Re: Changing Accessory Drive Belt on 92 100S

[Chris Newbold <cnewbold@transarc.com>]

Andy Williams wrote:
> 
> I'm looking for any words of wisdom from the list on changing the accessory
> drive (alternator, etc.) belt on my 92 100S (2.8 V6), as I need to replace
> it this weekend.  The owner's manual mentions only that the tension is
> self-adjusting, and recommends that the dealer perform the work.  Is this a
> straightforward task?  Any gotchas that I should watch for?

It's fairly straight-forward. Once you remove the pastic covers from the
top and front of the engine, there's good access.

The only tricky bit is dealing with the tensioner. The arm must be swung
downward to release the belt. I assume there's a special Audi tool for it,
but here's what I did: wrap a 16" or so pry bar with a towel at one end
and insert it between the tensioner and the power-steering drive pully
(the one on the top of the engine) from the top-left. Push down on
the pry bar until the two "ears" on the base of the tensioner line up
and then lock it with a suitable object (small bolt, allen key, etc.)

(Hopefully I didn't trash the tensioner or PS pump bearings doing this...)

-Chris
1993 90CS 63k mi