Hi guys, I did a serpentine belt change over my long weekend.. and I guess I should've never started the change in the first place because after installing the new belt I found my tensioner was broken; and I couldn't manually get enough tension down on the idler pulley.

I ordered the part from Courtesy and they expect a delivery on Thursday.. long story short is I need a quick fix or at least a way to gain some tension on this belt till Thursday; car squeals like bloody murder till It gets warmed up to and Im driving. My boss is a **** and won't let me ride in with another co-worker since we are working on different jobsites; go figure! Bout 20 Miles one way, and no public transportation.

Any help would greatly be appreciated.. The belt has enough tension that I can basically twist it vertical with little to no effort. It squeals like you wouldn't believe and doesn't seem to quit. the rain aint helping matters any; but then again it acted like this during dry weather.

 

Maybe run to autozone with your belt and get one that is a half inch shorter?

 

well I picked up the belt from Autozone.. but going to get a shorter belt now wouldn't help since they are closed

the Duralast Poly AC Belt and it says 6 Ribs x 43.5" effective length. I would need to tell them I need a 6 Rib Belt that is 43" length? I wouldn't have to go through this if I didn't work for a communist ****

I really hate driving it like it is..

 

If all the parts stores are closed you could drive it squealing and get the belt in the morning, and yes, i would try a 43 if yours is 43.5. A half inch is a lot when it comes to belts. Try some other stores real quick, some around here (est) are open till 10.

 

Yeah, I live in a horrible area for late night emergencies. Pepboys, Advance Auto, and Autozone are all closed up for the night.

I was kinda hoping maybe there was a way to pull the extra tension out of the pulley that I need; because we had it at a minor squeal right at startup that didn't happen everytime. Couple days went by and now it squeals out of control


Thanks for the help ZX9, I wish I would've thought about this earlier..

 

There's no way around it, man. I just had teh same thing happen to me. Just try to get as much tension and tighten the pulley bolt. Once you get on the highway, you should be fine and can even use the A/C but once you come to a stop....it's 50/50. You'll also find that the belt most stores carry is actually a little LONGER than the OE belt

 

Maybe you should just get a rental car until Thursday?

 

call in sick?

 

^^^^ So ... you gotta explain this picture mate! lol I am thinking PhotoShop, but if you did (or who ever) - it's really good, I gotta say that. lol

To the OP, run it without a belt. Put it on the bat charger when you're not driving it, go easy on it and of course, no AC. At least you can still drive it. If you need to, take an extension cord to work and use your "communist ****'s" outlet. Or, buy another bat for a "just in case" move if you can't for some reason charge at work. After all ... how hard is this really?

 

no Photochop....
http://forums.maxima.org/general-max...o-maximas.html

 

I wouldnt risk driving 20miles without an alternator...

 

Why not??? I did it for 10 days, no problems. Was a holliday weekend and the part was "misplaced" accourding to USPS. Thankfully, I have a bat charger and just kept it full when not driving it, drove it nice, and didn't use any extra power anything, no radio, drove during the day, no cell charger, nada! That's why I suggested a back up bat, if you don't use it - return it .... just a safty measure is all.

f'n 8 year olds! lol That is some "you couldn't make this crap up" stuff! LOL

 

Multiple cars FTW


Don't you have a family member or friend who's car you can borrow for the time being? Got a nice girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband/mom/dad to drive you? Got a bicycle? Taxi? Limo? Soapbox car? Plane? Helicopter? Radio Flyer? Roller skates?

 

^^^ you forgot Boat! lol