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Replacing the alternator is about a 2-3 hour job and can be very frustrating. To release tension on the serpentine belt, I cut a small square piece of metal and inserted it into the square hole on the tensioner. The metal should be short enough to cram it into the hole but long enough to stick out of the hole enough to use a wrench on it, and strong enough to prevent bending with the spring tension. I believe the ine I made was about 3/4" x 1" and about 1/4" thick. Lowes had some metal bars that were about the right thickness and width, so I just cut it with a hacksaw to the appropriate length. Then I used a cresent wrench to loosen the tensioner. You can also buy a special wrench from IPD to do this if you do not want to fabricate the metal. On the side of the tensioner is a small hole. I used an old hex wrench and inserted it into that hole once I had loosened it. This technique will destroy the hex wrench so use one of the cheap disposable ones. This will hold the tensioner in position until you finish the job. Make a diagram of the way the belt loops around everything. Then start at the top of the stack and start removing components. You will not need to disconnect hoses on the power steering pump. Removal of some of the bolts can be challenging and it is easy to drop them into the engine compartment, so be careful. Do not connect any power to the alternator until you have all the wires connected. I recall that I had some difficulty getting the holes to line up during reassembly.
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1998 Volvo S70
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