07 Meridian w Cat c7 serpentine belt change

[widgeon]

Has anyone changed the serpentine and water pump belt on 34' 07 Meridian w cat c7? Looks like the radiator has to be removed because of the one piece fan shroud. Looking for suggestions

[ahicks]

It's a bit difficult to explain, easier to do I suppose. Basically, with belt removed from pulleys, you pass it between the fan and shroud one blade at a time. 1/4" gap is all that is necessary.

[ernieh]

Don't forget to change the water pump belt while you are at it. The WP belt can be passed over the harmonic balancer by turning it inside out.

That's the belt, not the balancer.

[widgeon]

Once you get the belt over the fan there is no way to get the belt from between the radiator and the fan because the shroud has no openings? The shroud completely surrounds the space between the radiator and fan?

[ahicks]

In the removal process, once the belt is over the fan you can remove it by sliding it between the blades.

As mentioned this process is difficult to explain. To help get your head wrapped around the process, you could try it with a piece of rope or string about 4' long, tied to form a big loop to simulate a belt? I do it laying (sitting?) under ours, back tires on 2x12" blocks, prior to letting the air out of the bags, so you have some room to work. Thinking about it, you could practice getting it over the fan with your extra belt. The one you always carry with you?

Ours is a 3126. The only tool I need to do the swap is a 1/2" breaker bar or large ratchet. You need that to unload the spring loaded tensioner that keeps the belt snugged when installed. Another thing I learned on ours (the hard way) is that you need to be really careful to assure the belt is centered on all the pulleys. If not, you'll be replacing the belt again soon as it doesn't take too long for that errant pulley to cut the belt...

[1ciderdog]

Seems to me I removed the belt bringing it out between the blades and to install I pushed the belt between the blades not over the blades.

[capnqball]

Looking at Meridian 36 with 350 Cat C-7. How often do you have to change the serpentine belt?

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by capnqball

Looking at Meridian 36 with 350 Cat C-7. How often do you have to change the serpentine belt?

Shouldn't be very often if everything is aligned correctly, if not then very often!
Our DSDP is 10 years old and only 39,000 miles. I changed the OEM belt after about 4 years (it was still good) and am still running the replacement. I kept the old one for a spare. We have a side radiator and it only takes about 5 min total even including removing the air con belt.