Replacing Serpentine Belt--Is it Difficult?

[DanW]

I'm approaching 100,000 miles on my JL. Spark plugs are on the to-do list this spring, as well as the serpentine belt.

Is the serpentine belt hard to do? About how long should I expect it to go. I have moderate mechanical skills. Pretty sure I could do it, I just need to know how involved it is. Should the belt tensioner be replaced, too?

If I should choose to have it done, how much would one expect to pay?

Any help is appreciated? I like doing my own work when I can, but this JL is a bit more involved with some things than my old JK 3.8 was. It was a 5 minute job, if that, to replace the belts, and spark plugs were easy, too. I do miss that about that old warhorse.

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[mishkajb]

I have a '21 JL. Looking at the belt, it does not look like an easy job like it is on other engines. The air intake hose will have to be removed, and then from there it looks like there isn't much room to work on it with the alternator being on top and inverted.

I guarantee someone else has more info, but I regret that day I need to change it and hope it's not on the trail!

Check out this video -

 

[There’sOnlyOne]

This guy does an excellent job of showing you how, tools, torques, parts and so on. My '21 has 24K miles but I watched this whole thing for future reference. He does spark plugs also. And has a 2.0 vid if needed.

 

[stino]

I just did this, it's really not that bad. Took me a couple hours.

I also replaced the 4 idler pulleys, 3 of them (including the tensioner) with Gates metal pulleys. Mopar does suggest replacing the entire tensioner vs the pulley, but I've done it twice and it's been fine using strong loctite (only on the tensioner bracket idler). The tensioner takes a bit of technique, don't try to crank it like a bolt, just slowly put more and more pressure/weight on it until it eventually and slowly gives - it will. Once you figure it out its easy.

Hit me up if there's anything else I can help with

 

[Deleted User 38384]

It's kind of difficult for you to do it yourself, that being said you probably should do it yourself.

Because if it's going to be difficult for you, a mechanic will more than likely charge you a buttload of money for it.

I could easily see them saying $600-$800 for an $80 serpentine belt! More than likely any trained mechanic who has worked on JL Wranglers before could probably do in about 30 minutes.

Even if it would take you 2 hours to do it, I would recommend doing it yourself. However, if flushing money down the toilet is your thing, I guess go for it!

There's lots of people around here who like flushing money.

 

[DanW]

I just did this, it's really not that bad. Took me a couple hours.

I also replaced the 4 idler pulleys, 3 of them (including the tensioner) with Gates metal pulleys. Mopar does suggest replacing the entire tensioner vs the pulley, but I've done it twice and it's been fine using strong loctite (only on the tensioner bracket idler). The tensioner takes a bit of technique, don't try to crank it like a bolt, just slowly put more and more pressure/weight on it until it eventually and slowly gives - it will. Once you figure it out its easy.

Hit me up if there's anything else I can help with

Awesome! That testimony makes me want to give it a go. I did see a video where a guy was going easy with the pressure on the tensioner, so what you describe sounds like what I saw.

Do you have a link for those metal pulleys? Sounds like a good idea!

 

[stino]

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=12785577&cc=0&pt=6956&jsn=779 X3
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=678997&cc=0&pt=6956&jsn=783 X1

The 2nd one is still plastic, and you can't use the dust shield with it. So maybe I'd go with the Mopar version for that.

 

[DanW]

It's kind of difficult for you to do it yourself, that being said you probably should do it yourself.

Because if it's going to be difficult for you, a mechanic will more than likely charge you a buttload of money for it.

I could easily see them saying $600-$800 for an $80 serpentine belt! More than likely any trained mechanic who has worked on JL Wranglers before could probably do in about 30 minutes.

Even if it would take you 2 hours to do it, I would recommend doing it yourself. However, if flushing money down the toilet is your thing, I guess go for it!

There's lots of people around here who like flushing money.

The good part is that I have two Jeeps, so I don't have to be in a rush to knock it out.

The JL goes in Wednesday for the clutch replacement recall, so I'll probably go ahead and pick up the belt from the parts department while I'm there.

I'll likely do the belt and spark plugs one right after the other.

 

[stino]

Haha, I've done spark plugs too, EGR tube is a pain in the ass. You're sposed to replace all the gaskets on the intake manifold. Not a terrible time to upgrade your oil filter housing if you're looking for more extra credit and you wanna get ahead of it.

 

[alphawolff]

Haha, I've done spark plugs too, EGR tube is a pain in the ass. You're sposed to replace all the gaskets on the intake manifold. Not a terrible time to upgrade your oil filter housing if you're looking for more extra credit and you wanna get ahead of it.

The PUG actually has reusable intake gaskets (the green ones) so if they aren't visible worn you can avoid replacing them if you don't want to.

Secret to the EGR tube is using a 10mm ratcheting wrench for the manifold bolts and using a wobble 10mm on an extension to simply loosen both downstream bolts. This allows it to flex and move so you can easily get the manifold off without outright removing the tube. Don't lose the tube gaskets!

 

[stino]

The PUG actually has reusable intake gaskets (the green ones) so if they aren't visible worn you can avoid replacing them if you don't want to.

Secret to the EGR tube is using a 10mm ratcheting wrench for the manifold bolts and using a wobble 10mm on an extension to simply loosen both downstream bolts. This allows it to flex and move so you can easily get the manifold off without outright removing the tube. Don't lose the tube gaskets!

Good to know! Thanks

 

[wibornz]

I replaced mine on the edge of the road in 20 minutes. Not sure how it took a couple hours. Are you guys using Crescent wrenches and Chanel lock pliers or what?

The trick with the tensioner is to slowly apply pressure to release it. The bigger the breaker bar the easier it will be. Mind you I do have the correct tools and a Milwaukee powered ratchet. If you are doing this at 100,000 miles, might want to check your idler pullies. I carry an extra belt and pullies. I have replaced idler pulleys that failed on the edge of the road.

Also note if you do remove the tensioner, the bottom bolt there is a bushing in there. It is easy to drop it and not notice it. Make sure you put the bussing back in. You have to remove the tensioner if you are replacing the pulley on the tensioner.

 

[DanW]

I replaced mine on the edge of the road in 20 minutes. Not sure how it took a couple hours. Are you guys using Crescent wrenches and Chanel lock pliers or what?

The trick with the tensioner is to slowly apply pressure to release it. The bigger the breaker bar the easier it will be. Mind you I do have the correct tools and a Milwaukee powered ratchet. If you are doing this at 100,000 miles, might want to check your idler pullies. I carry an extra belt and pullies. I have replaced idler pulleys that failed on the edge of the road.

Also note if you do remove the tensioner, the bottom bolt there is a bushing in there. It is easy to drop it and not notice it. Make sure you put the bussing back in. You have to remove the tensioner if you are replacing the pulley on the tensioner.

Wow, that's making me feel much better about this. I plan to replace the pullies since I'm in there anyway. Cheap insurance.

What belt did you use? Mopar? I would imagine it is sourced by Gates, but I really don't know.

 

[wibornz]

Wow, that's making me feel much better about this. I plan to replace the pullies since I'm in there anyway. Cheap insurance.

What belt did you use? Mopar? I would imagine it is sourced by Gates, but I really don't know.

I bought them at Napa. I changed them at approx 126,000 miles. I had an idler pulley fail. So I changed the belt at the same time. Then a few weeks later doing maintenance on the Jeep, I replaced all of the pulleys while doing some routine maintenance at Trail Toyz shop in Alaska. The fine folks allowed me to use their shop to work on the Jeep before heading to the Arctic Ocean at Deadhorse Alaska. I rotated tires, swapped the idler pulleys out, put brakes on all the way around, changed oil and diff fluids, check the torque specs for the suspension and all steering components. Then let me use the shop on a Sunday while they were closed. There is no way that I can ever thank them enough.

 

[stino]

I replaced mine on the edge of the road in 20 minutes. Not sure how it took a couple hours. Are you guys using Crescent wrenches and Chanel lock pliers or what?

The trick with the tensioner is to slowly apply pressure to release it. The bigger the breaker bar the easier it will be. Mind you I do have the correct tools and a Milwaukee powered ratchet. If you are doing this at 100,000 miles, might want to check your idler pullies. I carry an extra belt and pullies. I have replaced idler pulleys that failed on the edge of the road.

Also note if you do remove the tensioner, the bottom bolt there is a bushing in there. It is easy to drop it and not notice it. Make sure you put the bussing back in. You have to remove the tensioner if you are replacing the pulley on the tensioner.

Because I replaced the 4 idler pulleys too, requires you to remove the tensioner and the alternator + bracket.

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