Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 08:03:24 -0400 From: Fred W <malt_houndnospamo.com> Subject: Re: How long should it take to install pulley and damper...
Etaoin Shrdlu wrote: > On 2007-05-06 13:34:17 -0300, "Fat Sam" <samandjanetknoxnospamco.net> said: > >> Etaoin Shrdlu wrote: >> >>> ...for the serpentine belt on a "94 Saab 9000 CSE? Three hours seems a >>> bit excessive to me. It's not like it's that hard to get at. I thought >>> of doing it myself, but it looks a bit tricky. >> >> >> Perhaps it took 3 hours because it was a bit tricky? >> You did say yourself that it looked a bit tricky. >> I'd wager a bet that you've answered your own question. > > > Tricky in that you need a special tool to hold the tensioner when > replacing the belt, have to make sure everything is perfectly > straight--i.e., tricky for a novice, but I wouldn't think so for a > seasoned mechanic with $50,000 of tools and an extra set of hands. > It's not all that tricky. And it certainly doesn't take 3 hours even for me in my home garage with normal hand tools. The only thing that you may not be considering is that (to do the job right) the car needs to be jacked up, the right front wheel removed, the fender (wing) liner removed in order to gain full access to the belt end of the engine so the pulley can be removed and replaced. That might take an hour to get off and back on. The actual belt and pulley replacement would take about 10 minutes once you get full access. Oh, and that special tool for the belt tensioner is just a long 1/2" breaker bar and socket. I made a homemade fixture to hold it in the retracted position from a piece of steel strap with a couple of bolts. I forgot where I saw the dimensions for that tool. Here is some info on the tensioner: http://townsendimports.com/Web/engine_folder/engine_images/23tensioner.pdf -- -Fred W