PLEASE HELP. Serpentine belt won't go on. too tight!

[jhoney]

Please help someone, this is the last thing i need to do in order to complete my t belt job. I can't get the serp belt on! it's too damn tight. I don't know if it is just because it's new or because it the wrong size. got it from blau parts so.... I've been trying every way possible to stretch this baby over the tensioner but it wont go unless the bolt is completely out. which makes putting the bolt back on just as hard as stretching it over the tensioner. It's on a 97 2.8 A4 Q. The markings on the belt are contitech 1885. Is this the right belt? is there an easier way to do this? i don't want to have the tightest belt in the world only for it to break all the pulleys and eventually itself.

[R8ted R]

Did you match it up to the old belt and see if they're roughly the same length?

[jhoney]

negative. dumb on my part. it's already been trashed

[jhoney]

I was so worried about the t belt that i didnt think much of this belt till now

[Poopie]

are you releasing the tension in the tensioner?

[jhoney]

are you releasing the tension in the tensioner?

what? I assume what you mean is the tensioner on but slacked with bolt loose. if that's what you meant then, yes

[jhoney]

I know the belt is supposed to be relativity tighter than the timing belt but literally, if i get it on, it's going to be a 9.75 out of 10 on a tightness scale. would that be normal?

[walky_talky20]

Woah, what bolt are you talking about? The accessory belt tensioner is *spring loaded*. You use a 17mm wrench or socket with ratchet to compress it, which slackens the belt so you can remove or re-install it. It is a very simple and fool-proof system.

If you check out the tensioner photos, you'll notice they ship with a metal bar in place which holds them in the compressed position for transport and install. You then add a bit of force to it with a wrench, slip out the pin and slowly release it to tension the belt. It is really quite easy to do. You can see in the photos the hex head that you would attach your wrench onto to make this happen.
http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-..._Belts/ES1264/

If you need more specifics than that, I don't think you should be doing this yourself. But I will give you a pass this time. Ask away.

[jhoney]

Woah, what bolt are you talking about? The accessory belt tensioner is *spring loaded*. You use a 17mm wrench or socket with ratchet to compress it, which slackens the belt so you can remove or re-install it. It is a very simple and fool-proof system.

If you check out the tensioner photos, you'll notice they ship with a metal bar in place which holds them in the compressed position for transport and install. You then add a bit of force to it with a wrench, slip out the pin and slowly release it to tension the belt. It is really quite easy to do. You can see in the photos the hex head that you would attach your wrench onto to make this happen.
http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-..._Belts/ES1264/

If you need more specifics than that, I don't think you should be doing this yourself. But I will give you a pass this time. Ask away.

are you absolutely kidding me?! you are the man walky! I feel so retarded. that should do the trick. i'll try in the morning.

[jhoney]

QUICK UPDATE... Thanks again walky. belt went on super smooth. TWO ?'S THOUGH. 1 where is the upper bleeder screw that I need to release in order to refill the coolant? 2 what the heck. the lower coolant hose is being a biatch to get on. it will not budge. the angle down there helps nothing for leverage to wedge it in. any ideas?

[walky_talky20]

1. I believe it is in the rear coolant pipe, near the firewall, sort of under the coolant reservoir. I could be wrong on this, it's been a while since I've bled coolant on a 12v. There is for sure a hole in the heater core hose to bleed the system with, as on all B5's.

2. I always lube the plastic flange as well as the o-ring itself (internal to the hose) with a small amount of vaseline. Slides right on.

[ianwpb]

There you go.. Be sure to clean out any gunk in there before you try to unscrew it, you don't want to strip that bolt. I believe it's a T30.

[walky_talky20]

^See I was wrong, it is on the front coolant pipe.

And that would be a 5mm allen to loosen it.

EDIT: The location pictured there would be for a 30V 2.8. The 12V bleed screw is indeed at the rear of the driver's side head.

[jhoney]

vasaline worked like a charm. but im still having trouble finding this screw. I'm looking all over the top hose along the driver side for anything

[ianwpb]

Oops, missed the part that said 97

[jhoney]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...h-your-coolant. this guy completely disregards it. think it would work?

[jhoney]

better yet. what is that heater hole that you said on all b5's walky?

[walky_talky20]

Here is a diagram of the 12V. It shows the bleeder at the heater core connections and the one on the rear coolant hard pipe:



And here is a pic of the heater core hose situation:


All that said, you can get away with not bleeding anything if you just take your time. You fill it up slowly, massage hoses, top off. Start car, level goes down, shut off, top off again. Test drive 3 miles, watch the temp, check operation of heat, shut off, let sit for 5 minutes, slowly remove cap, top off again. Let cool completely, top off again, test drive, check level, done.

I find you can speed that entire process up a great deal using the bleeders, if you have a coolant pressure test pump. It allows you to pressurize the system while cold which makes everything easier. Still have to test drive and heat cycle once or twice to be sure its full, though.

[jhoney]

all right. i think all is good. I SUCCESSFULLY WORKED ON MY FIRST AUDI! :) I ride motorcycles so i know temp not gauges. needle is hanging perfectly in the middle of the gauge. am I good, or should i bleed more.

[g huns]

Necrobump; anybody know, off the top of their head, is the 1872mm belt just for a non-AC car and the 1885mm belt for the 99.9% of cars with AC?