Diagram for alternator/pulley belt.

1. First you need to disconnect the battery. Negative terminal first and then positive. When refitting the cables, positive first and negative last. Do not reconnect the battery until the replacement alternator is fitted and wired up.

2. Now you will need to remove the serpentine belt. Locate the tensioner pulley and you will need to use a socket and wrench to release tension on the tensioner pulley so you can slip the belt off. Before you start work draw a diagram of the belt routing over the various pulleys so you know how to refit it. There is a video in the link below that shows you how to remove and refit the belt on your 4.7. But you will not need to remove it entirely from the vehicle as long as it is slipped off the alternator pulley.

3. Once the belt is removed you will need to disconnect cables connected to the alternator that are readily accessible. There should be one cable set on the rear that clips out and and one on top that must be removed by removing a nut.

4. You have to remove the alternator from its mounting points by undoing the bolts that are securing it which will be all visible and accessible. There should be one on the side rear and 2 on the front. Once the 3 bolts are removed, you may need to move the alternator up and down vertically to loosen and free it from one of its mounting points.

5. Now you can bolt the new alternator in place using the same bolts as you removed and connect the cables to it.
Refit the serpentine belt, double check the cable connections to the alternator and then you can reconnect the battery.

6. Start the engine and check that the serpentine belt is running freely over the pulleys and is properly aligned on the pulleys. There should be no alternator warning light displayed on the dash if you have fitted the wiring to the new alternator properly but check .

7. There is a photo in the second link below of the 2008 4.7 engine. Click on the photo in the article to bring it up.

How to Change Your Serpentine Belt Jeep 4 7L

Jeep Grand Cherokee WK Engines

I cannot tell from the photo exactly, but the tensioner is either the pulley between the water pump and alternator or the one between the alternator an the power steering pump. The tensioner is a spring-loaded device that puts an upward (or downward) pressure on the belt to take up the slack. Here is a picture of the tensioner for your car....



You need to find a wrench (or socket) to fit that will fit the bolt in the center of the pulley. Attach the socket wrench to the bolt and apply rotational pressure in the direction that will pull the pulley away from the belt. This will remove the tension from the belt. Then take the belt off. Route the new belt in accordance with the diagram. Ensure that you do it correctly, because improper installation can sometimes be done and this can cause some pulleys to rotate the wrong direction which can cause damage. Typically, if the pulley has grooves in it, the ribbed side of the belt will run on it and if it is smooth, the back side of the belt will run on it. Once you have the belt on all the accessory pulleys, the release the tensioner pulley to allow it to take up the slack and inspect for proper operation and routing.

Your owners manual/label in engine compartment will have a diagram for how the belt runs. There will be one pulley that has a spring tensioner. This pulley keeps the belt tight and is used to install the new belt. Depending on the vehicle, these can be easy or very difficult to get at. The pulley or arm attached to the pulley will have a square hole of some means of inserting a tool to allow you to release the spring tension. I typically will install the tool and verify that I can get the tension off the belt before starting the process. Once I feel comfortable that I have the correct tool, I will release the tension and remove the belt. Then reinstall the new belt per the diagram. You will have to keep the tension off until the belt is in possition. I have found out that it is easiest if you put the belt on all the lower pulleys first and get down to one remaining pulley (top side of the engine so you have good access). Now use the tool inserted into the spring tensioner and move it until you have enough slack to get the belt over the last pulley, once in place release the tensioner. I typically have the belt over the tensioner pulley, and use the alternator or steering pulley as last pulley because it keeps your fingers out of the pinch points. There are some special tools you can purchase at Sears to assist, but I typically use a ratchet or wrench for this work. Sometimes a third hand helps out.

Instructions Things You'll Need

• 3/8-inch drive breaker bar
• Metric socket kit
• New serpentine belt

1. • 1

     Park the Pontiac in a safe work area and open the hood.
     

   • 2

     Inspect the top of the black plastic cover that surrounds the fan for the serpentine belt routing diagram. This diagram has the instructions for installing the new serpentine belt around the accessory pulleys.
     

   • 3

     Inspect the front of the engine and locate the automatic belt tensioner. The tensioner on the 1999 Pontiac model vehicles is located between the alternator and the crankshaft pulley. The tensioner has a pulley on one end with a bolt head in the center of the pulley. Use the bolt head to rotate the tensioner.
     

   • 4

     Turn the tensioner counterclockwise with the breaker bar and a metric socket. Pull the belt out from under the tensioner pulley with your other hand. Then, slowly let the tensioner retract until it stops.
     

   • 5

     Pull the belt out of the other remaining pulleys. Then, pull the belt out of the engine bay and lay it on the ground.
     

   • 6

     Route the new belt around the crankshaft pulley. Then, route the new belt around the other remaining pullleys by using the serpentine belt routing diagram for instructions.
     

   • 7

     Rotate the tensioner pulley counterclockwise with the breaker bar and socket. Then, slide the new belt under the tensioner pulley. Slowly let the tensioner retract until it stops. The tensioner pulls all of the slack out of the belt and brings the new belt to the proper tension. Remove the breaker bar and socket from the tensioner pulley.
     

   • 8

     Inspect the new belt to ensure that it is seated inside of all the accessory pulleys as directed by the diagram. Then, crank the engine and allow it to run for about 15 seconds. Turn the engine off. Inspect the belt again once more to ensure that
     the belt is still around each pulley. Close the hood.
     
     

   • 
     
     

The alternator belt on the 1999 Dodge Caravan also controls the air conditioner compressor, the water pump and the power steering pump. The belt is called a serpentine belt, and it is designed to fit around all of the accessory pulleys at the same time. As the belt travels around each accessory pulley, it enables the accessory to operate. Once the belt is damaged, cracked or frayed, you should change it before it breaks. If that happens, each of the accessories will stop working.

Open the hood and prop it up so that it does not fall. Engage the parking brake.

Inspect the top surface of the fan shroud for the serpentine belt routing diagram. Follow the routing instructions on the diagram to install the new belt.

Locate the serpentine belt self-adjusting tensioner on the front of the engine. The tensioner is directly below the alternator. Use the bolt that connects the tensioner pulley to the tensioner arm to rotate the tensioner.

Turn the tensioner device counterclockwise to move the tensioner. This will relieve the tension from the belt. Once the belt has enough slack in it, slide the belt out from under the tensioner pulley.

Lift the belt off each accessory pulley. Slide the belt around the fan blades and out of the engine area.

Lay the old belt next to the new belt to ensure that the new belt is the correct width and length. Slide the belt around the fan blades and around the crankshaft pulley on the bottom of the engine.

Follow the belt routing diagram to position the belt around the air conditioner compressor pulley, the power steering pump pulley, the water pump pulley and the idler pulley. Once the belt is routed inside each accessory pulley, inspect the belt to make sure that it is securely inside the pulleys.

Crank the 1999 Dodge Caravan for 10 to 15 seconds to completely seat the belt ribs in the grooves on each accessory pulley. Shut the engine off and close the hood.

If the belt routing diagram for the 1999 Dodge Caravan is missing, use a pen and a notepad to draw the exact routing of the old belt and use it when installing the new belt.

The diagram can be found here.
Remove the upper fan shroud and aircleaner assemblies for easy access.
To release tension on the belt turn the tensioner pulley nut clockwise and slip the belt off the alternator pulley. To refit the belt route as shown over every pulley except the alternator, once again release the tensioner and fit the belt to the alternator. See that the belt is properly seated over every pulley before restarting the engine.

Most cars have a spring loaded belt tensioner - look for a smooth pulley that the back of the belt goes around. If you removed the alternator mount without removing the belt first the tensioner spring will have taken up the slack and now you will not have enough latitude to refit the bracket. Make a sketch of the pulleys and the path the belt takes around them. Remove the belt. Refit the alternator bracket. Now focus your attention on the tensioner pulley. IN the middle of the pulley there will appear to be a bolt head, could be a torx. Fit the appropriate socket and with e wrench pull the nut and the pulley against the spring. It will take some effort but it will move. Once you have familiarised yourself with how the pulley moves it is now time to refit the belt. Using your earlier sketch as reference feed the belt over all the pulleys leaving the smallest until last, at which point the belt can be fitted over this by putting pressure against the tensioner pulley to provide the necessary slack. Easy when you know how

there are only 3 bolts/nuts holding the alternator onto the engine,slacken off all 3 then remove belt/refit new,
then using a long bar wedged behind the alternator,do up the adjusting bolt first so that the longest run of the belt has about 1/2 inch slack(both ways)then do up the two remaining bolt/nuts,thats it done.(do check the tension after about 100 miles)

Try putting the belt on the alternator then slide it under the idler pulley last.

Removing the Old Alternator Step1 Pull your Mazda into the garage or your work area. Turn the car off and let it sit for a while to cool. Step2 Begin by disconnecting the negative cable of the battery. Step3 Remove the serpentine belt from the pulley on the alternator. Do this by using a socket wrench to turn the serpentine automatic belt tensioner so that it allows slack in the belt. Then simply slip the belt off the alternator pulley. Step4 Locate and disconnect all the mounting bolts on the alternator, use a vehicle specific manual if you have any trouble. Step5 Disconnect all wires attached to the alternator then remove the alternator from the Mazda. Installing the New Alternator Step1 Slide the new alternator into place. Do not worry about the serpentine belt yet. Step2 Replace the bolts that held the previous alternator to secure the new one in place. Step3 Attach the wires to the new alternator the same way they were attached to the old one. Step4 Adjust the serpentine belt tensioner the same direction you did in Section One to put slack in the belt. Wrap the belt around the pulley of the new alternator and then remove the socket wrench from the automatic belt tensioner. Step5 Inspect the belt to be sure it is not snug and follows the path required in the pulley and belt configuration diagram. Step6 Hook the negative battery wire back to the negative terminal on the battery.