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Saturday, October 10, 2009

How to change serpentine belt on a 2002 Kia Optima

2002 Kia Optima
2.7 Liter V6

You may need a belt tensioner tool to release the tension on the belt so that it can be removed.  Or, if you are lucky like me, your tensioner will have a 3/8" square peg near the end which allows you to put a 3/8" ratchet in there to release the tension.  Pushing down towards the floor releases the tension.

WARNING: When you remove the belt from around one of the pulleys, this puts all of the force back onto the tensioner.  You will not notice it at first but as you slowly allow the tensioner to come back up, it will travel farther up than when you started.  There is not much space and it is easy to injure your hand.  So be careful!!


1. Check to see if there is a belt routing diagram sticker under the hood, if not, draw one yourself. IF YOU FORGET THIS STEP, YOU MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO REPLACE THE BELT CORRECTLY. The routing can be a major pain in the behind if you forget how the belt goes and nothing to reference it by.

2. A socket with a breaker bar, or sometimes just the breaker bar itself (on a belt tensioner with a square drive to release tension), can be used a lot of times. Sometimes there is no room to get these tools in there and you will have to use a serpentine belt tool to release the tension. It's a free loan-a-tool at Autozone. Probably easier just to get one in the first place, while you are getting the belt. It has a nice long handle for good leverage.

3. Release the tension on the belt and hold the tool with one hand, while taking the belt off with the other hand. The Power Steering pulley is on top and that is the one I remove the belt from. Release the tool you are using to hold the belt tensioner (slowly, it's a strong spring).

4. Put the new belt on using the belt routing diagram. Put it on over every pulley except one. Pull the tensioner loose again and slip the belt over the last pulley and let the tool go. You are pretty much done. Just check to make sure the belt is seated in all the pulleys correctly before starting. I usually "bump" the starter a couple of times before starting it, just to help seat the belt.





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