I need to change the serpentine belt as you can see from the picture, and im not sure where i should adjust it at. Normally i would loosen the alternator, but i can't since there isn't a slider. According the the diagram i should loosen that smaller pulley on the bottom, but i dont see any adjustments so it looks just like an idler pulley to me, not tensioner. Any help?

http://home.earthlink.net/~xmx/siteb...tures/belt.jpg

This picture was taken from the bottom of the car, so it's upside down of course

 

It's spring loaded, and as you turn it one way or another the spring will compress and let tension off the belt. The whole pulley will move because of the arm it's on.

 

Well the pulley is loose. Not up against the belt, but i can wiggle it side to side, like the wheel itself needs to be tightened. Is this normal? I'm not sure what you mean by which way i turn it. How do i turn it to get it to loosen up?

 

Put a 1/2 box end wrench on the bolt in the middle of the small pulley on the right in your picture. Pull down. Slide belt off. Route new. Pull down wrench again, slide new belt over. Your done. Go directly to the car wash and clean that **** up.....

 

You see that thing thats rust covered to the right of the crank, thats the tensioner. If i remember right, turn clockwise to loosen and remove belt then release, put the belt in all the right pulleys and put in the tensioner last, look ever everything make sure it's all right before you start the car.

Also, with so much rust on the tensioner becareful. I would question the condition of the bearings that help turn it. I had my tensioner lock up in the middle of driving and literally get torn off the bracket. It's like a $25-$50 thing to replace if it happens and it's 2 bolts that hold it on and you can change it in like 2 min on the side of the road.

good luck

 

and if it doesn't want to move with a wrench, it's bad

 

Well as far as bearings go, it wiggles from side to side, but i dont know if thats just a side effect of having the spring set up. It doesnt wiggle much. It wasnt rusty, i peeled all the paint off lol.

Yes my car is soo dirty because my driveway is a 1/4 miles long dirt road. I'd clean it if i saw a point to it, be there isnt one since i have to drive down my driveway to go anywhere.