Replacement of Serpentine belt 98 Supercharger.
Asked by Alvin Mar 08, 2015 at 10:39 AM about the 1998 Buick Riviera Supercharged Coupe FWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I discovered the vehicle's supercharger's serpentine belt had come off (intact) and I had to cut it in order to remove. Now I am not able to replace a new belt. Question, is it necessary to remove the motor mount /bolt in order to replace the belt? Total different from the 95 Riviera if so.. Thanks.
5 Answers
Okay fellow posters I figured it out>>>Yes one has to lower the engine to replace the serpentine belts on the 96-99 supercharger engines. Start by removing the pass. side tire placing the vehicle on stands...pull back the plastic flap and place a jack beneath the engine, remove the bolt from lower part of the motor mount, lower the engine until you are able to see/get to a star shaped bolt located near the harmonic balancer and crank sensor plug. It may be necessary to first remove the 18 mm nut or use a 8mm on the star shape bolt to remove the bolt from a sleeve. This sleeve may not come completely out, so cock/tilt it enough so in order to get the belt pass it. Good Luck>>>
are their any other ways, i tried to do this and i stripped the motor mount bolt and the bottom bolt is blocked by the frame of the body
Thegoldenrod answered 7 years ago
You don't have to take the wheel off, you don't have to take the skirt off, you don't have to unbolt the motor mounts. It helps to have a photo of how it goes on. Just follow the directions on the schematic. You have to put the long serpentine belt on first going around the supercharger in the shorter one second you have to have a tool to release two pressure on to Spring loaded idler pulleys. Just completed a 1995 supercharge with air-conditioning Riviera a 10 minute job. It took longer to find on the Internet the schematic. I just wanted to my glove box and got out the owners manual and that's all I needed.
Thegoldenrod..you can't remove the belt in question without following the steps previously mentioned. I agree you can remove the belt on a 95 Riviera as you have alluded to...but that's not true for the 96-99's.
ON a 97 Riviera you definitely have to lower the engine to get the bolt out of the sleeve and remove or the sleeve.