So, it was a nice afternoon here in sunny Alberta today. A balmy 5C/40F and I thought today would be a nice day to pull some wrenches on the Beast and replace that screeching worn fan belt. After a 110 thousand Km I supose I'd be whinning too. So, I got myself prepared. A cold brew, some tunes, tools laid out and then opened the hood. Low and behold theres a fan belt in there but how does one without tiny hands get in there I wondered? I swear to god its only an inch and a half space in between the shroud and the rad hose! . After about 30 mins of cursing and elevated blood pressure I came inside and checked out the forum for some good advice.... there really wasn't much to offer other than "you'll just have to squeeze in there". But at least I found a diagram of the belt layout since there isn't one in the engine compartment. Well, after 4.5 hours all I can say is what a freaking tough job that was! I had to remove the rad hose, thermostat housing and then at least I could barely get my hands in there. I gotta wonder how the techs at the dealership do this and what the hour charge is? Has anyone here ever paid to have there fan belt changed? I'll consider taking it in on the next go round after all the cuts on my hands!

 

With a 1/2" drive fan belt tensioner wrench it's a piece of cake. You can get at the tensioner from the top if you take the air box off. Just be careful removing since radiator overflow hose connector can break off radiator if you force it off. You can also remove from underneath truck, might be easier for some since you will be pulling down on tensioner wrench to relieve tension on belt. Just make sure belt is in proper position before starting engine, check belt on crank pulley by crankshft sensor. Belt will destroy crank sensor in a heart beat if not on the pulley properly.

 

That's what I've always found on third gens too. Just pop the airbox out. Gives you room to stick your arm in there.

 

I just did mine a few weeks ago and I also installed a fluid damper. I agree it was a pain in the rear. took me a 1.5 hrs. But I have a hoist and did mine from down under. Having a extra set of hands would make the job go a lot faster.

 

When I added my Jacobs Brake I had to install a longer belt. For future reference these two threads helped me tremendously, https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...t-t183515.html and https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...lt+replacement

The hardest part for me was understanding the belt does not go around the fan.