Loosen serpentine belt tensioner "slowly"

[rationull]

So it seems we all know we're supposed to loosen the serpentine belt tensioner "slowly" since it's a hydraulic tensioner and loosening it too quickly can damage it. But just how slowly does it need to be moved and what are the consequences if you push it too quickly? Has anyone ever actually damaged one?

[A real Honda Tech]

you wont be able to push it quickley. Just put force on it and youll start to feel it move. But it moves really slow so keep pressure on it.

[708CvCSi]

hydraulic? you mean it's not a spring loaded tensioner like every other car in world has? man, how much does that part cost if it goes bad? especially once your warranty is up

[DavisLasVegas]

it's doesn't cost much somewhere in the ball park of 84 bucks. as far as breaking one i have not personally done that but i have seen tensioners that were in fact broken

[liquidr1]

Originally Posted by 708CvCSi

hydraulic? you mean it's not a spring loaded tensioner like every other car in world has? man, how much does that part cost if it goes bad? especially once your warranty is up

I think they are talking about the r18. The Si has a spring loaded tensioner.

[708CvCSi]

aha I see...nevermind then

[rationull]

So I know this wasn't the original question, but does anyone have any specific tools they'd recommend for this? I've tried box end wrenches, but the normal ones with the boxed end at an angle don't seem to be able to get a grip and still clear the belt. I haven't found an open end wrench long enough to provide enough torque. I got something like this but with the open end type wrench on both sides. It sort of works, but can't grab at the right angle to release the tensioner all the way. Not to mention it marks up the tensioner bolt because it puts the pressure only one two faces of the bolt.

Ideally I'd love to find a 15 inch long boxed end wrench with no bend to it.

What have you guys used?

[DavisLasVegas]

i have a set of those.... haha sorry that doesn't help you much. you can get a serpentine belt tool at sears, the gear wrench set is the best it's like 60 bucks.

[rationull]

I almost got the appropriate sized gear wrench but it's not really that long and I was hoping for more torque. The serpentine belt tool I found at sears didn't have crowsfoot or thin sockets in 19mm, unfortunately. If not for that it seemed like it would have been the perfect tool for the job.

[DavisLasVegas]

gear wrench has a serpentine belt tool kit. gear wrench belt tool

[rationull]

Ah, great, thanks for the link! Didn't see that at my local sears but I'll check again. Little pricey but looks like a nice set. Maybe I'll have to order it.

[DavisLasVegas]

it's a little more versatile and equal in price to one 19mm/18mm 0 degree offset wrench

[BubzSI]

BTW its a b*tch..

[rationull]

BubzSI, you aren't kidding! It's pretty tight in there.

I got the GearWrench set and ended up messing with it today. Got the belt on and off OK, but I had some trouble getting it back on correctly. Consequently, I ended up pushing fairly hard on the tensioner when it was at its limits. I don't think I did any damage to the hydraulic mechanism (these things have to be built to take some pressure, right?) but the bolt ended up looking like this:




Is the shearing normal or did I push too hard? The socket with the GearWrench set is about the same depth as a box end wrench so it seems like the contact area would be about the same with a 0 offset long handled wrench...

Everything seems to work OK but I'm a little worried about continued use of this tool now...

[raybyduhbay]

changing pulleys/belt why are you doing this? I am gunna change the chank pulley soon. I was wondering why cant we use regular wrench and just add a long bar on it? Also lemme see if i understand how to take off the belt. you turn the (bolt shown above) counter clockwise to release the tensioner? or make it slack the belt? am i correct?

[rationull]

That's correct, put a wrench on the bolt and push toward the rear of the car. The bolt doesn't actually turn, though. You push it to pivot the tensioner and loosen the belt.

A regular wrench with a long bar on it would work fine. As far as I can tell though, you'd need a 0 degree offset wrench. I couldn't find any of those at any stores in my area, and I also don't have a cheater pipe wide enough to fit over the end of an end wrench.

I'm not changing the belt or pulleys. I was just doing this to investigate a noise I was hearing.

Any input from others who have removed their serp belts as to whether they ended up slightly shearing the bolt too?

[raybyduhbay]

so did u happen to find what the problem was? you just push the bolt down to loosen the belt and you can take it off right? after that you have to push down on it agian to put the belt back on? were y ou able to do this yourself or do you need a buddy?

[Zeuceone]

autoparts store have them for rent

[rationull]

Originally Posted by raybyduhbay

so did u happen to find what the problem was? you just push the bolt down to loosen the belt and you can take it off right? after that you have to push down on it agian to put the belt back on? were y ou able to do this yourself or do you need a buddy?

Yes, you have to push the tensioner when removing the belt and putting it back on. I was able to do it on my own but a buddy might have been helpful since holding the tensioner with one arm and manipulating the belt with the other was awkward. It might help to have the car lifted to get the belt around the crankshaft pulley with a minimum of trouble since it's pretty tight. Also having long thin prybars to use to push the belt around would've been helpful.

My advice for putting it back on:

- Get the belt wrapped around everything but the alternator pulley, and pull it up so that the back of the belt is touching the alternator pulley. Manually create enough tension so that the belt is securely around all the other pulleys in the correct orientation.
- Then, with one hand, press on the tensioner to release tension. At the same time, pull harder on the belt with your other hand so that the belt does not become loose. If it becomes loose, it can move off one of the other pulleys.
- Do not pull the belt to the side to slide it around and onto the alt pulley. Instead, twist it 90 degrees so that it stays in line with the pulleys as much as possible. I tried pulling it to the left to get it on the alt pulley several times, and each time is slipped halfway off the power steering pulley. Big PITA. Twist it, keep it in line with the pulleys, and it'll slide on nice and easy.

I know other people here have taken off their serp belts before, using the tensioner and I'm still curious as to whether anyone here has seen (or not seen) the shearing on the bolt like in my photo.

[DavisLasVegas]

it is fine you'll have no problems with it like that