The serpentine belt in the 2004 Pontiac Vibe powers many of the accessory functions of the vehicle, such as the crank shaft and the power steering. In the past, cars were manufactured with a series of belts which took up a lot of engine compartment space and were difficult to replace. Serpentine belts consolidate the many belts into one, saving engine compartment space and making it easier to replace.
Park the car on a flat surface, turn off the engine and allow it to cool before replacing the belt.
Open the hood of the Pontiac Vibe and locate the serpentine belt. The serpentine belt is the single belt that wraps around six pulleys on the engine. Take note of the tensioner pulley and the tensioner arm that extends from the pulley. The tensioner pulley is the smallest pulley and has a metal arm extending from it. A bolt is located near the top of the arm.
Place a 15 mm wrench on the tensioner arm bolt and rotate it forward to relieve the tension on the belt. Do not release the tensioner arm.
Pull the belt off of the pulleys and slowly rotate the tensioner arm back into its original position.
Wrap the new serpentine belt around all of the pulleys, except the tensioner pulley, using the belt routing diagram found under the hood as a guide. The lower pulleys are in a tight area of the engine compartment. Some owners find that it's easier to wrap the belt around the lower pulleys from under the car. To do this, lift the front of the car up with a jack and place jack stands under the body. Crawl under the front of the car and wrap the belt around the lower pulleys.
Rotate the tensioner arm forward, slide the belt around the tensioner pulley and slowly rotate the tensioner arm back into position. The belt will tighten around all of the pulleys when the arm is back in place.
