belt thrown on 98 Regal LS

[Regal8]

I barely limped off the interstate in a (very) small town in eastern Wisconsin, with the steering all but gone, the battery light on, the overheating icon lit, and the "trac off" warning showing. I called someone with a clue, and soon knew that the belt was loose and the idler pulley was frozen. After a long afternoon of education in the lack of taxi services (not to mention service stations) on Sundays in this region--and several miles of walking--I arrived back at my car with a part and a tool from a shop in a nearby (comparatively) town and failed to break the bolt free to remove the old pulley.

More recent info says that is a left-hand thread on the bolt, but I will wait for daylight before trying again, I think, since I have to take the tool back to the store anyway.

Is this a fairly simple, take it off, put it on, re-position the belt chore? This is my first car, and I would be (even more) lost without the belt diagram under the hood, but if there are no more surprises, I should be able to handle it in the morning, assuming that I didn't destroy the engine by limping a couple miles after the idiot lights came on.

 

[92sub]

I've never seen a seized idler pulley. Loose, noisy, wobbley......yes, seized....no.
I would make sure it's not your alternator that's seized....I've seen plenty of those.
That being said, the pulley bolt is not designed by GM to be removed from the tensioner assembly. It is a bolt so eventually you could get it off but since it's not designed to be removed it's much harder than you'd think. If you were buying the pulley from a dealer you'd be forced to get the entire tensioner assembly and if you have the 3.8 engine that would mean draining some coolant out too because the assembly has the heater hose passages in it.

 

[rqjoe]

Correct. That bolt on the tensioner pulley is how you twist the pulley down so you can get the belt on/off. It is indeed a Left hand thread. If it is frozen, I'd be thinking tow time to work on it in my garage. Unless.............. penetrating oil would free it up. I'd still replace it in my garage, but you may not need the tow.