Replace the accessory belt on the Saturn L series

How do you replace the engine accessory belt on the 2001 Saturn L series 4
cyl. Mine broke.

Is there a trick or two to replace it??


Thank you

Jim

 

I found the tensioning pulley but cannot get a wrench on. Any help?

 

remove the right front wheel... behind it is a removable plastic panel which
gives you access to the pulley, alternator, tensioner, etc.

 

Thank you Rufus. Beforehand, I was thinking about removing the wheel but I
was feeling around the inside panel and could not find an opening. Go
figure. I thought it was kind of dumb to make that an inaccessible spot or
use a special tool.

Well I ended up running a 5/8's line down behind the pulley and looping it
through and bringing up in the front. I tied 2 half hitches and looped the
end around a crowbar. I rested the top end of the bar on the engine cover
and was able to raise the pulley. It needed two people to do it. One to
raise the pulley and one to slide on the belt. I just could not get the
pulley high enough by myself to do the job. Once the pulley was high it was
cake. I knew it should have been a 10 minute job. I almost went to Saturn
for the fix. Thanks again for responding.

Jim

 

Best way is to buy a proper belt tool. I have several. One of them has
a 14mm crow's foot that fits nicely on the tensor. The belt tool is
specially designed to be very, very slim.

 

BTW: When using the proper tool there is no reason to remove the wheel.
You can change the belt from under the hood (done it several times).

-Robert