ratchet to pull on the tensioner. I only had a 14mm socket to fit my 3/8 socket. I must of tried 10 times and the belt kept slipping off one or the other pulleys. I was getting extremely tired and frustrated. After 2 hours, I decided to put on the old belt which was still tough to get back on. I then remembered I purchased a 3/8" torque wrench with a long handle. That made it MUCH easier to pull up on the torsioner and I could re-attach my old belt. UGGHHHH!!

So feel free to laugh. After a good night's rest, I have to laugh at myself.

So resident experts - a few questions for a desperate man:

1. Has anyone successfully installed the Goodyear 4070970 on an '05??
2. Should I buy the 4070975 for the '04?
3. I assume using the larger 1/2" drive makes a huge difference opening the tensioner? Should I buy the 14mm socket for 1/2" ratchet? (I can't locate my adaptor either)

Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the laugh!!! I'm running the 97.5" Gatorback on my 05 Titan, and it was a snug fit. When I looked up the part number online, it listed the 97.5" as my replacement. I used a standard 1/2 drive ratchet, but a long handle 3/8" should work just fine. I didn't have to remove anything to replace the belt.
 
#24 ·
We've all done some dumb things in our lives, at least you admit to it. I just yanked (really hard) on the belt and fit a small allen wrench in the tesioner holes to hold it, swapped out the belt pulled the allen wrench out and all replaced. Can't remember which gator belt I used, but didn't remove anything before the swap.
 
#25 ·
Thanks guys. My plan is to get the socket to fit my 1/2" drive and try the same belt - if that does not work, I will buy the longer one.

This is a good job for long sleeves!!
 
#26 ·
and mechanic's gloves!!!
 
#28 ·
The diagram is really helpful. Are there any videos outthere. I need to replace my belt. How much is the belt anyway.?
 
#30 ·
The gator belt is about $25-$30, stock item at Auto Zone
 
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