Serpentine belt tensioner

[bbnn1]

Hello -

I have a 1999 Toyota Corolla and need to remove the serpentine belt tensioner. However, I cannot remove the main tensioner bolt - it won't budge even when using a breaker bar. What am I doing wrong?

I've sprayed the bolt with WD-40, have a 17 mm socket on it that fits snugly and trying to rotate it anticlockwise (as with any bolt you want to unscrew). I'm worried about breaking the bolt and ending up with it stuck in the engine frame.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

[huangxin]

ummm, this is a stupid question, but just in case, the belt is off right?

that bolt do tend to get stuck quite tight over time. only ideas i can think of is try some pb blaster and soak it for a day or two. if that doesn't work, bring out the torch. there is really nothing delicate in that area, so you should be fine, just that the space is a bit small.

[bbnn1]

Thanks. Belt was off..

I tried again with max force on a 24-inch breaker bar! The bolt finally started turning.. This is the tightest bolt I've ever encountered on my car.. Bolt head is deformed but the bolt came off, so I'll just replace the bolt...

Thanks again for your input

[huangxin]

well, at least it's out. the bolt is not important as long as it's out of the car. when i installed the bolt on my car i just used some anti-seize on the threads, it made removing it a lot easier afterward.