How tight do you want to make the Serpentine Belt?

[h2osk8er00]

Just wondering how tight to make the belt...? Do I need to use any special tool? thanks...

[chpthril]

Should take a little force to twist the belt 90* half way between the 2 furthest apart pulleys.

[hoopykat]

The belt should deflect down no more than an inch when pushed down midway between two pulleys.

-Mike

[h2osk8er00]

Thanks, I just didn't want to put it on too tight..cleaned off all the pulleys with some PB blaster and put on a new belt from Advance Auto Parts for 25 bucks and I can already tell she is happier.. The old belt was so worn it had stretched to 88.5 inches and had worn off a section of it's track for the pulleys! Man..I had a squeak last time I went out and I think I found the culprit..I was able to remove the belt with out loosening the tensioner pulley.. Guess I need to stay on top of my baby...I never thought to check the serpentine belt though... Another question though...how the heck do I read the hours on my boat...It has one of the digital displays but when I put it on the Hour Glass function it doesn't move...I was trying to see if it moved out of water while flushing it so I will check when Im on the water...But is that the right one? I believe it said 284.9, which when I bought the boat I could have sworn they told me it had 300...Just want to make sure I know how many hours I have so I know any more preventative maintenance I should do...