Bullitt Belt Change Cannot get new (or old) belt on

Okay, I got the belt off of the engine just fine. I released the tension in the tensioner pulley, the old belt slid off, no problem.

Now, here's my issue, using the diagram, I route the belt as I see it, however, I can only get the belt to clear all but ONE of anything. According to Advance, it's the correct part number so it should be the right belt.

I've even loosened the bolt on the tensioner so that I can pull it forward and rotate it towards the cam pulley but now I can't tighten the pulley back into position.

HALP ME! LOL!

I need my car for work on Monday, this totally effing sucks!

-Dave

Does the old one go back on? Is there a part number readable on the old one. If you have a ride to the part store, take the old belt with you and compare.

They're the same size and the part number is correct, that's why I'm so frustrated, LOL! I am almost ready to just sell the damn car! I thought American cars were easy to work on, i sold my BMW because of issues like these, LOL!

But yeah, nah, the belt is correct, I can't get the old belt back on either. They have the exact same clearance issues.

-Dave

on my aurora I had to wiggle the belt between the powersteering pulley and the motor mount.

a space about 1/2 the thickness of the belt. there should be a routing diagram under the hood

Yeah, I got the routing down, that's not the issue, LOL! My dilema comes in the form of getting the belt to tighten down.

I have one of those stupid auto-tensioners, so you're technically supposed to be able to just pry it up, remove the belt and then put the new one on, release tension and bam. This isn't working. I can get the belt to clear all but one of the pullies no matter what I route first.

-Dave

Yeah, that's actually the one I have, LOL! I just can't make it work . . .

I think I'm supposed to rotate the bolt on the auto tensioner, but I don't want to break it, the only bolt on the auto tensioner seems to be the one to loosen or tighten it to the block, not to move it.

Here's a picture of the culprit:

I think that's what I'm supposed to be going for, but that just seems like the bolt to loosen the tensioner from the engine itself not to rotate it.

-Dave

Stick a ratchet in the square hole at the center of the tensioner pulley. That's what rotates the tensioner arm. The bolt just fastens the tensioner arm to the timing chain cover.

The more I look at that the less it looks right...if this is an SN95 Bullitt the belt routing should be nearly identical to my 95 Tbird, and that looks wrong. As Derekshannon says, the flat side of the belt needs to contact the tensioner, and as you have the belt routed there, I don't see how the tensioner will do anything unless you loosen the assembly and slide the belt to the inside of the tensioner arm, which you definitely shouldn't have to do. I'm sure you've done this, but triple check your belt routing diagram.

I just looked at the bullit archive link. The routing in your picture is wrong, Black Stig. The belt needs to go up from the AC compressor around the top of the tensioner and from there to the water pump pulley, then the crank. Your routing goes straight from the AC compressor to the crank pulley.

can I just say something?

RWD vehicles MUCH easier to change belts on than FWD. at least you can see what your trying to do

LMAO, yes!

That was it, wrong hole . . .story of my life!

Anyway, well, while I was able to get the old belt back on, the new belt is just being stubborn. Is there any reason for this? According to the computers at Advance, it's the right part, it just won't go all the way.

It's peculiar because the belt is just slightly off, so it doesn't make sense. It's not like a HUGE difference, I mean, literally, if the belt were 2 to 4 inches longer, it would have cleared no problem.

I wonder if the Bullitt and GT drive belts are different. I know the Bullitt's have under drive pulleys, but the SOHC engine should be the same across the board for all 99-04 Mustangs, right?

I dunno, at least I can drive my car again!

Thanks a ton guys, I was ready to just sell the damn thing I was so frustrated!

-Dave

Really, that must be it then. Because I had the tensioner cranked as far as it would go (hitting the stops) and the belt simply did not fit. I can only imagine what would have happened if I actually forced it on and let the tensioner go . . .woooo!

Thanks again Derek . . . I sincerely appreciate your support, and the support of EVERYONE here at GRM, I knew there was a reason that this drifter kept the GRM stickers proudly displayed. HAHA!

But yeah, I'm definitely no mechanic, I'm an IT guy so I'm very good with fiddling until I get it right, but sometimes mechanics just gets the better of me and I feel like giving up. I suppose one day I'll finally grasp this craziness . . .I just hope we still have internal combustion engines when that day finally arrives.

-Dave

Hmmm, that's what I was thinking, I just found it striking that, according to Advance Auto Parts, the part number for the 99-04 GT's belt is the same as the Bullitt. Now, while I realize the Bullitt is nothing but an over glorified GT, as you mentioned, the under drive pulleys should account for something right?

Or am I making this more difficult than it has to be?

-Dave

I can't say for sure about the belts but I'm positive that the Bullitt uses the Cobra-style alternator because it has a different intake manifold than the GT. If the Bullitt/Cobra alternator sits a bit higher than the GT version, that could be a problem. Also, Bullitts do not have underdrive pulleys, not from the factory anyway. If someone added them as an aftermarket item that could definitely be the source of your trouble.

Oh . . .Ihmmm . . . every review I read about them, even Edmunds, CnD, MT, all said that it did.

Maybe my bullitt isn't really a bullitt . . .it has the under-the-hood marking . . .I haven't checked the vin yet . . .sigh

You're probably right though . . .I have a lot of reading to do

Glad to see the problem's resolved but I'm curious - isn't there a belt routing sticker under the hood somewhere?

If you have the underdrive pulley, then you should have slack in the belt, not the other way around.

In reply to Opus:

For the crank pulley, correct. It will be smaller than stock. But a UD water pump or alternator pulley (typical for 4.6 Ford engines) will be a larger diameter than stock, not smaller, in order to slow the rotation of that accessory, and therefore creating a longer path that the belt must follow, meaning a longer belt might be necessary.

In reply to RussellH:

Yup, it wasn't so much the routing as much as it was the length of the belt. I'm still going to investigate that. Because, the GT and Bullitt part numbers were the same, that in mind, even if I DON'T have the underdrives, it should still have mated up evenly

Oh well . . .like I said, I'm probably going to need to do some more reading on the Bullitt's standard options.

I know that the Bullitt's engine is rated at 265 hp (as opposed to 260 for the GT) because of the better intake manifold (aluminum instead of plastic) and twin-bore Cobra style throttle body. The Bullitt also got the Cobra's 13-inch rotors and PBR calipers but painted red and featuring a pony logo instead of the "Cobra" script. The font on the instruments is different, I think the shifter is different, I'm pretty sure the spoiler delete was standard and colors were limited to Dark Highland Green, some sort of Metallic Blue and Black...aside from that and the badging nothing else comes to mind, as the Bullitt wheels were later optional on regular Mustang GTs.

Black Stig wrote: Now, while I realize the Bullitt is nothing but an over glorified GT...

How dare you!?!?! The Bullitt is the greatest piece of machinery ever created by anyone, anywhere, anytime. If it were not for a grand conspiracy by the Europeans keeping the Bullitt out of F1, my grandmother could drive it backwards and beat Michael Schumacher in his Ferarri. If it were not for a huge conspiracy by the Military-Industrial Complex, the Bullitt would have found WMDs in Iraq on day one, defeated/prevented the insurgency on day two, set up an enduring democracy on day three and found Bin Ladin on day four. If it were not for a huge conspiracy by Big Oil, the Bullitt would have found life on Mars, made friends with them and used their technology to turn childrens laughter into clean electricity and eliminated all pollution on Earth.

That might seem a little over the top, but theres a forum dedicated to the Bullitts, and that is the attitude they have, so be prepared to be annoyed. They seriously think the Bullitt is the greatest car ever made at any price and will throw people off the forums if they try to take the attitude that the Bullitt is just a slightly modified GT. They're about as bad as the SVO guys who will throw you off the forum if you try to sell SVO parts to a non-SVO owner, or if you are a non-SVO owner trying to by SVO parts. The Bullitt forum is http://www.imboc.com/forums/ and they will probably be able to confirm the belt part number for you.

Bob

I was bored while watching the Lions lose so I looked around a little and found this: http://www.bullittarchive.com/1004.htm

The regular GT belt length is 93.5" long, the Bullitt belt is 94.7". Goodyear only makes belts in 0.5" increments, so this guy used a 94.5" belt.

Bob

That's the problem, you are a HUGE help, thanks a TON! I'm going to go archive that website as it may come in handy! HAHA!

Thanks again!

-Dave