How do I replace an alternator belt on a 1986 pontiac grand am

i just replaced the belt on my 89 2.3 cyc. grand am first i jacked the car up . then i droped the belt in from up top arround the alt. pully. i went underneath and put it arround everything but the crank. i got a wrench on the tensioner and wired it so it was all slack. (pull it towards the front from underneath) i got the belt started from the bottom of the crank pully and went clockwise arround the pully untill it would not go any further.i then got a small "c" clamp and clamped the belt to the pully (not too tight though). then i put a socket on the crank nut and turned the crank clockwise and moved the pully a couple of times and kept an eye on the tensioner because the belt has a habbit of slipping off of it.

DO NOT TURN THE CRANK COUNTER CLOCKWISE AS THIS CAN MAKE IT JUMP TIMING.

hope this helps ' harry

No it wont! There is no point in trying to scare people with erroneous information.

Ian

i had the timing case cover off when i replaced the head.and just out of curiosity i spun the crank counterclockwise and the chain jumped the left cam gear. and that is a fact.

Whatever you say.

Ian

Having the timing cover off won't change anything on a Quad engine. Having a "defective" chain tensioner might cause problems, but this is the whole point....someone who doesn't understand the basic operation of the system can be fooled into thinking that "no" engine can be rotated backwards without the timing chain "jumping". I've repaired numerous engines with timing chains/belts, and have yet to see one that would jump a tooth if you rotated it against it's regular direction of rotation.

Ian