Serpantine Belt Replacement

[HMercerCo@aol.com]

Folks:

I replaced my belt this weekend.  My '95 has 75K miles, and the recommended
interval is much sooner.  My belt was looking cracked & checked.  Better safe
than sorry I figured.

I found that the Bently manual was not clear in one area and wanted to pass a
word along to those who may certainly do this at some point.

To remove the belt, the tension must be relieved.  A nifty spring operated
mechanism keeps proper tension at all times.  A threaded shaft is provided to
insert a long bolt to cam the tension mechanism open, thus relieving the
tension to allow the belt to be slipped off.  

The problem I had was finding the right bolt.  The Bently manual makes note
that an M8 x 80 is required.  I assumed (correctly) that this referred to 8
mm by 80 mm.  Upon several visits to my friendly True Value Hardware, I came
up empty.  80 mm was longer than they carried, but I got a 50 mm.  The
problem?  There are several "pitches" available on the threads.  They didn't
have the right one.

I then visited Concours VW in Milwaukee.  They were very helpful, after
finding the person in the know.  It turns out that the pitch is 1.25.  In
addition, they use only a 50 mm in their shop.  The parts guy was able to
produce one for me.  Cost? $0.70 US.  The ones at the hardware store cost
more than this.

Summary > M8 x 50 x 1.25 works.  An 80mm would work better if available due
to the tight space.  Time needed to change > 20 minutes.  Belt cost > $95.

- -Steve