Auxilary Drive Belt, V6

[snapper]

I have changed the water pump and before i put all the trim back i want to put the new drive belt on.

When i tried to get it off i found what felt like a cover over the crank pully and could not pull the drive belt off.

Is it just a fiddly job or does the cover plate need to be removed, as i could only feel and not see i did not want to get the belt off and have no way of getting the new one back on.

[insider]

I think the "cover plate" you are referring to is the vibration damper which requires a special tool to remove and refit so is probably best left in place!

However, the belt should still be removable from the crankshaft pulley - the vibration damper just gives it a bigger lip for the belt to go over. If there is sufficient slack it shouldn't be too difficult.

[mk2vr6]

to remove the aux drive belt you have to release the tension on the belt by winding a 8mm bolt? IIRC into the threaded hole on the tensioner to release the pressure on the belt and then the belt will simply slip off without the need to remove any pully shrouds

[snapper]

Job now complete after removing the under tray and shaving a couple of layers of skin of each arm.

 

If the car still overheats after this then its a new thermostat and housing followed by a huge tantrum

[insider]

That's funny - the first step on the TIS for removing the accessory drive belt is "remove undertray"!