[Berto]

So I am getting ready to turn 100k miles so I thought I'd change the serp belt. Found that there was a potential issue with the pivot bolt and the way the belt was routed. So a new pivot bolt later (what a pain in the A) I have the belt routed but have no idea how to get the belt installed.

Let me elaborate.

First off, cranking the tensioner with the provided 19mm nut is hard! Does hona expect technicians to hold the tensioner up and put the belt on?

Basically, if you put the belt on all the pulleys and leave it off the tensioner pulley and then crank the tensioner with your wrench....you can't get to the tensioner. So then I am thinking the next best thing is to slide it on the water pump.

Any tips and tricks to get this belt on?

 

[DavisLasVegas]

If it's an r18 you can try leaving the belt off the alternator pulley, compress the tensioner and hope you can get it over the alternator pulley once it's compressed. It's a hydraulic tensioner so it's gonna be a real pita to compress, do it slowly, I have these nice 0 degree offset wrenches that are pretty long and do a really good job.

 

[rationull]

I ended up buying this kit from Napa to get enough leverage to be able to work the tensioner, and it was still a PITA.

 

[DavisLasVegas]

wow man you actually used that on there? I have one of those too and used it on one hydraulic tensioner and that was it. Way too flimsy imo

 

[nam_man03]

When I did mine I left ot off the alt pulley and I had the help of an old coworker to help it. I could believe how much of a pain it was.

 

[rationull]

wow man you actually used that on there? I have one of those too and used it on one hydraulic tensioner and that was it. Way too flimsy imo

What can I say? I'm a tool junkie.

What did you find flimsy about it? The combination of the ratcheting box-end wrench and the extension handle gave what I found to be a great amount of leverage and nice reach flexibility.

 

[Berto]

When I did mine I left ot off the alt pulley and I had the help of an old coworker to help it. I could believe how much of a pain it was.

This is the truth. Hell changing out the tensioner pivot bolt was a pain in the butt enough. You have to take the water pump pulley off.

Just some quick tips for anyone else reading this it might help.


- You will need an 8mm socket drive, don't try to do this with an 8mm alen wrench alone. (This is for those that are following the TSB to change the tensioner pivot bolt, if you are only changing the belt disregard)

- You will NEED a 10mm crows foot to properly torque the water pump pulley...as the TSB says.

- The Allen bit isj just barely too short for it to fit in the pivot bolt and clear the water pump pulley drive. What I ended up doing was adding a washer or two between the allen socket and the ratchet wrench head. Gave just enough clearance to get a few more clicks out of the wrench

- To release tension on the tensioner, you will need a buddy to help you unless you are bad-a. What I ended up doing was I put on the belt on all the pulleys except the alternator. Then I cranked the tensioner using a 19mm wrench (with a 22mm hooked on the open end for double leverage. Then I had my dad hook up a chain around the engine mount support to hold tension on the tensioner so I could then take my time and put the belt on the alternator without worrying about it slipping and breaking all my fingers.



BTW at 100k miles my serpentine belt was immaculate and did not really even need replaced. I believe 100k is the interval so I changed it anyone but the TSB with the potential tensioner bolt breaking and taking out your block was the main reason. Its only like $25 for the belt with the bolt. Peace of mind was worth it. Plus after seeing the little amount of room you have to work in that area, getting a broken bolt out (even if you could without tearing up the block, would be a pain)

hope this helps. + rep me yo!

 

[DavisLasVegas]

You only paid 25 bucks for the bolt and belt??! That's a good deal, almost good enough for me to go change mine. I haven't changed the pivot bolt in mine either, not sure if I want to or not yet.

 

[Berto]

You only paid 25 bucks for the bolt and belt??! That's a good deal, almost good enough for me to go change mine. I haven't changed the pivot bolt in mine either, not sure if I want to or not yet.

Yep and (obviously) its Honda OEM stuff since that belt has done so well for 100k!

 

[archebald23]

you probably need some help... here you can take a look or visit the site for more info on how to replace a serpentine belt just by yourself..

 

[Berto]

you probably need some help... here you can take a look or visit the site for more info on how to replace a serpentine belt just by yourself..

Yeah I'm just a noob. Thanks for linking to some generic serpentine belt article. Try it yourself and then come back and tell me.

 

[fureii]

or, you can take it to the stealership

 

[Galaxysi1234]

I ended up buying this kit from Napa to get enough leverage to be able to work the tensioner, and it was still a PITA.

i used the exact same kit with great sucess. I dont really know why people are having trouble changing their serpentine belt, simply attach this tool(or a breaker bar) with a 14mm socket and rotate the belt tensioner towards the firewall. from start to finish it took me about 10mins

 

[dangcivic]

i used the exact same kit with great sucess. I dont really know why people are having trouble changing their serpentine belt, simply attach this tool(or a breaker bar) with a 14mm socket and rotate the belt tensioner towards the firewall. from start to finish it took me about 10mins

I use the gear wrench serpentine belt tool kit. Takes me five mins ....on a Toyota lol...:dance:

 

[dangcivic]

ahha ..just clicked one the link ..i have that kit lol ...love it ..works great on any engine that has a hydraulic type tensioner system. Works great as a breaker bar too, reaches in some pretty tight spots and u can put on any socket with the adapters..I love it ! Drive belts pay an hour, with this tool u can get it done in 5-10 mins max.

 

[Galaxysi1234]

serpentine belt tool FTW

 

[frankwild]

I was able to do this without a helper. Using the box end of a 22mm wrench to extend the 19mm saved my... Great tip, thanks!

 

[luciphear]

honda belt changes suck. infamous crank pulley bolts and now this?!

 

[Travis_J]

Hi everyone .... first post and I was wondering if anyone had a diagram or could direct me to what the belt tension on a 206 civic looks like ? so confused

 

[Smorgasborg]

I had a lot of trouble changing the belt. First, I could not loosen the belt without a serpentine belt tool that had a ratchet built in. I rented 2 from Auto Zone and O’Reily and they did not work. I had to buy this GearWrench 3680 Ratcheting Wrench Serpentine Belt Tool from Amazon . It worked great! The second main problem was I finally found out was that Honda changed the belt routing. So every new belt I bought was longer than the old one. You need the new belt routing diagram. See the old and the new routing.
Tip: it is MUCH easier to work on the belt if you take the time to jack up and remove the passenger site front tire and open the little access door.

Old Belt Routing (do not try to use with new belts)

New Belt Routing