I'm replacing the serpentine belt on my mothers 2000 SL. I have routed the belt around all of the pulleys but the AC. I rotate the tension pulley clockwise towards the front of the car but cannot create enough slack to slide the belt over the AC pulley. Am I missing something here? Thanks for any help, I'm frustrated!

 

Are the two belts roughly the same diameter with the new belt being a tad smaller. If you so your doing something wrong. If the new belt is equal or longer then the old one go to the dealer and get the correct belt, but your still doing something wrong.

 

Personally I have always found that putting a brand new belt on to take quite a bit of persuasion if the tensioner still has good recoil in it.

Get a friend to pivot the tensioner while you use both hands to get the belt where it needs to go.

 

Thanks for the replies. It would seem I'm doing something wrong but it should be a pretty straight forward process. The belt is in the grooves of all of the other pulley's. I had my wife try turn the tension pulley as I tried to pull the belt over the AC pulley but didnt even get close. She's only about 115 lbs but I didnt think it took much pressure to relieve the tension. Maybe I should try to get it around the other pulleys and slide it under the idler?

 

The tensioner spring is pretty stout, and waiting to route the belt under the tensioner pully is a sound one - just make sure your wife's fingers are out from under the belt before you release the pulley .....

 

Well, I got the belt on but after watching the motor run I know why she had problems with the belt. It looks like the tension pulley needs to be replaced. The belt is moving slightly from side to side. I guess I should have replaced it when I was in there. Do I need the entire assembly or just the pulley? The pulley is $28 and the entire assembly is $60.

 

Cannot tell from your message if the shaft for the pulley is worn, or if the bearing inside the pulley is bad. Be safe and get a whole new assembly - costs more, but you don't need momma in a dark place with no transportation .........

 

Good point. Is it pretty easy to get to the bolts that hold the tension pulley?

 

need to support engine from below and remove torque axis (top) motor mount, then raise engine to get at lower bolt more easily. place a piece of wood between the floor jack and the engine so you distribute the weight