Hey guys, thanks for reading the post. Anyways, i just got a hold of my "new to me" 87 Fiero GT. Its gorgeous and runs brilliantly, I love it. But i do have a few things i need to do, one of them being, it needs it's belts replaced. Does anyone have any good advice on how to go about that? I don't even know how I'm going to get to them. i have the Haynes Manual but it doesn't seem to cover the topic very well...Anyways, I'm going to need to do it myself and I need some help, so if anyone has any advice, Please feel free to speak!

Well the alternator belt was a piece of cake for me to take off. I took the passenger side wheel off as well as the inner fenderwell and rub guard(have fun with those plastic screws)and loosened the bottom bolt on the alternator bracket and swiveled the alternator so the belt would come off and it slipped out but how come the belt isnt coming off all the way? because the a/c belt is blocking you from getting it all the way out. so after overlooking this fact and getting extremely P*SSED OFF I figured out how to do it. taking the a/c belt off was tricky for me because you cant get to the a/c compressor which is down in its own little area completely unseen. what I did was remove the decklid so you have more room to work on it(make sure to outline the 4 deckild bolts with marker/chalk so you know where it sits). even then you have to be a contortionist to get to the bolts on the compressor. there are 3 bolts that you have to loosen on the compressor two on top and one on the bottom(closest to the cradle) the two on top are like a hinge and the bottom bolt keeps the belt tight while holding the hinge in its proper position. once you loosen those then you can swivel the compressor down and get both belts off. make sure you put the serpentine back on first! getting it tightened in the proper position is gonna be even harder(might need 2 people). have one person try and pivot the compressor while you tighten the bottom bolt(took me awhile to get it tight but eventually it worked) then after you get the bottom bolt tight and the belt secure you can tighten the top compressor bolts and then tighten your alternator bolts and your done. hope this helped

P.S. you might have to remove some heat shields from the side closest to the firewall. it's been so long since I replaced the belts that I forget.
this is also the simplest way to do this(IMO) unless you drop the whole cradle itself.

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proud owner of an 86 fiero se 2.8 v6 4 spd. it helps that it was free

quote Originally posted by matts86fiero: ..... make sure you put the serpentine back on first! .....

Both my 85 GT and 86 SE have the A/C V-belt closest to the engine.....the serpintine belt does not go on first.

I'd highly suggest downloading a copy of the '86 factory service manual that Fierosound has listed. It will give you the pictures and diagrams that you need to understand the attaching points of both the alternator and compressor ( you'll have to look for them as it is a technician service manual ) and certainly helps with anything related to how the car is put together. Look for that manual in one of his posts by searching the Tech section for his username.

Good luck.

Mark

When you buy a new belt for your V6 A/C, you might want to consider this info which was posted in December of '08:

"The belt recommended for the AC compressor (V6 car) is Dayco Topcog # 15370. This means that the belt is 15/32" wide and 37.0" long. Don Hulse of Georgia Fieros found a belt that works better because it is wider and rides higher in the V of the pulleys. So when I changed belts recently I got a Dayco 17380 for my compressor. This belt is 17/32" wide and 38.0" long. It fits perfectly. It rides high in the V of the pulleys which means there will be less stress on it. Because it's wider and therefore stronger, it should be less prone to stretch and require adjusting less often. And it doesn't have to be as tight to grab, meaning belt tension can be lower which causes less stress on the bearings.

The extra length of this belt is needed since it rides higher in the pulleys. If you try this you may want to go an inch more and get a 17390 because the 17380 is a little tight to get on."

Paul McKibben
Norcross, GA

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Download Factory Service Manuals here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...5fPartsQ5fAccessorie

I do the A/C belt all from underneath the car. You will have to take a small heat shield off. Not a problem. Both fasteners are accessible from underneath. Just be sure and get the car up high on jack stands. Removing the RR wheel and the fender liner curtain helps.
The bottom A/C bracket has a slotted hole in it for you to stick a large screw driver or prybar in to lever the compressor to get the new belt tensioned while you tighten the bolt.
There usually is no need to loosen any but the bottom A/C bolt (the one that holds tension in the belt).

[This message has been edited by Carrolles (edited 05-12-2010).]

To make the belt adjustment last longer, get a better belt.

Hey guys thank you so much for your help, I think that answers my questions, except 1. Firefox, what manual are you talking about from Fierosound? i have the Haynes manual, and it didnt really help me much. Once again thank you all of you for your help. I JUST got the car and so far have checked the Spark Plugs and Oil, and i have replaced the Distributor cap and rotor, and put a new air filter in. Any reccomendations on what else i should check and take care of? oh, and i just got new tires on my car and got the wheels aligned, so will i need the wheels re-aligned after i take the RR Wheel off and put it back on from the belt job?

Sorry to revive an old topic but, i didnt want to start another one. My car dosnt have the AC belt installed, the PO removed it because it was slipping, and I need to bet a belt and put it on. Where so you get the Dayco belt? and how would i fix the belt slipping?

It would be my opinion it was slipping because the ac compressor was failing andor the clutch was locking up. If you can't spin the pulley freely(it should spin pretty easy with not much effort) it's probably going to need replaced.

Most quality auto parts store that carry Dayco belts can order up the size that you need.

I solved my belt squeeling issue by scrubbing my pulleys, nylon brush, soap water and a final rinse of brake clean to clean out any gunk in the grooves of pulleys. I used a thread chaser in the alternator then I was able to use a longer adjusting bolt along with a star washer against the adjusting bracket so it'll never slip back on me. I also have Rodney's alternator re-nforcing bracket on my alternator bracket, it's hard to see but it's there.

The CS alternator has a boss that you can leverage with either a 17MM or 19MM wrench like this picture or you can have a "helper" apply pressure with a long stout pole from above as you tighten.



I really like the poly-cogg Dayco belts, the lower of the two belts, lots of grip, no squeeling issues for me.



If you are having initial squeeling upon start up, look at your electrical system, make sure your battery and charging system is up to snuff, a load test at any good service station, auto parts store or battery store will alert you to any issues that you may be having.

You also should inspect your splash guard too, lower part of the wheel well, that keeps snow, salt, rain and whatever off the belts.

quote Originally posted by JesseTheNoob: ...Firefox, what manual are you talking about

Fiero Thomas has downloads on his website here: http://www.fieronews.net/fusion/downloads.php

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