Hi viewers, in this video i will show you how easy it is to change your drive belt / serpentine belt on your Chevy Cobalt with a 2.2 Litter ecotech engine. Enjoy and god bless you all.
Great video man I cant thank you enough. This also goes to all the others who are willing to help us out here in the world that just want to save some money and learn something new at the same time. This is gonna be a big help once I get out back and crack open the wife's cobalt.
This video is a life saver. My serpentine belt completely broke on the 07 cobalt I just bought. It has 212,000 miles on it, so I'd say it's about time!
Got my belt off thanks to you and Jesus was my girls belt terrible! Got the belt off now its time to re watch and make sure I get the new belt on just right.
I don’t usually work on my own vehicle, I leave that to my dad and brother but it’s been 2 days since my belt SNAPPED so I’m getting my ass to work! I’m not stupid, I’m more uneducated about cars but know I’m able to handle this. Thanks to you, I can probably get it done in about 2 hours less😭🤣🤣
Hi Maison, never underestimate your abilities. That's what made me start to work on cars, beings stranded a few times in my younger days and paying others to repair my car. One day I just had enough and I bought a craftsman tool set from sears and started to get my hands dirty. Fastward 6 years and now I can do a brake job withy eyes closed. You got this Maison. Best of luck to you get this job done. Remember.... patience is key on this. Take your time and everything with snap in place. Have a bless day.
U explained it perfect think my girlfriend got a short belt couse it squealing now for a little while then it stop I had to bottom out the tensioner pulley and it still was hard to get over the air conditioner pulley but I got it ...but it squel a little any solutions...thank
I just did mine, I took the tire off like you did & the plastic cover. I didn’t remove anything under the hood. I used a long flat bar 3/8 pulley tensioner releaser like the long one you have in the video but mine has an option of taking two bolts out of the middle of it & folding it in half...I had too fold mine in half too get it too fit right. It is a tight squeeze getting belt on but wasn’t too hard!!
Thanks so much for this video Oscar. You did things in a very easy and informative way. I was in a bind with money and could not afford to pay a mechanic. I thought I couldn't do it until I watched your video. You're amazing dude. Thanks tons.
Thanks Oscar for suffering through this video. My brother & law has a Cobalt and he needs to replace this same belt. I'm sending him a link to your video. Hopefully this will help him do the job. Again thanks for posting this...
Great video, lighting was great. This sure different from changing belts on my 1972 Lincoln. That was easy compared to these newer cars, the manufacturer doesn't make it easy for us old gals. Once again thank you
Thank you for this video. My son's belt just broke today I believe. I have to drive 2.5 hours to fix it if the belt broke. This video will really help the process. Instead of having to guess what I have to do. I have to have him take a pic to see what it looks like.
thank you for the video. makes it so much easier to do when you can see what you are doing. i have a cobalt and its hard finding parts videos for it. thank you
Thanks this is great demo. One way you can get this done on a cobalt without any special tools, get a fat piece of dowel long enough to hit the ground as it's resting on the edge of the tensioner arm, now walk that dowel in against the ground as it pushes the tensioner up, works great.
This sounds like a great trick, but I have a question -- how do you simultaneously pry the tensioner up and slide the belt in? It seems like the pry would be in the way? (I'm in the process of replacing my tensioner) Thanks.
Pry from the ground then stand the dowel up on the ground while other end on tensioner, doesn't get in the way of the belt since the tensioner just rides on back of belt, not around it like the other pulleys.
I’m all for tools if they make the job easier but an 18 inch 3/8 breaker bar with flatter head will do the same thing. Just an idea to safe some money. Thank you for the video!
I just changed mine on a 2008 2.4l and did it from the top. It takes a real slim ratchet or breaker bar, for the tensioner.. I looped the crank first then a/c, then alternator. All I took off was the air filter box. Two 10mm nuts and a 25 torx. Took 10 mins
Serpentine belt replacement trick: Don't use a wrench to flex the idler pulley arm. Run the belt around all of the pulleys but the crank pulley. Wrap the belt around the crank pulley as best you can so the whole belt is pretty snug. Then, using a ratchet, turn the crank pulley slowly while pressing the belt in the same direction as you are rotating the pulley. A manual half turn of the crank pulley is all you will need. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
Another tip I saw on a previous video, is if you don't have access to a serpentine tool. You can place a small piece of 2x4 under the belt tensioner and use a bottle jack to push the end of the belt tensioner that is opposite the pivot to release the pressure enough to remove the belt. It takes a bit of patience to line up the 2x4 and it has to be approximately the right length, but it's doable.
Good job. As far as belts go, I always work the belt on the pulley with the easiest access for when my other hand is holding tension from the tensioner. Usually this is the bottom right or left pulley for the a/c or ???
I just got done changing my belt. I had to use a block of wood on the tensioner with my jackstand. I had the cheap harbor freight type tool and it was too long. 130k on the belt with many cracks.
Thank you very much! However, just fyi that other tool from Harbor Freight, it won't line up quit right before the control arm gets in the way. I'm trying to figure out a way to push the tensioner arm just enough to get the tool in but... it's proving pretty difficult lol. Someone mentioned using a bottle jack and 2x4, I might try that. Ugh mechanical design shenanigans.
@@randywhite6864 The bottle jack + 2x4 worked for me, however dangerous it was, but I had to cut a wedge out of the end so it could fit. Ridiculous. Alas, not as ridiculous as having to choose to either drop the engine or cut a hole in the tire well to change a starter on my previous Suzuki Grand Vitara lol
For all you guys (like me) that don't want to buy a special serpentine tool to use for such a small amount of time, I have a tip. You can 'borrow' a serpentine tool set at Autozone for a small deposit (cost me $30). Once you are done using the tool, simply return the tool to Autozone and get your deposit back. And you don't even have to buy the serpentine belt from them. It's just a service they offer. Pretty neat!
Don't waste money replacing a belt every time you find some light cracking. Invest in a 6 dollar can of belt conditioner spray, and apply every oil change. This will extend life of old belts, and prevent dehydration of newer belts. People spend twice the $$$$$ on maintenance, than they need to.
I used a belt with a hook on it to pull tensioner pully up,got belt off of alternator, lelt belt in all other pulleys,worked for me,was back on road in 30min.
Same did it from the top didnt tske anything off just muscled the new alternator under the belt and pulled up in the tensioner with a little hook and bam bavk on the road in 20 mins
