NEED HELP alternator change.

[james michael]

I am looking for an easier way to remove the serpintine belt from my 2003 6.0 diesel. I have to replace my alternator, and this serpintine belt thing has me scratchin my head. Any help would be great.

[Raul@Stealth Automotive]

how can you not take it off? take the tension off the idler pulley to take off the belt...

[m-chan68]

You don't actually need to remove the belt. You just release the tension to it, and leave it in place while you remove and replace the alternator. Simply grab on the belt as hard as you can with one hand, and push the lock tab on the bottom of the belt tensioner in with the other hand, and release the belt. Once you've replaced the alternator, simply grab the belt again, and the tensioner will release.

[scotty2280]

sit on top of the motor and just pull the belt up on it! easy as pie

[n4hhe]

Originally Posted by m-chan68

You don't actually need to remove the belt. You just release the tension to it, and leave it in place while you remove and replace the alternator. Simply grab on the belt as hard as you can with one hand, and push the lock tab on the bottom of the belt tensioner in with the other hand, and release the belt. Once you've replaced the alternator, simply grab the belt again, and the tensioner will release.

Would have been handy today when working on a friends 6.0 to have had a picture of the tensioner and this locking tab. My friend had essentially the same instructions as above but when I pulled on the belt he pushed the tab back (bent it) not knowing how it was supposed to work. Not able to see.

Eventually the sun moved in the sky enough to shine in the proper place while I was under the truck and was able to make sense of it. I could see the tab was bent back. My friend needs shoulder surgery and could not pull the belt, which was just as well as my hands were too big to be able to see anything once stuffed in the crannies.

Was hard enough for my friend to see when my big hands were pulling on the belt. Finally put the hook end of a tiedown on the belt. I pulled on the tiedown. This provided enough clearance my friend could see and put the locking tab in its proper place.

For future reference if someone has the front of their engine exposed a picture of the belt tensioner and the locking tab would be of great help. Now that we've done it once we're never going to forget how.

Other than that, this was the easiest alternator swap I've ever done. Looking at my 6.4L has me dreading the day the alternator needs replacement.

[m-chan68]

Originally Posted by n4hhe

Looking at my 6.4L has me dreading the day the alternator needs replacement.

PLEASE!!! DON'T REMIND ME!!! I'M DREADING EVEN THE THOUGHT OF DOING IT, LET ALONE DOING IT, AND FOR WARRANTY TIME TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY!!!

[BDSford03]

Originally Posted by scotty2280

sit on top of the motor and just pull the belt up on it! easy as pie

thats the way i did it last time. easier then trying to get your hands and wrench down in there to loosin the tensioner

[n4hhe]

Originally Posted by BDSford03

thats the way i did it last time. easier then trying to get your hands and wrench down in there to loosin the tensioner

I couldn't see any way to get a wrench on the tensioner to loosen it. Also my friend, the owner of the truck, having felt the locking tab and not knowing what to do with it pushed (bent) it toward the rear of the vehicle. A picture of what we couldn't see would have been of great help. A picture might have helped to understand how one might apply a wrench to the tensioner.