Well since most shops are getting $75 an hour or better I'd sure give it a whirl.
The easiest way to work on that engine is to take the front passenger side tire off. Inside the fender well you'll find a series of 10 millimeter bolts holding the splash guard in place. Only take off the plastic that runs vertically. Once this is out of the way you'll see the crankshaft pulley and a good bit of the belt. There shouldn't be any bolts to loosen. There will be a pulley on the end of an arm with a large spring putting tension on the arm and pulley. From time to time they change the driver on it. So it could be a 15 or 18 millimeter hex head welded to the tension arm. It could also be a 3/8 or 1/2 square drive that you can fit a ratchet or breaker bar into. When you find the driver just apply a lot of force in the direction that takes the pulley away from the belt. This will take a bit of muscle to overcome the spring tension. The trick is holding the pulley away while you remove the belt with your other hand. The first time I saw this type of belt I thought you had to have an engineering degree to replace it. Just remember the back side, which is the smooth side of the belt goes against the smooth side of the pulleys. You might see 2 or 3 with smooth pulleys. The tension pulley is one, the water pump might be another one. And there can be an idler pulley thrown in just to wonder what it does. You'll be able to loop the belt around the upper pulleys from the wheel well and do that first going back together. The pulleys on top will have 6 or 7 grooves across it and you want the belt all the way in those grooves. Then just keep working around making the crankshaft and tensioner pulleys last. You'll have to apply even more force to get the belt around the crank and under the tensioner pulleys. Once seated let the tension off and let your breath back out... Believe it or not putting the plastic back on may be more of a pain than all the rest. Finding those little holes for the screws to go back in is tough for my old fingers... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lenny McHugh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "handyman-blind" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 11:13 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] changing fan belt > Ok you car guys, I have a 2003 grand caravan sport 3.8 awd. The > serpentine > belt needs replacing. There is so much junk under that I can't even touch > the belt. I haven't really poked around to see what all has to be removed. > When I was looking at it a neighbor came over and told me that he can't > see > the belt from the top. Is it worth trying to change it myself? > Lenny > > > ------------------------------------ > > Send any questions regarding list management to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To listen to the show archives go to link > http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=33&MMN_position=47:29 > Or > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various > List Members At The Following address: > http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/ > > Visit the archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following > address for more information: > http://www.jaws-users.com/ > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > list just send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Groups Links > > > > ------------------------------------ Send any questions regarding list management to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To listen to the show archives go to link http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=33&MMN_position=47:29 Or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/ Visit the archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following address for more information: http://www.jaws-users.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
