Car help!

I am repairing someones car and I need to fix the S-Belt.

It's a 93 Ford Taurus.

I have tried looking online, but I am not quite sure what I am looking for.

the "S" stands for "Serpentine" because it powers several accessories and travels around many pulleys on the front of the engine.

I am not sure about what I need to do. Do I replace the whole belt? I think it is broken. I am not sure about what I need to do to put the new one in.

I was hoping to find some diagrams and scematics online, but I know not where to look.

Also:
There's an idler pulley that keeps the belt tight. You'll be able to see it and tell which one it is because it's not making anything else work except just holding the belt (keeping it tight).

There is usually a slot or some sort of square in the part that holds the pulley to insert a tool (usually a socket wrench) so you can release the pressure on the belt.

The pulley is attached to a spring of some sort and let me tell you...it's strong!!

On Edit: you might not actually see the spring as it could be part of the arm that holds the idler pully (Think of how the old time clocks had a spring would around a shaft and you get the idea)

Make a rudimentary sketch of the path the belt takes around the various pullies before you remove the old one. No matter how sure you are you'll remember.

the belt is snapped (I think) and no longer in its original place.

Is there a diagram on the sticker on the bottom side of the hood, or anywhere else under the hood. Odds are it will only fit one way but you'll get pretty tired trying every possible configuration, and you sure don't want the water pump or alternator for instance spinning in the wrong direction.

I am gonna go to the store and look through a manual and see if it has a diagram.

Easy to replace. It goes around all the pylleys on one side of the engine. You just need a breaker bar to relieve the pressure on the tensioner to replace it.

will have a diagram right on the underside of the hood!

?

Here's the '96 Taurus:


"belt routing" is the search term you want. Good luck!

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For the questioner:

Alt = Alternator

WP = Water Pump

PS = Power Steering

CS = Crankshaft

A/C = Air Conditioning

I had tried googling for "repair" +"S-Belt +1993 For Taurus and varients on that theme.

Under the alternator should be the tensioner. It should have a square hole in the side where you can put in a breaker bar or ratchet to relieve the pressure it puts on the serpentine belt.

I suggest you get someone else to work the bar and use a short length of pipe to get a little more leverage on the sucker.