2.4L Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/ (2009-2010)

Discuss any maintenance you've done to your Vibe & Matrix and ask how to perform maintenance on your vehicle
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doublesharp
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:25 am

2.4L Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/ (2009-2010)

Post by doublesharp »

I have searched Gen vibe and Google for days and nobody seems to have pics or clear description of how to remove the Serpentine belt. Just about every problem that could exist, does, exist while trying to change this alternator.
Every post or video I have seen turns out to be the 1.8 engine and not the specific 2009-2010 model 2.4 that I need to see.
I have been able to release some of the tension on the belt by using the tensioner bolt but there was still too much force on the belt to get it off of the pulley completely. (is the tensioner shot?)
I could cut the belt and be done with it but if I can't get enough slack to remove the belt now; how can I expect to be able to install a new/stiffer belt over the same pulleys?
Once I have the belt 1/2 off the alternator pulley it sticks out enough to make it impossible to reach the tension bolt with the wrench.
When I did have the wrench on the nut; the handle would not allow the belt to come off the pulley and there is also not enough room (or angle) to arc the wrench so that the tensioner will let the belt have enough play to be removed.
Tried to remove the stabilizer/mount on the top right of the engine to allow more access but it didn't want to budge.
Read that some have used C-clamps to compress the tensioner but can't visulaize how that was done.
Any help and insight would be appreciated
Last edited by doublesharp on Fri May 12, 2017 2:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
ehoff121
Posts: 756
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:19 am
Location: Conn.

Re: Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/Starter

Post by ehoff121 »

This post might be helpful:

viewtopic.php?p=252135#p252135
2005 Pontiac Vibe AWD - Platinum
doublesharp
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:25 am

Re: Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/Starter

Post by doublesharp »

Thank you for the info and link; it had a lot of great information. Sadly It all seems to be for either a 1.8L or an older 2.4L and none of them have the same clearance/ problems so they don't address the problems I'm having.
Now I can say I've looked just about everywhere and you have too.
Thanks so much for the work you put into this.
ehoff121
Posts: 756
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 12:19 am
Location: Conn.

Re: Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/Starter

Post by ehoff121 »

My apologies- missed that it was for a 2.4L ...
viewtopic.php?p=516852#p516852

Did you try loosening the alternator? That is how I change the belt on my Toyota Highlander.
2005 Pontiac Vibe AWD - Platinum
doublesharp
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:25 am

Re: 2.4L Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/Starter

Post by doublesharp »

Thank you again. I didn't have 2,4L in the subject heading but I edited it after you brought it to my attention.
I did loosen the alternator but didn't try to forcibly remove it. (It's still held in place by the power of the tensioner)
This kind of continues my streak of failure to find the info. I read the post with hopeful exuberance only to realize the OP had the 1.8 engine. (different clearance and access completely)
Strangely the 2.4 2009 and 2010 owners have not seemed to make videos on You tube or posts with pics and instructions.
If, and when, I get this done I WILL make a post and perhaps a video.
Thank you
jolt
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Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota

Re: 2.4L Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/ (2009-2010)

Post by jolt »

Go here and get a look at the part you need to move to get the tension off the belt. Click the link below and then click on any or all the blue "info" buttons for the part. That will give you a good look at the part. On the part you will see a cast in hex that looks like a bolt head. That is where you would put a wrench on to get leverage to pull the tensioner pulley away from the belt so you can remove the belt. Be careful of the force of the spring. I have not changed my belt but by the looks of the tensioner, I would not let the tensioner wrench loose without having a belt for it to ride against. See the lock pin in the tensioner picture of the new part. If you can pull the pulley back and put a pin or steel rod in the lock to hold the spring and pulley back then you should be able to change the belt out. After the belt is on remove the lock pin and let the tensioner pulley release against the new belt.

The tensioner is located between the water pump and the crankshaft pulleys. It is under the top motor mount. I think you need to remove the lower plastic engine cover from under the car and go in from the bottom. I am not sure on that but I do know that going in from the top does not look good.

Good luck and here is the link to the tensioner:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/pont ... oner,11659

If the lock pin bar is stuck behind the tensioner bracket, you may not get enough movement from the bracket to remove the belt. The pin bar will have to be re-threaded through the bracket face. Once again, see the picture of the part. At that point it may be easier to just remove the tensioner, and get the pin and pin bar in place like a new tensioner looks. Install the tensioner, belt, and then remove the retaining pin. The same thing you would do if you replaced the tensioner.
tpar1220
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Location: martinsville (ish), in.

Re: 2.4L Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/ (2009-2010)

Post by tpar1220 »

i just went thru this today on my 09 base with 2.4. i put car on ramps and removed the plastic lower engine cover on passenger side. that exposed the lower passenger side of engine. with a 1/2 drive breaker bar and 19mm socket i was able to get on the tensioner and remove belt tension. removing old belt and installing new belt was not to bad.

i was able to do it with car on ramps but would be much easier if you have access to a lift.
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PonchoGT
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Re: 2.4L Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/ (2009-2010)

Post by PonchoGT »

It helps to remove the front passenger side tire, too. You'll need a helper to thread the belt according to the under hood diagram while you relieve pressure on the tension pulley.
alex_nrv
Posts: 165
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:29 pm

Re: 2.4L Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/ (2009-2010)

Post by alex_nrv »

I just changed my alternator on my PONTIAC VIBE 2009 2.4L.
Just like the OP, I couldn't find much info about releasing the tension on the belt, as much as replacing the alternator.
I've read many texts and watched a lot of videos about older Vibes and Matrix, but never a video exactly like my car version.

For those still wondering (and just like the last post before mine), the trick is to access the pulleys from the passenger side wheel. Just lift the car on the passenger side with a jack (and secure onto candles/axle stands), remove the tire, remove the 2 hex-screws plus the plastic retainer (mine shattered to pieces...) that holds the plastic cover behind the wheel hub and then the plastic cover will be free to be lowered so you can access the motor from the side! (A previous post mentioned to put the car on ramps but it is way easier to lift from one side and remove the tire. You'll gain much more room to access the side of the engine and pulleys).
Then, you just have to locate the tensioner pulley and piston (yes, mine is a piston, but it seems the replacements at Autoparts are now using a coil spring?).
The bolt (welded-on bolt) you need to access is kind of hidden behind the pulley (it sticks out less than the tensioner pulley so it is hard to see) and just under the belt. One you locate it, you'll be able to reach it with your tool. I used a belt tension bar that is flat so I have more room to manoeuver. I didn't try to use a ratchet but if you use a short/low profile socket, it might be possible to access the bolt because from the side, there seem to be enough room.
I think the bolt you need to access is 19mm but I didn't have a 19mm socket, the largest I had was a 3/4 in. and it did the trick (after review, a 3/4 socket is = 19.05mm!)

When you get to slack the tension on the belt, the trick to remove the belt is to slide it off from a FLAT pulley. If you try to remove the belt from a pulley that has "tracks" on it, there might not be enough slack to get it over the "lip" of that pulley. So, while you're in the wheel well and slacking the tension with one hand, use the other hand to slide the belt off from the flat pulley that is accessible just beside the tensioner pulley.
Then, the belt will become loose and you'll be able to easily remove the belt from the alternator.

A good tip to avoid having to re-thread the belt on all the pulleys (if you don't plan on replacing the belt with a new one), use a metal wire or a rope to attach the strap to somewhere in the engine bay, to the belt won't fall and get off the other pulleys. You'll save some work by not having to re-thread the belt the proper way on each pulleys (especially that the routing diagram doesn't seem to be printed anywhere in the engine bay on that model...).

The alternator is pretty straight forward to remove... Don't forget to remove the negative wire from your car's battery...
Then, there are 2 bolts, one being top-back (larger one) and one smaller one beneath. This latter one is hard to see but you can feel it easily with your fingers. The larger bolt is a little bit harder to crack loose, but with a breaker bar or simply 2 simple wrenches (to get more leverage), it's easily doable and is remove quickly. To smaller bolt is easier to loosen but takes longer to remove (*ratchet, ratchet, ratchet*..!).
The rest is straight forward... unplug the electrical connections from the alternator (main wire plus the ground that is hidden by a plastic cap, that also partially broke when trying to unclip). There are some other (2-3) thingy to unclip or unplug that might make your life easier but you'll figure it out and do it your way.

After, it's all reverse operation... When I tried to put the belt back on the alternator, I had someone old the belt onto the alternator pulley just so it wouldn't move around and fall while trying to put the belt back on the flat pulley. You also probably could use a large spring-mounted jaw clamp or a C-clamp to hold the belt onto the alternator pulley if no one is around to assist.

Last but not least, re-attach the negative wire onto the car's battery,
After everything is back together, when you test drive the new alternator, don't be surprised is the idle is rough and the car looks like it's gonna stall or die. I got scared and googled the symptom and it is absolutely normal. The car's computer needs to readjust and go through a "relearn" process. Drive the car around for 10-15 minutes and it'll correct by itself. Maybe just letting the car idle for 10-15 minutes could also do. I drove the car 5 minutes and let it stand about 7-10 minutes and the rough idling went away.

I hope my infos will help someone else else when it's time to loosen the belt tension and/or replace the alternator!

P.S.: I still need to install my summer tires so if I remember, I will take some photos of the wheel well, plastic cover, pulleys viewed from the side and I'll try to get an angle that might show the botl you have to use in order to loosen the tensioner.
BossTech
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Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 12:57 pm

Re: 2.4L Sepentine belt removal/Alternator/ (2009-2010)

Post by BossTech »

Read and watched videos for 2.4L Vibe I have and Camry. I had a serpentine belt tool in the garage for years and never used it.

https://www.amazon.ca/OEMTOOLS-25149-Se ... 2834&psc=1

Using the serpentine tool with a 14 socket I found the tensioner nut reaching in from the front along side the belt. If having a problem getting the socket on the nut, take the socket off and rotate it one direction and put back on. The length of the tool was to long and hit the radiator when I tried to push it down to release tension on the belt. The next step was to take a grinder to the tool and shorten it about 7 inches so that it goes lower into the engine area behind the rad. Worked like a charm.

Was a lot of work to figure out which nut was the tensioner and then deciding to cut so the removal took a while for me. Putting it back on was easy with a helper holding the tool as low as he could get it. Needed more slack and found it on the pulley in the very back, it was half off and once it was in place the belt went on the alternator easliy.

Most of my time putting it back on was with the 14 bolt that holds it on. Tough to put pressure to get threads to catch and lots of turning to comfirm it started.

Hope this helps. May add pictures sometime soon.
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