Questions and Answers

Grand Am Serpentine Belt Q. Hello Vincent, I am having a very hard time trying to figure out how to change my serpentine belt on my 1994 Pontiac Grand Am. 1994 Pontiac Grand Am 3.1 liter V6 Automatic Front Wheel Drive ABS brakes 105,000 miles

Usually replacing the serpentine belts on most cars is a breeze (ten minutes) and your done. On my 1994 Grand Am I have not figured out how to change the belt. The Grand Am is front wheel drive and they "Pontiac" for some reason placed a engine mount right in the middle of where the serpentine belt would easily slip of after moving the tensioner pulley. My haynes manual is terrible, it is not for the exact 94 year and does not show how in detail to figure out this poorly engineered layout.

I don't know if I should jack the car up and enter through the passenger wheel well (but the engine mount is still in the way). Today I got gutsy and unbolted the engine mount bracket that was in the way. The engine rotated backwards slowly and I was so lucky to get everything lined back up and mounted correctly again. When the engine rotated towards the firewall I had no access to the belt tensioner to move it. That's why I think I have to go through the wheel well. Maybe someone out there can tell me the exact way to remove the serpentine belt on a 1994 Grand Am.

Thanks...

A. The engine needs to be jacked up to remove the mount so you can get belt off. Watch out for the aluminum oil pan. Careful please. Use a block of wood to spread the load.