I am changing out the alternator and need to loosen the belt. I see two bolts on the tensioner do I turn on of those?

 

okay, I was able to loosen it, got the alternator in and now putting the belt back.

New question. how tight does it have to be, is there a manual way to tighten it.

I pulled it as tight as I can and then I tightened the bolt but it is not very tight.

 

Hmmm... I'm not sure about your engine because it's a 4.0 liter. Mine is a 4.2. On mine the tensioner is spring-loaded. By inserting a 1/2 inch drive socket into the fulcrum of the tensioner I could release the tension and slide the belt into place. I don't think I had to loosen any bolts, but it has been a while.

 

Not sure about your question on how tight? The tensioner is what maintains a constant pressure. See if this helps. Belt Tensioner

 

I just looked in the JTIS. It doesn't say anything about loosening a bolt. The tensioner is spring-loaded. By putting a box-end wrench on the bolt in the center of the tensioner pulley, and then turning the wrench counter-clockwise, you will load up the spring, which gives you the necessary space to slide the belt into place. The manual also says to NEVER apply any torque in a clockwise direction to that bolt as it could subsequently loosen. The bolt has left hand threads, so if you were trying to tighten it, you might have accidentally loosened it by mistake.

 

I got my jtis working. found this pic. I will be out for a couple days but hope to get back to this project soon.

 

The Reverand is correct. The tensioner is spring-loaded. No bolts to loosen. BTW, when you do this job, put a piece of cardboard infront of the radiator. You will thank yourself later. gordo

 

I recently had the tension pulley go out and had to replace the unit and belt. Wish I had read this before the layers of skin left my body... A couple of other tips: I did not have a long enough wrench to get sufficient leverage, breaker bar was a larger drive than the socket with no room for an adapter, so I ended up locking two box ends together. The new tensioner spring was that heavy. Also, you might want to disconnect the gas struts to allow the hood to open more fully. At 6'3" this really helped in getting over the thing to place the belt on the various pulleys while maintaining pressure on the spring.

 

Good point TheWeeb... many members do not know about the 'service setting' on the hood. This allows the hood to sit verticle on its hinges. To acheive this setting, first disconnect the gas struts at the hood by inserting a narrow screwdrive into the ball-ends of the struts... it is easy once you find the spring clip end which will back off about half way.

When one strut is removed and laid on the fender liner; you will need to support the hood with a prop rod, something like a section of broom handle will work fine. When both struts are disconnected, the hood can be raised to the verticle position. When at the verticle, observe the hinge sections and note there is a hole which when a pin is inserted in this position will prevent the hinge from closing.

Any sort of pin, phillips screwdriver, etc. will suffice to lock the hinge sections in this position. I use a pair of 12mm 1" bolts w/nuts to slip through and secure. The hood seems a little flimsy at first, but it locked tightly into place. This is the position was design for the Jag line mechanics use. Although I would not do this if working outdoors in a strong wind!!!

gordo

 

Gordo--2 things. (1) Why do you recommend the cardboard in front of the radiator? (2) I have given a few half-hearted tries to disconnect the struts but gave up pretty quickly since there is obviously some technique to this. Maybe you can post a few pics and show what needs to be place where in order to pry the clips.

Thanks,

Doug

 

I misspoke about the 'front' of the radiator. I meant once you remove the fan assy, you want to cut out and tape on a piece of cardboard to radiator to protect the fins from damage when you are working between the engine and exposed radiator core.

Here are some pics of how to pop off the hood support struts. You can see how the screwdriver gets underneath a semicircular spring clip. The clip does not need to be removed. It slips back a little to allow the 'ball' to slide out of its pocket on the hood bracket.

The hood hinge photo shows the hole into which you slide a pin. This hole is exposed once the hood reaches it's vertical position. It cannot go further open because the hinge stop prevents that, and it cannot close, because your pin has been inserted into the hinge bracket.

 

Thanks that first picture explains it perfectly!


Doug

 

Be careful when prying out the clips. They have a way of flying away, never to be found.

 

I need to replace the supercharger belt on my XKR and cant get the breaker bar between the pulley and fan unit to release the tensioner. So it seems I need to remove fan.

JTIS says if you remove the fan you have to drain the system as need to remove the top hose .

Reading various threads including this one it seems you can get the fan unit up enough to get a socket in .

Is that correct or do you have to drain system and remove that hose?

 

Whoa... drain the coolant, to remove the fan, to get a breaker bar on the tensioner. That sounds like a lot of work jsut to replace the blower belt. I have an NA, so I can't say; but before I did all you propose, I'd search a bit on this.

I did a quick search using the terms: "replace - supercharger - belt" and got a number of posts from supercharged owners who didn't need to drain coolant. Here's one: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...er-belt-41502/

I am certain if you search, you'll find an easier way to change your SC belt.

 

I agree it seems over the top and some of the JTIS stuff is very belts and braces might have helped jaguar repair costs? What really discourages me draining system is the refill process for SC engine not difficult but not straightforward.

Their is definitely not enough room to get the square socket end into the tensioner for SC belt. It's the fan motor that blocks it so I will just try as others and see if can move fan out of way.

 

Having remembered this post last night while changing out the serpentine belt, I saved myself great aggravation. This is so easy, to gain so much access, that it should be required reading for all. If you put the bolts into the "lock holes" from toward the sides of the car and spin down the nuts, the flats on the bolt head seem to wedge against the standing part of the hinge and hold the hood very nicely.

Steve