accessory drive belt...

[Brakebuster]

my XJ8 had covered 80k when i bought her, and i carefully studied the ( full ) service history i had with her,

i found out that the serpentine accessory drive belt had never been changed from new,

but this is not uncommon as the servicing intervals is only every 100k or when the belt is visually deteriorated or stretched to the marks on the tensioner

i managed to obtain the correct belt online for £22 , not a bad price , and now to tackle installation

popped the bonnet and scratched my head a few times

finally worked out to use a large spanner on the roller tensioner and take the pressure off the belt, and removed the old one, the book says to start putting the new one on the water pump but i found it best to hook it over the alternator and work it from there, but maybe i'm just cack handed , lol

got the belt in position and levered over the roller tensioner and slipped the new belt on,

took me twenty mins in total and now i have confidence in a nice new drive belt

so if you are considering doing it for yourself, then why not have a go, its not that hard to be honest

BB