Drive belt replacement

[DRWBRTq19]

Is there a trick to slipping this thing on?
I did it two years ago in a parts store parking lot, but for the life of me I can't recall doing anything special.
And I'm going nuts trying to figure out how I did it then, but can't get it done in my driveway...

The belt is 81.5", but with the tensioner fully rotated, it still isn't enough to slip over the power steering pulley.

Open to any suggestions, thanks guys.

Drew

[CMNTMXR57]

None that I'm aware of. Are you sure you're getting the tensioner fully unsprung. A newer belt will be tighter, but should be within a reasonable tolerance. Makes me wonder if you have the belt fully seated properly in other pulleys.

Usually on tight vehicles, I try to do the hard access pulleys (like the crank harmonic balancer for example) before I even have to hold the tensioner, this way, once you snake it up, all you have to do is get it over more easy to access pulleys, or backside idlers where it'll just slip on.

[DRWBRTq19]

I'll go back and recheck the seating.
I did try to slip it over the smooth idler instead of trying to get over the P/S pulley lip, but that wasn't any better.

I just noticed that the routing I'm using from google, since it doesn't seem to be under my hood, is from an Aurora forum. It's still the same routing, isn't it?

Drew

[ddalder]

Are you sure you have the right belt? My GM dealer showed two different ones for the GXP. That was several years ago now and I'm not sure what the difference was. They were not referring to the water pump belt, this was two different main serpentine belts.

I ended up getting the part number off the old one to make sure it was correct. They couldn't narrow it down with my VIN for some reason.

[ddalder]

The routing may be in the Owner's Manual. I can't recall, but it is for one of my cars.

[DRWBRTq19]

This is the diagram I'm using



Drew

[CMNTMXR57]

That looks to be right from what I see. The water pump belt couldn't be mixed up, it is very small and only 3-ribs I believe. Are you getting it around pulley 1 properly. It has to go on from behind the pulley

Part# I come up with: 12575425

For reference, the water pump belt is: 12588412

[ddalder]

I didn't feel they could be confused, but with two belts listed and two on the car, I just wanted to make sure I mentioned it so there was no chance of thinking that may have been the case. I had no problem replacing mine, quick and straightforward. It still makes me wonder if their cross reference is correct. I have zero faith in parts stores. I assume this is where he sourced it based on having replaced one in their parking lot previously.

[CMNTMXR57]

Agree

[skregal]

I recently replaced my power steering pump and getting the belt
back on was difficult for some reason. There was very little slack
with the tensioner all the way depressed. I asked my son to help
me because I needed three hands.

I could see that a new belt would give you trouble. If it is not seated
perfect on every pulley, or an off-brand belt, you may need a second
person to help you.

[ddalder]

My belt is also P/N 12575425 and is 2070mm long. The length in mm should be marked on the one you purchased.

[DRWBRTq19]

Apologies for disappearing for over a month guys, between work and a new baby at home, life has been nuts.

I did finally get my belt on, some serious pressure on the tensioner was required to make it happen, but with some stretching it worked.

It was sourced from a parts store, because it's where I work. However this was a brand new belt because I didn't replace it when changing the alternator the last time (I know, not my best decision)


Anyway, as always, thanks for the help gents.

Drew