Ok, so just as I was leaving to go to work at hte great O today i hear a great loud noise and long story short find that my serpentine belt has broken on my 1993 Jeep Cherokee. Do any of yall have some auto mechanic insight or tips on replacing this? I am in the wonderful position of being a pay by the semester student who doesn't have enough extra money to pay to have his jeep towed and fixed professionaly. I found where to get the belt for under $50 and have seen a few things online and it doesn't look too tough to do at home, just wondering if anyone here has any advice or has worked with engines and could offer some help!
There are 2 things you have to check. In the event it was running when the belt broke - that means your crank and pistons will be out of sync in your firing order. This is a bit of a pain but can be easily figured out if you can read a book and follow directions. Not being sarcastic but a lot of people can't....
Step one. (this is an absolute must) buy a Chilton's auto manual for the specific vehicle. It may be 20-30 bucks but will save you a ton of money in the long run.
Step 2. Obviously, is to buy the belt and put it on. In the event the motor shut down right away - you just lucked out and should be fine. More than likely that is not the case but it is possible.
Step 3. In the event your crank and timing are out of whack (highly likely) your Chiltons will tell you (step by step) how to return your crank to TDC (top dead center). It's a bit of a pain but you can figure it out with the book. Once you do that - you should be able to put your belt back on and be good to go.
I have to agree with Nik 100% get the chiltons book it helps, I used to have a 1990 toyota celica, I got it for $2,000.00 my wife decided to pour power sterring fluid in the brake resoivor midas wanted $2,500.00 to change all four brake calipers and flush the system, i said screw you, bought the book all four calipers, a c clamp, some brake fluid, parked it in my dads back yard, jacked the car up flushed the sytem changed the calipers and pads and was on my way, granted it took me two days but i went step by step, and was able to do it and my total cost was about $500.00 in parts.
Thanks for the reply's guys - tomorrow when I hunt down the belt I will get the book too - it was about 5-10 seconds after the belt broke that I turned off the engine, I was sitting still so hopefully that helps with the pistons? We will see tomorrow!
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