Alright, this is driving me crazy. I can not get my new serpentine belt onto this caddy motor. No, unfortunately I did not to the engine swap. If I did, I would probably have no trouble replacing the belt. Also, it is the correct belt size, identical to the one that came off. There is no spring loaded tensioner that originally was on the 4.9L. It has AC, and I believe it is done with the idler pulley from some van (maybe a 93 GMC) on the right side, above the AC. It actually looks like the pic below, but without the tensioner pulley to the right of the alternator.



Normally I would expect some adjustable alternator bracket, but this one is not adjustable. So, are there any tips for getting the belt back on? I tried taking the alternator totally off, to give some wiggle room, but I couldn't get the alternator bolts to line back up through the bracket. The belt was causing to much tension, pulling the alternator down and over more than I could push it back. Should I try pulling off one of the idler pulleys? Is there any trick I am missing here?

How about a picture of your setup. Will be easier to see what you're working with, then we can go from there.

I can't really get a picture of it, cause it is in the car, and I can only capture about 2 pulleys at a time. It is just like the setup above, just without the pulley to the right of the alternator.

No tensioner? That's insane!
I would be looking to do a minor redesign and set it up like the one in the pic.
Ed Parks was using the tensioner off of a 93-95 Camaro 3.4 on his installs, IIRC.

Probably the only other way to do it would involve "levering" the belt into place with a big screwdriver while someone else "bumps" the starter. Not the safest way to get a belt on.

Alright, I got it. Here is the solution. The crankshaft pulley does not have an outer rim. Once I noticed that, I realized it was the key. First, disconnect the battery. This is important for 2 reasons. First, it is much easier to run the belt through the upper pulleys (if your battery is in the original location). Second, it will keep the motor from accidentally running when you turn the engine over (I think. Actually, that is probably wrong. I think it still might have started, which makes the next step more important. Glad I didn't break my arms off!). It would probably be a good idea to remove your spark plugs too, but I did not. Leave the alternator and everything else bolted into place. You have to remove the passenger side rear tire to get access to the crankshaft pulley. Run the belt over all the top end pulleys, over, through and around everything except the crankshaft pulley at the bottom. Then loop as much of the belt as you can around the crankshaft pulley. On the crankshaft pulley is a 15mm bolt. Get a big ratchet and turn the crankshaft pulley. It should draw the belt into place on the crankshaft pulley as you turn it. Kinda like when your bike chain came off when you were a kid, and you turned the sprocket to get it back on. Viola! The impossible serpentine belt is now on, and with no tensioner.

[This message has been edited by suckerpunch5 (edited 12-24-2013).]

quote Originally posted by Raydar: No tensioner? That's insane! I would be looking to do a minor redesign and set it up like the one in the pic. Ed Parks was using the tensioner off of a 93-95 Camaro 3.4 on his installs, IIRC. Probably the only other way to do it would involve "levering" the belt into place with a big screwdriver while someone else "bumps" the starter. Not the safest way to get a belt on.

Mine has no tensioner either. I need to fix that one of these days. I've already had to replace the idlers once. Having no tensioner puts a lot of load on the bearings I suppose.