94 Conti How hard is it to..

[William]

Change the belt?

I'm going to be giving this car a tune up and while I'm at it, I'd like to change the belt, as it is cracked and it squeaks badly. Do I need a new Tension pulley, and are their any special tools needed? also are there any tips and or tricks that would be helpful here?

Thank you in advance ;
William

 

[MichiganTeddyBear]

its not too hard at all, just a tight location.

no special tools needed, but a long 15mm (I think) box end wrench with little or no offset will make it easier to pull on the tensioner to release and reinstall the belt. the reason I say use a box end wrench is that my socket and ratchet would not fit down in the area you need to get to. just a tiny bit too tight.

no need to replace the tensioner or idler pulley if they are ok. but they are relatively cheap, and fairly easy to do at the same time. spin them when the belt is off, and if they wobble, or feel 'gritty', change them, as the bearings are failing.

again, the work isnt hard, its just a tight location to get into with tools and hands.

 

[William]

Thanks Michigan...