Great video. Had a lot of trouble with the water pump belt, both getting it off and back on. I had to cut mine, and it took about 3 hours of messing with it to get it back on. It’s 20 degrees here so I had to go back inside to try and warm the belt up to get some elasticity out of it. In the end I couldn’t even get it to where you had it on the pulley, I had to get it mounted on the crank pulley, then get the belt seated in the ribs on the bottom of the water pump pulley. I used one of the holes in the water pump pulley to zip tie the belt on, and then using my hand and one of the bolts on the pulley to keep pressure on the belt while I turned the crank pulley to get it seated. Then about 20 minutes of ratcheting clockwise and counterclockwise like you did in the video to get it seated correctly and get the bends out. Thank God you showed that part. The serpentine belt wasn’t bad at all. I fed it over the crank and ac belt then snaked it under the idler. I wrapped some rope around one end of the box end wrench and used that to pull the tensioner so I had enough space to get the belt on the alternator. Only took about 20 minutes to get it off and back on. Thanks for the video, definitely would have been screwed without it.
I’m really glad the video helped! I’ve been seeing some people struggle with this. It seems like the colder it is, the harder it is to get the belt to stretch. This video was done in the summer when it was 100 degrees so I’m sure that made it easier. I’m going to add in the video description to keep the WP belt warm before installing, especially if it’s cold outside 🥶.
Why skip putting the belt on the alternator? How do u have room to get the belt up to the alternator while holding the tensioner? I can't even get my finders past the alternator. Been fighting with this shit for 3 days now bc everyone talked about how easy it is.. well I can't even fit my ratchet on the tensioner bc there's only like 1/2" of wiggle room
I looked back into the video and I did skip the physical part of me putting it on. Try using a 17mm offset wrench. At 3:46 you can see a good view of that offset wrench. I wedged in place so it wouldn't move, and I was removing it in that part of the video. This allowed me to slip the belt on without a second pair of hands. I should have included this detail. If you're struggling, try an offset wrench like I had in the video, or you can try an actual tensioner wrench - these are called serpentine belt tool, or tensioner wrench. Check them thoroughly to make sure they will work with the way the Mazda 6 is set up before buying them. You may need a short extension to make them work with this car. The serpentine belt tool makes it a lot easier than using a regular wrench or ratchet. I was able to just use an offset 17mm wrench, and I wedged it into place while I put the belt on. The belt slipped off several times before I got it into place after about 10 minutes of messing with it.
@araparts do u mean Mazda 3 not 6? Just wondering bc I can't tell if it's just the wide view of the camera or if it's actually different, but the video makes it look like you have more room and access to the area than I do on my 3. Anyways, so I got it done.. cold hands and poor lighting def weren't helping things.. from the video it appeared as tho you removed the original belt from the alternator first and then said to just put the new belt on in reverse order which implied starting with engine pulley to A/C, then to go up top to get it around alternator, but I couldn't get the belt around the tensioner wheel without it coming off engine pulley.. I had thought about doing it the other way, but thought that'd be impossible bc I had no way to keep tensioner loose while underneath. It finally occurred to me to just find a way to wedge the tensioner in place and get the belt around everything I could then go underneath and slide it around engine pulley like you're saying. Another big difficulty is I don't have the tools motioned, just a ratchet set and my big ratchet was too wide to get on the bolt so I was stuck using a small ratchet with a small pipe for an extension and couldn't get much movement from the tensioner. Luckily, I was just barely able to force the belt onto the last pulley. Last thing. So I had to do this bc my belt broke and the car died when the battery drained without the alternator. Once the belt was on it took quite a long time to jump the car and I don't think my battery is holding much charge (it was having issues beforehand) So now that I got it running again I immediately noticed my CEL is on so wondering if this is expected and would u suggest I just clear it or if it's something I need to take it in to get checked out
@@jacobwhicker8423 My bad. I meant Mazda 3, not 6. I'm glad you were able to get it. Not having a decent tool to deal with the tensioner can turn a run of the mill job into a major PITA. I can relate to that. As for the alternator belt, I slid it around the crank pulley first, then pushed it around the alternator. I then went to the top of the car, and fully slid the belt over the alternator pulley. I didn't record that part so unfortunately didn't get it in the video. As for the CEL, It can *most likely* be ignored. I'd bet it's related to stirring things up a bit (broken belt, dead battery, etc) HOWEVER, get yourself a cheapo $10 scanner online. They even sell ones that you can use with your phone VIA an app. At least scan it to make sure it's no big deal so you're not stuck on the side of the road later. You can also do the free scans at the parts stores, but having your own scanner is priceless. Even if it's the cheapest one out there.
@araparts 👍 yea it's amazing how long I can spend fighting with the most obscure part of a job that I never suspected.. spend hrs fiddling around with it and when finally finished know it wouldn't take more than 15 20 min to do again now that I know what to do.. I'm sure having it on a lift vs a jack stand makes doing anything underneath 100x easier. Appreciate all the info and help, gl with the channel
Nice and clean explanation..thank you.
Great video. Had a lot of trouble with the water pump belt, both getting it off and back on. I had to cut mine, and it took about 3 hours of messing with it to get it back on. It’s 20 degrees here so I had to go back inside to try and warm the belt up to get some elasticity out of it.
In the end I couldn’t even get it to where you had it on the pulley, I had to get it mounted on the crank pulley, then get the belt seated in the ribs on the bottom of the water pump pulley. I used one of the holes in the water pump pulley to zip tie the belt on, and then using my hand and one of the bolts on the pulley to keep pressure on the belt while I turned the crank pulley to get it seated. Then about 20 minutes of ratcheting clockwise and counterclockwise like you did in the video to get it seated correctly and get the bends out. Thank God you showed that part.
The serpentine belt wasn’t bad at all. I fed it over the crank and ac belt then snaked it under the idler. I wrapped some rope around one end of the box end wrench and used that to pull the tensioner so I had enough space to get the belt on the alternator. Only took about 20 minutes to get it off and back on.
Thanks for the video, definitely would have been screwed without it.
I’m really glad the video helped! I’ve been seeing some people struggle with this. It seems like the colder it is, the harder it is to get the belt to stretch. This video was done in the summer when it was 100 degrees so I’m sure that made it easier. I’m going to add in the video description to keep the WP belt warm before installing, especially if it’s cold outside 🥶.
Got mine done today but that water pump fought and fought. I had a tough time with that one. Thank you for the video.
Great camera work and to the point ! Thank you.
gonna change mine tomorrow looking forward to it thanks man
😅😅😅 perfect I’ll let the dealership handle this while they’re replacing the lower control arms. Thanks for sharing the knowledge 🧠
Awesome video. Didn't even know this car had two belts; my daughter's car. What size is the crank bolt?
The crank bolt is 21mm.
So is the belt tool I've seen unnecessary for this job?
It can be done without the belt tool. The belt tool just makes it easier.
Why skip putting the belt on the alternator? How do u have room to get the belt up to the alternator while holding the tensioner? I can't even get my finders past the alternator. Been fighting with this shit for 3 days now bc everyone talked about how easy it is.. well I can't even fit my ratchet on the tensioner bc there's only like 1/2" of wiggle room
I looked back into the video and I did skip the physical part of me putting it on. Try using a 17mm offset wrench. At 3:46 you can see a good view of that offset wrench. I wedged in place so it wouldn't move, and I was removing it in that part of the video. This allowed me to slip the belt on without a second pair of hands. I should have included this detail. If you're struggling, try an offset wrench like I had in the video, or you can try an actual tensioner wrench - these are called serpentine belt tool, or tensioner wrench. Check them thoroughly to make sure they will work with the way the Mazda 6 is set up before buying them. You may need a short extension to make them work with this car. The serpentine belt tool makes it a lot easier than using a regular wrench or ratchet.
I was able to just use an offset 17mm wrench, and I wedged it into place while I put the belt on. The belt slipped off several times before I got it into place after about 10 minutes of messing with it.
@araparts do u mean Mazda 3 not 6? Just wondering bc I can't tell if it's just the wide view of the camera or if it's actually different, but the video makes it look like you have more room and access to the area than I do on my 3.
Anyways, so I got it done.. cold hands and poor lighting def weren't helping things.. from the video it appeared as tho you removed the original belt from the alternator first and then said to just put the new belt on in reverse order which implied starting with engine pulley to A/C, then to go up top to get it around alternator, but I couldn't get the belt around the tensioner wheel without it coming off engine pulley.. I had thought about doing it the other way, but thought that'd be impossible bc I had no way to keep tensioner loose while underneath. It finally occurred to me to just find a way to wedge the tensioner in place and get the belt around everything I could then go underneath and slide it around engine pulley like you're saying. Another big difficulty is I don't have the tools motioned, just a ratchet set and my big ratchet was too wide to get on the bolt so I was stuck using a small ratchet with a small pipe for an extension and couldn't get much movement from the tensioner. Luckily, I was just barely able to force the belt onto the last pulley.
Last thing. So I had to do this bc my belt broke and the car died when the battery drained without the alternator. Once the belt was on it took quite a long time to jump the car and I don't think my battery is holding much charge (it was having issues beforehand) So now that I got it running again I immediately noticed my CEL is on so wondering if this is expected and would u suggest I just clear it or if it's something I need to take it in to get checked out
@@jacobwhicker8423 My bad. I meant Mazda 3, not 6. I'm glad you were able to get it. Not having a decent tool to deal with the tensioner can turn a run of the mill job into a major PITA. I can relate to that. As for the alternator belt, I slid it around the crank pulley first, then pushed it around the alternator. I then went to the top of the car, and fully slid the belt over the alternator pulley. I didn't record that part so unfortunately didn't get it in the video.
As for the CEL, It can *most likely* be ignored. I'd bet it's related to stirring things up a bit (broken belt, dead battery, etc) HOWEVER, get yourself a cheapo $10 scanner online. They even sell ones that you can use with your phone VIA an app. At least scan it to make sure it's no big deal so you're not stuck on the side of the road later. You can also do the free scans at the parts stores, but having your own scanner is priceless. Even if it's the cheapest one out there.
@araparts 👍 yea it's amazing how long I can spend fighting with the most obscure part of a job that I never suspected.. spend hrs fiddling around with it and when finally finished know it wouldn't take more than 15 20 min to do again now that I know what to do.. I'm sure having it on a lift vs a jack stand makes doing anything underneath 100x easier.
Appreciate all the info and help, gl with the channel