Hi folks,

I have a 98 SE with about 86k mile and thinking of replacing the P/S
and serpentine belts. I was wondering if this is a task that I can
take on myself without going to a shop. I haven't done any major work
on the car myself, mainly just oil changes, coolant flush, fuel
filter and pcv replacements of that sort. My biggest concern is
adjusting the right tension for these belts because I heard not doing
so correctly can really cause other problems down the line. Is this
a project I can/should handle?

If anyone can offer any practical advice, experience or even a step-
by-step on how to do this, that will be great.

Thanks.

 

Yes, you can do this yourself. Get a Haynes manual if you don't already have one.

You can run into problems with the tensioner bolts if you're not smart. For each tensioner, there is a bolt that you need to release before adjusting the tension. On the AC/ALT belt its in the center of the tension pully, on the PS its on the bracket attached to the threaded tension rod.

When I got my car I noticed that the head of the PS tension bolt was snapped off. I didn't worry about it until this past weekend when I wanted to change the belts. I couldn't adjust the tension of the PS belt. I had to buy a 30" belt (30.5 is stock) and work it onto the pully.

 

I order my Haynes manual last Tuesday so I should be getting it sometime this week. BTW, are there any brands that are more reputable when buying these belts or should I just buy whatever that will matches the specs for my car? Thanks.

 

OEM are fine. People have lots of good things to say about Gatorbacks. I had top use Kelly-Springfield because of my odd belt size I needed. My AC/ATL belt is only staying on a few weeks as I'm installing a SC soon. The PS belt seems to last quite a long time, so I don't know that a cheeper belt is a problem.

Anything will work.