[Phames11]

Ok, so there are 2 methods that are outlined here on how to change that AC belt. the first most popular method is to drop the AC compressor..which is more work. No matter how easy it is, for one to do, it's still another step..with potential problems damage to lines and to the screws when you try to re-install the pump while under pressure from the belt. You also need jack stands to safely get under the car ...you have to take off the whole under-carriage. It's more work. And as stated in other post you run the risk of cross threading and stripping the aluminum block of the engine. So why not find a better way.

The second method succeeds with a little brute force..sometimes. Trying to pre-wrap the belt around the AC clutch then turn the crankshaft is hard to do alone. If you use a hard steel rod or screwdriver and are not careful you could damage the pulley very easily.

How would you like to do this whole process by just taking off one wheel! and 4 bolts? WITHOUT REMOVING THE COMPRESSOR

Steps:
Step 1. Jack car up on passenger side.
Step 2. Remove wheel.
Step 3. Remove 2 metal bolts holding the splash shield (10mm) to the chasis. Then remove plastic threaded plug with a phillips head (do not apply pressure while turning or it won't come out.

Step 4. Remove two (10mm) bolts from the under side of the splash shield in the tire well.
Step 5. Cut old AC belt off.
Step 6. (If your replacing serpentine as well) Open hood and use an open ended or box wrench..12-14mm? to apply pressure to move tensioner forward towards fire wall. With opposite hand remove old serpentine belt. Replace with new serpentine belt and release tensioner.

Step 7. Place new AC Belt on compressor pulley and tape to hold in place (because your by yourself)
Step 8. Watch video to outline the use of the C-Clamp. (Use a 1" or 25mm small low profile C-Clamp.

Step 9. Replace everything splash guard wise in reverse order.
Step 10. Have a sandwich and a beer..your done!


With patience I developed a process that employs a small 1" or 25mm C-Clamp. If you have a decently equipped garage with a vice and hacksaw or jigsaw you will be able to modify it by cutting the shank to allow for easy install.

The concept:
Getting the belt to stay on while you turn the crankshaft is a pain in the ass by yourself. Using the C-Clamp allows you to hold the belt in place while you turn the crankshaft while keeping the belt in the right position.

YES! you could by the appropriate 40-50 dollar stretch fit install tool. But I had a few clamps and an hour to come up with a garage fix to the problem.

Proof that with patience and a little old fashioned ingenuity you can save yourself lots of cash.

Click the link to see the video. Watch the link from a web browser for important annotations. Bare in mind that I had already looked to find the install parts at the store..but they had none. I could order online..but it cost more money.

If you have further questions I will answer them. I don't go into details on the install of the serpentine belt..because that part is already explained elsewhere and isn't the problem. The AC belt was cut off..because I WAS REPLACING IT! Don't need an old-used-cracked backup one do we?! :screwy:

 

[thorasaurus]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. My (plastic) tensioner pulley exploded on the drive home Friday, and not knowing what was the issue, I drove the 10 miles to my house luckily without damage.

Figured out the problem. Bought a new serpentine, AC belt, and pulley and did the work last night in about 2 hours (with a trip to the store) using the jack on the A/C compressor method. Everything went pretty well I think as I made it to work today.

Thanks for saving me a few bucks and giving me an excuse to buy a set of deep sockets.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Wanted to bump this again. Mazda apparently doesn't sell the A/C belt tool with the belt any longer. Not wanting to unbolt the compressor I picked up a "Stretch Belt Tool" from Pep Boys. I got the smaller one and it was too small to fit the crank pulley. However, it worked fine by removing the included bolt that is supposed to get down into the well of the pulley and secure the tool a bit more. I just guided the tool by hand and the belt grabbed it and went on easy. As time goes by, if the link and pics die just do a search for "stretch belt tool" and use the one that looks like a disc with an arm on it, with a notch on the arm.

http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/664815/00637/?quantity=1

 

[machr85]

what brands of belts if everyone using? i still have my OEM at 120k miles 06 3s 2.3 5sp and id like to put new ones, want to see what aftermarket brands are good, something that wont be squealing or cracking like crazy

 

[raydub]

what brands of belts if everyone using? i still have my OEM at 120k miles 06 3s 2.3 5sp and id like to put new ones, want to see what aftermarket brands are good, something that wont be squealing or cracking like crazy

+1

I have the same configuration car at 124K miles and want to know. In the past with other cars I had I would buy from RockAuto.com. I know there is Dayco, Gates, Goodyear and AC Delco. What's most popular among our crowd?

 

[machr85]

just bought the set of goodyears from rockauto

 

[deluxman]

Wanted to bump this again. Mazda apparently doesn't sell the A/C belt tool with the belt any longer. Not wanting to unbolt the compressor I picked up a "Stretch Belt Tool" from Pep Boys. I got the smaller one and it was too small to fit the crank pulley. However, it worked fine by removing the included bolt that is supposed to get down into the well of the pulley and secure the tool a bit more. I just guided the tool by hand and the belt grabbed it and went on easy. As time goes by, if the link and pics die just do a search for "stretch belt tool" and use the one that looks like a disc with an arm on it, with a notch on the arm.

http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/664815/00637/?quantity=1

So with this tool, you don't need to remove the bolts in the AC compressor?

 

[deluxman]

Can someone please confirm which tool works best to remove and install the AC belt on the Mazda 3?

 

[mnussbau]

Can someone please confirm which tool works best to remove and install the AC belt on the Mazda 3?

CTA Tools 2747 European Stretch Belt Tool


Gates 91030 Engine Tool


Lisle 59370 Stretch Belt Remover/Installer

Well, I can't tell you which is best, but I did this job today with the Gates tool and it worked fine. You will not be able to use the pin but it's not needed. Just slip the tool under the belt and turn the crank pulley. The tool is captured under the belt about halfway up.

This is an easy, half hour job. I did NOT remove the underbody tray. After jacking up the right side and putting it on jack stands I removed the cover inside the wheel well. Cut the a/c belt with a box cutter (the belt didn't snap at me, totally safe). Released tension on the other belt with 14 mm socket and removed it. Installed the new belt using a digital pic as a reference. Installed the other belt as stated above. My one recommendation is to use extensions off that 21 mm socket on the crank, plus a breaker bar if you have one, to turn the crank. You're turning against engine compression. Once i got my extensions and breaker bar it was trivially easy.

30 minutes, start to finish, once I had my tools out and car jacked up.

Oh, some other info...2006 hatchback, non turbo, automatic. About 111k on the car. Old belts looked ok with slight marks/strings, but I felt they were due. Got OEM belts online at Rosenthal Mazda Arlington.

V belt L372-15-909A-9U, $24.30
A/C belt LF50-15-908B, $22.83
Shipping was about $10 but i bought other stuff with the belts. Came in 2 days...perfect.

 

[mnussbau]

So with this tool, you don't need to remove the bolts in the AC compressor?

The Gates tool looks just like that. I did NOT remove the compressor, see my post above.

 

[mnussbau]

what brands of belts if everyone using? i still have my OEM at 120k miles 06 3s 2.3 5sp and id like to put new ones, want to see what aftermarket brands are good, something that wont be squealing or cracking like crazy

I used OEM Mazda belts, see my post above. Not that other brands aren't as good but the Mazda belts were cheap enough and lasted a long time.

 

[jonnyz2]

Three things to help others: Belt Wear, Belt Size, Tool Choice

Three things to help others: Belt Wear, Belt Size, Tool Choice

Belt wear: after 92K I decided to replace both the AC belt and Serpentine Belts proactively. Upon doing so, neither stock belts showed any cracking at all! While I have peace of mind from replacing them, it does not appear to have been necessary.

Belt Size: AC belt stock is marked as a 5K694. The replacement belt I was sold was a 5k691. With a relatively small belt, those missing 3mm probably made it a fair bit harder to install the replacement. I cannot report the stock size for the serpentine as the numbers are fully worn off.

Tool Choice

Can someone please confirm which tool works best to remove and install the AC belt on the Mazda 3?

CTA Tools 2747 European Stretch Belt Tool


Gates 91030 Engine Tool


Lisle 59370 Stretch Belt Remover/Installer

I wanted to report on using the Lisle tool. The tool itself seems well made and seems quite suitable for the purpose but it does not work well on a 2007 Mazda 3, 2.3L for the AC belt.

The problem is that the tool is too large for the space you have to work in. It catches on the tubing at the top of the wheel well as you try to rotate it around the crank shaft pulley.

Which is too bad because the design shape and magnet seem to be superior to the alternatives.

Before reading further, if you have not purchased a tool yet, get one of the others. If you want to try making one, or already have the Lisle tool and want to want to know how to still use it then read on.

I tried the tool on the AC pulley where there is room to use it. That did not work because of the clutch design and the lack of adequate tension on that pulley to keep the tool attached.

I was able to finally, with lots of forcing, get the Lisle tool to somewhat work by using it counter clockwise on the crank shaft pulley. It helps to reach from the front of the car and use a ratchet for this. Wear a long sleeve shirt to prevent scraping your arm!

Unfortunately, the resultant belt install only mated 4 of 5 ribs to the pulley. One rib was off of both pulleys. Trying to run the Lisle tool around again did not work because the off center belt forced the tool to be even further outwards from the pulley and it fully caught on the tubing making it impossible to rotate through.

Trying to carefully manually force the belt over onto either pulley did not work nor did actually running the car.

So, what to do? Make a new tool!

I cut open a large soup can (3 1/4" diameter) using the top rim and about a 1" x 2.5" section, bent the rim to be a new belt guide, and used some tool-tray liner (sticky rubber stuff) to bind the shim/tool to the pulley. Hand cranking this through worked like a charm and aligned the belt properly to the pulley right away.

In fact, this worked so well that I think this approach would have worked to install the belt to start with.

I will attach photos.

Please note, after the "tool" was run through the belt/pulley, it was flattened somewhat. Be more aggressive on the bends than was you see in the photos. Also, bend at a diagonal so that it narrows from one side to another.

 

[jonnyz2]

Three things to help others: Belt Wear, Belt Size, Tool Choice


I will attach photos.

Please note, after the "tool" was run through the belt/pulley, it was flattened somewhat. Be more aggressive on the bends than was you see in the photos. Also, bend at a diagonal so that it narrows from one side to another.

A database error is keeping me from adding photos. Try this to see pictures of the "tool." https://www.flickr.com/photos/28155119@N06/sets/72157645328925364/

 

[pillar_of_faith]

I think I had the cheapest idea to put back on a ac belt. I used a metal broom holder, the one you screw into the wall (.50) to keep the belt on while I rotated the crank... it was awesome

 

[M3BC]

I used two black 1/4" wide heavy duty zap straps to hold the stretch belt onto the crank pulley. Worked like a charm. I also used a beaker bar and a 12" extension to rotate the crank while making sure the belt did not run off the lower pulley.

It took me less than 20 minutes to install both belts and I did not have to loosen the a/c compressor.

 

[MartinK]

With patience I developed a process that employs a small 1" or 25mm C-Clamp.

Thanks man! It did the trick on the first try. Tool for $1.79 - awesome!

 

[10break]

I used two black 1/4" wide heavy duty zap straps to hold the stretch belt onto the crank pulley. Worked like a charm. I also used a beaker bar and a 12" extension to rotate the crank while making sure the belt did not run off the lower pulley.

It took me less than 20 minutes to install both belts and I did not have to loosen the a/c compressor.

X2 on this...the Gates tool doesn't fit the crank pulley on my 07 2.0 but the zip ties did the job perfectly; in fact, they all broke at the moment the belt fully seated...bet I couldn't do that again if I tried.