Have a 1998 saturn sl1 stick shift with a loose serpentine belt. Can I tighten it myself and if so what kind of tool do i need

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Sep 4, 2007 - 18 posts - ‎11 authors
2002 L200 BROKE timing belt L-Series Tech. ... This forum has been a huge help formy SL1, but it is a running machine. Question is for 2002, L200, which I .... I have the2000 Saturn LS with the V6. The owners manual says ... 2000 LW2 slipped timing belt-bent valves mystery!
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have to replace belt and belt tensior, automatic tension set up belts probrably worn out n stretch out

Here is a website that has exactly what you need.
http://www.2carpros.com/diagrams/saturn/sl1/1996
If I have the car model wrong you can go back and choose the correct one.
Hope this helps.

there is a little stick man illustration sticker under the hood showing how to release belt tension by moving the tensioner arm. if the serpentine belt is still on the lower pulley then put the belt on everything except the tensioner, then move the tensioner arm as needed, put the belt in there and release the tensioner arm. most likely going to need two people to do this.

if the belt has come off the lower pulley then you are going to have to remove the service panel behind the right front wheel and put the belt back on lower pulley, then do as above described. this would be a great time to put a new tensioner, a new serpentine belt, and a new "dog bone" motor mount on as it will all be right there to work on with that service panel out.

hope you can see it

you have a belt tensioner that you have to release to get belt off. you can get tool cheap from canidian tire or part souce

simply unbolt the trans pan under the trans and the oil falls to the ground... clean the pan with clean rag. get all old gasket off.. place new gasket in and bolt the pan back into place. tighten the bolts to around 7 lbs. do not over tighten the bolt, you could strip the threds. put new trans fluid in through the dip stick hole that you check the level.

if its a serpentine belt check you tensioner

I would take it to a shop and have some general routine maintence done on it fluids, filters, spark plugs, etc.

I had the same problem over a year and a half ago. I went to the closest Saturn dealership to get the replacement plastic piece. Turned out that the ENTIRE shift cable assembly was the smallest part that could be purchased to repair this. The cable assembly was over $200 at that time. I opted to forgo the ridiculous expense for this tiny little plastic part. True story: with a little heavy safety wire and a large washer I jury rigged the washer to hold the end of the shift cable in the fitting at the bottom of the shift stick. The washer acts as a keeper and the wire, wrapped in a basket around the back side keeps everything together. It still shifts reliably, a little looser than when it was new, but I saved $200 in parts (99% of which weren't broken) and probably a couple of hours of labor at least. One end of the cable assembly has to be attached to the transmission by the way and is not easily accessible. Sounds hokey but it really worked, still works!