I was wondering if anyone had changed the belt on their 3.4 V6? I know you are suppose to support the engine and take the upper engine mount off so you can slip the belt out. I put a piece of 2x4 on the oil pan and began jacking it up and the whole car raised up. Is there another way you are supposed to support the engine so the mount can be taken off? Thanks.

i havent changed a belt on a 3.4, but if you start jacking the engine up without removing the mount...
of course the car is going to jack up.. take the mount off after you take the weight of the motor.. that should work
you shouldnt really have to jack the motor up much.. just enuff to get the mount outta teh way

Here's a how-to:

http://www.grandamgt.com/belt-pfyc.html

;) Thanks a million guys!!!!!

drew this up a few months ago, didnt know there was a thread on this, so i figured i'd add it... it may help someone out....

You should never pick the motor up by the oil pan unless you fancy replacing your oil pan. Thats why on most cars there is a sticker that says that the oil pan isnt a jack point.

is there a certain amount of miles that we are supposed to change it out or only if makes noise? preventative maintenance is the best maintenance so im just curious......

The way I was taught to see if a belt needs changing is to look at the ribs and bend the belt a little. If there are alot of cracks replace it. If there are pieces of the ribs missing, replace it.

You don't have to "jack" the engine up...just raise the jack enough to support the weight of the engine...and as for jacking the car up by the oil pan and supporting the weight of the engine, there's a big diff.

THREAD JESUS!!!

You should never pick the motor up by the oil pan unless you fancy replacing your oil pan. Thats why on most cars there is a sticker that says that the oil pan isnt a jack point.
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NO you should never jack up a car by the oil pan. its OK to support a motor on the oil pan, just not to pick up the whole car. I've got two in the garage right now sitting on the pan, got here that way, and no problems. Most manuals will tell you to support the engine with a piece of wood on a jack, just do NOT leave the motor mounts attached.

New here guys,
Need to change the serpentine belt on my wife's 2000 Alero. I looked at the pics from the link posted earlier and have searched the site extensively but I still have a question...
The motor mount bolts that need to be taken off; is it the 2 bolts closest to the engine or the 2 nuts closest to the fender? Or do all 4 need to be removed?

Also, does anyone know what the bolt torque spec is for the motor mount bolts?

Thanks in advance!!

I'm pretty sure you have to remove all 4 bolts. I can't remember though

Anyone else know if only 2 or all 4 bolts need to be removed on the engine mount and what the torque specs are? I need to change this out today and can't afford to screw it up.

OK, I took all 4 bolts off, the hose bracket and te engine mount plate. Now the mount portion connected to the engine is up against the other portion of the mount making it impossible to slide to old belt out. Back to the drawing board I guess. :(

When I did mine I loosened both bolts off almost as far as they go. Take 1 out slide the belt past the hole put that bolt back in remove the other and slid the belt home. I think they were the ones closest to the fender, I'd have to check.

I did this in the parking lot at o'reillys I only removed the bigger bolts for the motor mount.

lol....n00b ;)

It was quite amusing reading some of the stuff people posted :lol: I just changed my belt and motor mount :)