Belt Fan

vbracken · 11-01-2021, 04:15 PM

Hello, I think I'm in the right Forum category.
I have a 2004 Thomas International CE300 with a DT466.
The belt came loose after a mishap with the compressor belt. I am unsure of the belt routing, I think I have it right, but I need to actually put it on, right now it's too tight to fully install. I have seen youtube videos on how to install the belt, but it wasn't specific enough to my engine, so it's honestly just confusing. Any help is appreciated.

Oldyeller · 11-01-2021, 04:51 PM

I Googled this;

2004 Thomas International CE300 with a DT466 serpentine belt routing

and got a page of diagrams. The results pulled a lot of diagrams for a variety of manufacturer's vehicles so whether one of them is a match for your engine is unknown you'll have to look through them, hopefully you'll get lucky. I have a 2004 IC CE200 with the 7.3 and when I wanted to put a new serpentine on I realized I couldn't figure it out. I found the info I needed this way.

Not trying to be insulting but . . . you realize the tensioner has a square socket in its mount to allow you to rotate it to allow the belt to fit over the pulleys?

BTW, did you check all your pulleys? When I changed my belt I discovered 2 idler pulleys with bad bearings. For $20 or so per idler I was able to rebuild them. I hate to think what might have happened if I hadn't checked them.

vbracken · 11-01-2021, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldyeller

I Googled this;

2004 Thomas International CE300 with a DT466 serpentine belt routing

and got a page of diagrams. Whether one of them is a match for your engine is unknown because there might be accessories on the front of your engine I can't see.

Not trying to be insulting but . . . you realize the tensioner has a square socket in its mount to allow you to rotate it to allow the belt to fit over the pulleys?

You're not being insulting, I thought that might have something to do with how to get the job done, I just wasn't confident about it. I'll look into this further, it's helpful to know simple basic stuff like how that's a square socket blah blah, so thank you.

Oldyeller · 11-01-2021, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vbracken

You're not being insulting, I thought that might have something to do with how to get the job done, I just wasn't confident about it. I'll look into this further, it's helpful to know simple basic stuff like how that's a square socket blah blah, so thank you.

You just stick your 3/8" ratchet's square drive into it, don't need a socket of any kind. It'll probably be easier to do with a short extension on the ratchet.

Look at my post again, I edited it to add more 'stuff'.

vbracken · 11-01-2021, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldyeller

BTW, did you check all your pulleys? When I changed my belt I discovered 2 idler pulleys with bad bearings. For $20 or so per idler I was able to rebuild them. I hate to think what might have happened if I hadn't checked them.

No I haven't checked them, I'm glad I posted, wouldn't have thought of it.

vbracken · 11-01-2021, 05:18 PM

Alright that all makes sense, I saw a video demoing doing this, just with a different engine so now it's all coming together. appreciate the reply.

Oldyeller · 11-01-2021, 06:01 PM

I took a closer look at your pictures. Is the belt in the pictures the old one? Are you replacing it? If yes, carry on.

If no, I'd suggest you take a better look at it. I think I can see longitudinal lines along the inside of the belt (meaning the side toward the engine). Mine was like that, or I should say what was left of mine was like that. The belt was worn enough that it had started coming apart around the circumference and falling off. I noted those same lines on the smooth side of the belt and it appears they were caused by the ribs on the pulleys wearing into the carcass of the belt and cutting through it - BAD JU JU.

o1marc · 11-01-2021, 06:23 PM

Nothing wrong with that belt, use it. You can see the square drive hole in the blue housing of the idler pulley. Put your wrench in and turn it clockwise off the belt, slide the belt over the alternator and release the tensioner.

Booyah45828 · 11-02-2021, 08:26 AM

They make a serpentine belt tool for this job. It's low profile with a long handle that makes it easier to compress the spring loaded tensioner, then a ratchet. And it gives you more clocking options then a breaker bar.

This is similar to one of the ones we have in the shop.

https://www.amazon.com/Fairmount-Too...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

If you don't want to buy it, I believe autozone has one for rent. You purchase it with a card, use it, then return it and no fee is charged.

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