How to Change a Fan Belt on a Chevrolet 1500

by Christian Killian

The serpentine belt on your Chevy 1500 pickup truck drives the fan along with the rest of the accessories at the front of the engine. Over time, the nylon-reinforced rubber serpentine belt will stretch, causing the belt to loosen on the pulleys. The loosening belt will slip and could jump off the pulleys. Because this belt drives the fan, changing the fan belt means changing the serpentine belt. The process is not hard and a replacement belt is available at any auto parts store.

Step 1

Open the hood of your Chevy 1500 pickup and locate the negative battery cable. Using a wrench, remove the retaining bolt from the negative battery cable end, then remove the cable from the battery. Isolate the cable end away from the battery to avoid the vehicle being started while your hands are in the engine.

Step 2

Locate the serpentine belt tensioner on the front of the engine. This is a metal arm with a small metal or plastic pulley on the end and a square hole in the far end of the arm. Place the square drive on the end of a 3/8-inch drive ratchet into the square hole in the arm and rotate it counterclockwise, loosening the belt.

Step 3

Slide the belt off the pulleys while holding the tensioner away from the belt. Slowly rotate the tensioner back to its home position and let it rest there. Install a new serpentine belt over all the pulleys except the tensioner pulley, then rotate the tensioner counterclockwise using the ratchet and install the belt under the tensioner.

Step 4

Slowly rotate the tensioner clockwise, so it tightens the belt as you go. Make sure the belt seats properly on the pulleys, then remove the ratchet from the tensioner.

Step 5

Connect the negative battery cable to the negative battery terminal and install the retaining bolt. Tighten the bolt with a wrench. Start the engine and visually verify that the belt is running over the pulleys properly.

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