<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=918799731584652&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

Saab indicates a 60k mile replacement interval for the serpentine belt. Often times you can just look at the belt’s ribbed side to see if there are cracks or any missing portions: it’s a sign that it needs to be replaced. Even if it looks great and I’ve confirmed it’s been used over 60k miles I don’t like to risk having it break on me by surprise so I include this replacement as preventative maintenance.

It’s located on the passenger side of the engine with limited room to access it between the engine and the fender. Below I’ve highlighted the serpentine belt so you know where to look:

 

Tools you’ll need

Since access will be tricky given the limited amount of room you’ve got to work it, I share which tools worked for me.

  • New serpentine belt
  • Floor jack, jack stands + small 2x4 wood section
  • Air compressor, impact wrench, impact sockets + torque wrench
  • 3⁄8in drive ratchet with a slim head (I used a 3⁄8in torque wrench as that was my slimmest)
  • Pry bar (this will be your best friend)
  • Ratchets + sockets
  • Flathead screwdriver
  • Work light
  • About 1­2 hours of free time
  • A friend to help with extra hands (recommended but optional)

NOTE: I know you can use a long reach serpentine belt tool from the bottom of the car but I opted not to buy that and use tools I already had listed above. If you have a serpentine belt tool then you should be able to ignore steps 5 & 6 below regarding the removal of the front right engine mount.

 

Ready to replace your serpentine belt?

On a 2004 Saab 9­3 Arc you could potentially work solely from the top of the car but it does help to also gain access from the wheel well to help get at the lower portion of the serpentine belt. I’ve included this in the steps below:

Head over to your parked car, raise the engine hood, jack up the front passenger tire, secure it with a jack stand and remove the tire with your impact wrench and a 17mm impact socket.

Increase your workspace by removing these two 10mm nuts holding the wheel well. This will help access the lower portion of the serpentine belt in subsequent steps.

Head over to the top of the engine. You’ll need to remove the air filter housing so disconnect the harness plug and air duct near the firewall using a flathead screwdriver. Be careful when unplugging the harness as the lock slides out before you’re able to pull the plug off.

Remove the air filter housing by working the box out of the brackets and set it aside. Note the intake duct at the bottom: you’ll need to align the housing’s intake port with that intake duct when reinstalling this later.

Place the floor jack underneath the engine near and using a small 2x4 wood section carefully raise and support the engine. Don’t try raising the engine, just add enough support so you can perform the next step.

Remove the front right engine mount and the nearby a/c harness plug to gain better access to the serpentine belt and the belt tensioner. Use caution to ensure the floor jack below is providing sufficient support before removing the last 19mm bolt: go slow if you need to. An impact wrench and sockets made this a breeze.

With the engine mount out of the way you can now access the belt tensioner. You’ll need to rotate it counter­clockwise using a 3⁄8” square drive at the location circled below in order to loosen the belt and free it from the pulleys.

Using your ratchet with a slim head (I’m using a torque wrench) and a pry bar, carefully get the 3⁄8in square drive into the belt tensioner. This is when the pry bar becomes your best friend if you don’t have a serpentine belt tool as you need just a little bit of room to get this in. You may also need to raise the floor jack slightly to get the engine a bit higher, just don’t over do it. Once it’s in, carefully rotate the belt tensioner counter­clockwise just enough to loosen and remove the serpentine belt from the pulleys. Avoid over­rotation to prevent any damage to the belt tensioner’s spring inside.

Once the belt is off the pulleys you can work it completely off the car. I had to do this from both the top of the engine and the wheel well to get it out. Below is a picture of the old belt at the top and the new belt on the bottom. Notice the cracks which is a sign that this needed to be replaced.

 

Reassembly!

Installation is essentially the reverse of removal. Make sure you double­check that the belt is completely on all the pulleys without a rib hanging off an edge.

Position the front right engine mount such that the bolts are all in with the engine held in a neutral position (I used my hand to push against the engine to center everything as best I could). Tighten with the impact wrench without overdoing it, then lower and remove the floor jack supporting the bottom of the engine. I didn’t bother to torque this down to spec as I’ve never had a problem with this method. If you decide to do it, I believe the torque is 50 Nm (about 37 ft­lb). Don’t forget to reconnect the nearby a/c harness plug if you disconnected it earlier.

Reinstall the air filter housing ensuring that the intake port underneath is properly mated to the intake duct. Reconnect the intake duct and harness plug near the firewall.

Reinstall the wheel well cover nuts and secure the cover. Don’t overtighten as these appeared to be made of plastic.

Reinstall the wheel and hand tighten the wheel bolts.

Raise the car using a floor jack to remove the jack stand and lower the car so the car is back on the ground. Torque the wheel bolts to 80 ft­lbs.

Remove your tools and start the car to ensure the serpentine belt appears to be completely on and rotating just fine..

Enjoy another 60k miles of serpentine belt performance!

 

New Call-to-action

 


author image
Written by :
Alex Fiehl


More Related Articles