changing a belt with only a screwdriver

[Laredo]

"I am a professional. Do NOT try this at home!!"

 

[BrandonB]

Wow! I don't think I'd be too keen on trying that.

 

[Stinger]

Wow, that's pretty neat!

 

[Torque1st]

That was posted here a few weeks ago.

 

[schultz]

The VW is too easy, Try it on a V8.

 

[Kevin54]

VW or V8.....my **** would have been wrapped up in there, pulleys bent, belt hitting me in the face and cost me $150 by the time I got the new belt on

 

[djd99]

I don't think I would have the balls to try such a stupid thing, There's such a thing as common sense and this goes totally against it.

 

[tyrell2004]

My boss at a gas station shop (in the 70's) would use a similar method on just about any car, ...but not running. He would have me bump the starter (with coil wire disconnected so car would not start) once the screw driver was in place. Definitely flung a few screwdrivers across the shop when I tried it for the first few times. Always keep this in mind for an emergency repair, but then again if I could get the replacement belt I probably could get a socket or wrench too.
Still very funny to watch.

 

[Art From De Leon]

Why does he polish the outside edge of the pulley with the handle of the screwdriver?

 

[tyrell2004]

He just stops the alternator pulley so he can thread the one end of the belt over it

 

[z28snksknr]

Probably just to show it was running.

That belt looks pretty loose to me. I'd like to see the outakes on that one.

 

[tstukel]

It's a really clever trick, but what is more amazing is that someone would be compelled to answer the question, "can I change a fan belt with just a screwdriver?" Actually, human progress needs people who dream up such challenges; what if Columbus hadn't asked the question: "hmm...I wonder if I can get to India by sailing west...?" Or Einstein's pondering; "I wonder if I could run faster than the speed of light?" "Fan Belt Man" is just the latest iteration in a long line of human beings who have challenged the traditional wisdom and in so doing have contributed to the incremental development of the species...

 

[Costner]

It's a really clever trick, but what is more amazing is that someone would be compelled to answer the question, "can I change a fan belt with just a screwdriver?" Actually, human progress needs people who dream up such challenges; what if Columbus hadn't asked the question: "hmm...I wonder if I can get to India by sailing west...?" Or Einstein's pondering; "I wonder if I could run faster than the speed of light?" "Fan Belt Man" is just the latest iteration in a long line of human beings who have challenged the traditional wisdom and in so doing have contributed to the incremental development of the species...

But unlike Columbus or Einstein, this guy probably figured out how to do this shortly after yelling to his buddy "hey, hold my beer and grab a camcorder... I'm gonna try sumthin".

 

[MN BIANCHI]

I wonder what the shop rate for that belt change would be.

 

[Mattlt]

In my younger days, I worked at a creamery. One of the mechanics would replace belts on electric motor-driven pumps like this. It was either do them hot or come it at 2:00 am when the plant would be shut down for a little while. He chose to do it hot.

 

[Griff93]

I bet he was a flat rate tech at a VW dealership back when original bugs were still going there.

 

[Steevo]

Let's see . . .
New Belt $18
Labor $45
Ten seconds to change the belt.
Earning $16,200 per hour . . . . . priceless!

I actually lost an entire fingernail (the whole thing in one piece) doing that when I was about 16 years old. Screwdriver caught the the generator terminals, flipped my hand down into the belt, dragging my finger all the way around the generator pulley (between the belt and the pulley), flinging it against the right side of the engine compartment, and as I pulled my hand away wondering what just happened, I saw my fingernail flip through the air and bounce across the floor. It still looks kinda mangled and odd-shaped today, 38 years later.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I had to do it with nothing but a pocketknife. We had spare belts, but no tools in a pickup (genius, right?). The old one had already removed itself. I got the new one wrapped around the fan and on all but one pulley, got it started a bit on it with the pocketknife, then used the knife to bump the starter solenoid (thank god for old fords with it on the fender) and get the belt on. It took a few tries, but it worked.

 

[Kevin54]

But unlike Columbus or Einstein, this guy probably figured out how to do this shortly after yelling to his buddy "hey, hold my beer and grab a camcorder... I'm gonna try sumthin".

 

[Torque1st]

I have pried on a few belts in desperation but I usually moved the engine pulleys by hand with a fanblade, etc, -never under any sort of power.

 

[ovilla]

On my little Porsche 914's I don't even need tools to put on a new belt. I just wrap one end fully around the alternator pulley and the other as much as possible over the top of the fan pulley. Then with the car in 2nd or 3rd gear (motor off) I push it backwards and the belt pops right into the groove on the fan pulley. Been doing it this way for years now and have never had a problem.