I Can't Relieve The Tension On The Tension Pulley Arm,,,

[jarris]

i've recently encountered a problem with my serpentine belt, tension pulley and pulley arm. i was pulling out of my driveway and i felt a hard thump and right after, my power steering gave out. i lifted the hood to find the serpentine belt was snapped and laying over the engine. my car came with an extra belt and thought it wouldn't take long to wrap it on. after my attemp to apply the belt, i quickly noticed the amount of slack in the belt. then i realized the tension pulley wasn't rotating as it should. so i removed the 9/16 bolt from the center of the tension pulley wheel and as soon as i did, the ball bearings made a run for it. i called Auto Zone for another tension pulley wheel. after acquiring the new wheel and re-installing it, i ran into another problem... i couldn't move the tension pulley arm. i tried using the technique that worked on a '95 Cavalier i used to own by putting a wrench on the bolt holding the tension pulley wheel in place by turning to tighten the bolt in which the tension pulley arm would flex down enough to where the serpentine belt could be installed. needless to say, it didn't work for the "92 Lexus SC 300. is there anyone who knows of the method that is required to relieve the tension from the tension pulley arm so that i may apply the serpentine belt to its rightful place under the hood the car ????? :cries:

[jamesbondsc300]

i've recently encountered a problem with my serpentine belt, tension pulley and pulley arm. i was pulling out of my driveway and i felt a hard thump and right after, my power steering gave out. i lifted the hood to find the serpentine belt was snapped and laying over the engine. my car came with an extra belt and thought it wouldn't take long to wrap it on. after my attemp to apply the belt, i quickly noticed the amount of slack in the belt. then i realized the tension pulley wasn't rotating as it should. so i removed the 9/16 bolt from the center of the tension pulley wheel and as soon as i did, the ball bearings made a run for it. i called Auto Zone for another tension pulley wheel. after acquiring the new wheel and re-installing it, i ran into another problem... i couldn't move the tension pulley arm. i tried using the technique that worked on a '95 Cavalier i used to own by putting a wrench on the bolt holding the tension pulley wheel in place by turning to tighten the bolt in which the tension pulley arm would flex down enough to where the serpentine belt could be installed. needless to say, it didn't work for the "92 Lexus SC 300. is there anyone who knows of the method that is required to relieve the tension from the tension pulley arm so that i may apply the serpentine belt to its rightful place under the hood the car ????? :cries:

I ran it the same thing replacing my PS pump. I finally figured out i needed a "breaker bar"(a really really long ratchet or a long pipe put over the handle of a ratchet) for alot more leverage. It holds more tension than any other car I've ever had. Try it and let me know

[soarer08]

Using a breaker bar will get you where you need to be. And easy thing to do would be to go to lowes or somewhere similar and buy about a 3ft piece of steel pipe to slide over your wrench and give you more leverage.

Id replace your whole tensioner pully assembly though if its acting up. You didnt really give me much detail. But once that tensioner pully starts squeaking REPLACE IT. I was stranded at a gas station with my belt shredded and intertwined with everything after the tensioner pully locked up. I ordered mine from lexus, $300.

Just giving you a heads up!