Belts

bksho

Registered User
Just got my belts in today, I Do minor work on my car but never did the belts on a SC before and it looks Rough any tips for a novice. Thanks
 
Lower radiator hose has to come off. Make sure you have water or coolant to refill system with. Otherwise, it's pretty standard. I also think there should be a diagram of the belt route on the side of the engine compartment.

Ira
 
Like Ira said you need to drain the radiator (drain plug is provided at the bottom right side). If you connect a small hose to the drain valve and use a clean bowl/pan you can probably re-use the coolant. The lower hose then needs to be removed to install the main serpentine belt. I believe all the tensioners have an 18mm center bolt that you need to put a big wrench or socket on, to relieve the tension and replace the belts. The SC belt is usually the tightest and is best installed by placing it on both the jackshaft & SC pulleys first, then using a wrench (versus a socket) snuck in between the belt & tensioner, relieve the tension and slip the belt over the tensioner pulley. The main belt should last 60,000m especially if you buy the GoodYear Gatorback ones and I've found varied life for the other 2 say around 25-30,000m depending upon how fussy you are with preventive maintenance. Ford says you can wait until chuncks of the ribbing start falling off, but I usually change them when the cracks get about 1/2" apart.
 
I've done mine twice and I replace the accessory belt last. I've never had to drain the entire radiator but you do need to catch some coolant in a pan. I typically fold off the lower radiator hose as I quickly remove it from the flange on the motor. Then I quickly put that belt in position and put the hose back on. It does get a bit messy so put some protection in your driveway and have some paper towels handy.

Each belt has a tensioner pulley with an 18mm bolt on it. I use a ½ drive socket and a two foot breaker bar and a small extension. The socket goes on the pulley bolt and not the tentioner attachment bolt. Rotate the breaker bar clockwise when loosing.

Take off the accessory belt first and set it out of the way. Then take off the jackshaft belt and then the blower belt. Inspect each tentioner pulley for serviceability to insure they are not worn out. FYI, there are steal replacement pulley you can get to replace the plastic ones. They are slightly bigger and if you have a stock blower pulley it’s a tight fit but IMO it does have its benefits. Once you have the new blower and jackshaft belts installed, you can then disconnect your radiator hose and do the accessory belt as stated above or drain your radiator if you need to.

Depending on how much coolant you lose, refill the radiator as needed.
 
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