I thought I'd save some money buying and replacing three engine belts myself -- AC, PS/WP, and Alternator. The job turned out to be a lot harder than I imagined.
Day 1. (Afternoon, actually; it's really hot out there.) The outermost belt (the A/C) gave up quickly once I figured out the idler pulley, but the alternator wouldn't budge along its slotted track until it was almost dark. That's when I found the alternator's pivot bolt. Aha, the Pivot bolt!! It pivotted and there was slack, behold! But that belt is blocked by the PS belt. And now it's dark. S*it.
Day 2. What keeps me from changing the PS/Water Pump belt is the PS pump won't budge. I found and loosened its lock nut, but the adjusting bolt does nothing. Guess it didn't read the manual. So, I'm guessing it's a pivot bolt issue again, but *where is it*??
What I loosened on the front side was probably the adjuster bracket bolt (can't see nuthin). If the PS pump pivot bolt is the 14mm on the *back* of the PS pump, my puny 6" Craftsman ratchet wrench is no match for it, and that's all I can get in there. Any ideas??
So you can see I'm not much of a mechanic, but I tried. After putting my '93 Sentra XE on the jackstands three times, I called the Goodyear place. The tech said they're not that crazy about installing parts (belts, in this case) brought in by a customer, but WTH, they'll do it for $71.
This isn't spare cash, it's rare cash, and I can think of things I'd rather spend it on. $71 to change two belts. >:
Thanks for your attention, Jm