How to replace the tensioner with pulley on a 92 Z24 Cavalier

So it seems as though my son may have a completely restored car by the time things stop going out on this bad boy! I don't blame the car for all of it. Teenage boys can be hard on vehicles and that's why I bought him an older car. And I bought a Cavalier because they are really sturdy vehicles...at least, in my experience they have been.

Since my tensioner bar broke on a previous project and after I spent $114 on 2 new belts (one is for my car) and a new pulley assembly, I opted to just get creative with this project for the folks out there who are also on a pretty tight budget. I also live a jaunt away from the auto stores that rent out tools, so I never choose that option. Get creative with your tools as well! I tried to choose tools that most people who like to dabble in their own auto repairs would have on hand.

Supplies:

Ratchet (small and medium)
15 mm socket
1/2" socket
A very long closed ended wrench
A new tensioner with pulley
Floor jack or any auto jack

When my sons tensioner pulley broke, the spring exploded out and everything. I spent a ton of time trying to get it off before I realized that the bolt holding it in was still there. If your pulley assembly is still on your vehicle, the bolt is holding it in. End of story. Its not a new type of pulley system that you're not used to like you may have seen in other projects with different things.

I found that on this car, it was infinitely easier to get to it all from underneath. There's a little area by the wheel well that allows room since it's just under the body of the car. You can get a medium weight ratchet in there while the belt is off but I found it easier to use the little guy.

When installing the new pulley assembly, it's best to put the bolt in before you try to fit the pulley on. You will also notice that there's a cute little nub on the one side of the pulley. He is your alignment friend. You can't go wrong if you insert him in his hole (if he's not too good for his home like Happy Gilmore's ball) and then begin to manually screw the bolt in. Get it good and finger-tight and that will hold the whole bit in place while you grab your ratchet or your 15 mm open ended wrench or whatever you're using. Viola' she is ready for her belt.

Now, you can search online for the belt diagram, but its pretty straight forward with this serpentine belt system. The pulleys with grooves with take the threaded side of the belt and the smooth pulleys take the smooth side. Easy Peasy! I made sure to install the lower two first and push the belt to the upper end of the vehicle. I then weaved it over and around all of the pulleys except the little tiny one on the alternator. I used the drive of my medium weight wrench to move the tensioner pulley. Now, because its tight quarters in there, I had to rest my ratchet on the pulley below the tensioner and use a really long closed ended wrench to pull it up. I initially used a ball hitch wrench, but both ends proved to be too large to get the full movement, so I had to go down a size. If you have a second person, pushing it up from underneath while they slide the belt on would work just fine. And, you wouldn't have to worry about your wrench size near as much.

Once you get your new belt on, your medium weight ratchet will be stuck in there pretty good. You can use a pry bar or anything good and heavy duty to shift the motor over enough to knock out the ratchet. I HAD to use that ball joint wrench since it wasn't helpful with the belt installation. Make sure your belt is aligned and start the car. She should purr like a kitten. Good job Grease Monkey! You are a badass!