Eddie inherited his grandmother's 1998 Buick LeSabre three years ago, with an astonishingly low 24,000 miles on it. Well, after putting on another 30,000 the accessory drive belts have began to whistle when the engine is running, which tells him -- aside from the normal visual signs like glazing and fraying -- it is time for a new pair of belts. That's right, he has a pair of belts -- one for the power steering, alternator and water pump, and one for the air-conditioning compressor and the supercharger. Eddie knows exactly what he's doing, and he wants to walk you through the procedure as he goes.
Because of the design of the engine we have to work under the car too. Lets lift the front end by the lift point below the radiator core support. Now that she's in the air, lets slide a jack stand under the subframe rail, just behind the front control arm bushing. Lower her onto the stands and we'll move on. From under the car, remove the six screws that hold the splash shield to the undercarriage -- there is on at each corner, and one in the middle on each side. Unplug your crankshaft wiring harness and let the harness hang down. Now, we can remove that lower bracket nut, stud and spacer from the engine mounting bracket. This will give us all the room we need to work.
Lets find the tensioner and figure out how to release belt tension. If you look down toward the crankshaft pulley, you'll see the belt tensioner right in the middle that rotates counterclockwise to release tension. Do that, then remove the belt from the engine. Now look between the supercharger pulley and the alternator to find the second tensioner and rotate it clockwise. Lets route the belt around the inner grooves on the crank pulley and inner accessory pulleys. We will hold pressure on the belt at the supercharger. Rotate the second tensioner clockwise and slip her onto the supercharger. Now lets do the same for the outer accessory belt. Install your engine mount bracket. Tighten the engine mount bracket and stud to 35 foot-pounds. Just snug the screws for the splash shield when you install that.
