Comments on: Hands-On: GearWrench’s Serpentine Belt Tool http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/ All tools. All the time. Your source for news, information, and reviews of hand tools, power tools, and tools of all kinds. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:15:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Teacher http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-322674 Mon, 19 May 2008 18:01:26 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-322674 I'm getting ready to replace the belt on my 2005 Grand Caravan. To do so, I have to jack up the van, remove the front passenger wheel, mudguard, tensioner cover, remove/replace belt and put it back together. What a bunch of bull! I can change the one on my Grand Prix in 3 or 4 minutes using a 3/8" ratchet or breaker bar, but I need an entire garage to do the van. ! I’m getting ready to replace the belt on my 2005 Grand Caravan. To do so, I have to jack up the van, remove the front passenger wheel, mudguard, tensioner cover, remove/replace belt and put it back together. What a bunch of bull! I can change the one on my Grand Prix in 3 or 4 minutes using a 3/8″ ratchet or breaker bar, but I need an entire garage to do the van. !

]]> by: DavidtheDuke http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-156310 Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:01:50 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-156310 Since I'm regularly taking belts off this is almost a MUST considering the amount of time I save. Good thing Snap-On didn't come along with it first since I'm a sucker for that brand Since I’m regularly taking belts off this is almost a MUST considering the amount of time I save. Good thing Snap-On didn’t come along with it first since I’m a sucker for that brand

]]> by: shawn http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-54255 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 17:27:43 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-54255 I could have used one like this when I was doing my timing belt job. I couldn't get a regular socket in there to tighten it. I had to use a wrench, but all of my wrenches were to short to reach. I ended up buying a really long wrench but this would have worked too. But at least my 2 foot long wrench is useful for breaking loose stuck fasteners, which is something I wouldn't use a Gear Wrench for. I could have used one like this when I was doing my timing belt job. I couldn’t get a regular socket in there to tighten it. I had to use a wrench, but all of my wrenches were to short to reach. I ended up buying a really long wrench but this would have worked too. But at least my 2 foot long wrench is useful for breaking loose stuck fasteners, which is something I wouldn’t use a Gear Wrench for.

]]> by: Old Donn http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-7949 Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:44:06 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-7949 You might be able to improvise with a rear wheel drive, north-south engine set-up. But the limited space in most front wheel drive vehicles makes a tool like this a must-have, even if you just use it occasionally. You might be able to improvise with a rear wheel drive, north-south engine set-up. But the limited space in most front wheel drive vehicles makes a tool like this a must-have, even if you just use it occasionally.

]]> by: Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Toolmonger’s Top 5: The Week in Tools http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-1713 Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:18:55 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-1713 [...] Hands-On: Gearwrench’s Serpentine Belt Tool If you’re just wrenching on your daily driver, you’ll probably only install a serpentine belt once or twice in the life of the vehicle.  But if you’re doing something like an engine swap or a major overhaul, you may find yourself removing and installing the serpentine belt numerous times — as we have with our project Yukon.  This tool rocks, moving the task from “major PITA,” to “no big deal” with ease. [...] […] Hands-On: Gearwrench’s Serpentine Belt Tool If you’re just wrenching on your daily driver, you’ll probably only install a serpentine belt once or twice in the life of the vehicle.  But if you’re doing something like an engine swap or a major overhaul, you may find yourself removing and installing the serpentine belt numerous times — as we have with our project Yukon.  This tool rocks, moving the task from “major PITA,” to “no big deal” with ease. […]

]]> by: Chuck Cage http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-1631 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:37:41 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-1631 James: For what it's worth, we used this tool to put on and take off the serpentine belt on the Project Yukon at least six times. (It's a PITA tracking down coolant leaks, and sometimes there's no way to *really* know you've got it right without putting it together, filling it up, and seeing what happens.) It's not that you can't do the job without this tool. It's just that this tool makes it painfully easy to do. Which is great when you've got to do it over and over again... James:

For what it’s worth, we used this tool to put on and take off the serpentine belt on the Project Yukon at least six times. (It’s a PITA tracking down coolant leaks, and sometimes there’s no way to *really* know you’ve got it right without putting it together, filling it up, and seeing what happens.)

It’s not that you can’t do the job without this tool. It’s just that this tool makes it painfully easy to do. Which is great when you’ve got to do it over and over again…

]]> by: James b (tool skeptic) http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-1611 Tue, 03 Oct 2006 20:17:09 +0000 http://toolmonger.com/2006/09/30/hands-on-gearwrenchs-serpentine-belt-tool/#comment-1611 I dunno about this one. Last time I swapped a serpentine belt I just put my 3 ft pry bar under the alternator that was used to tension the belt. For me anyway, the hard part about a serpentine belt swap is getting the radiator out of the way, not the tensioning. I dunno about this one. Last time I swapped a serpentine belt I just put my 3 ft pry bar under the alternator that was used to tension the belt. For me anyway, the hard part about a serpentine belt swap is getting the radiator out of the way, not the tensioning.

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