**note- I am in no way liable for any damage you may cause to your vehicle**

What you will need

14mm socket and socket wrench (a serpentine belt tool/ breaker bar can also be used to make the job easier)
New drive belt
An assistant can help when getting the belt on and off.


Start with moving the power steering (P/S) reservoir. Simply lift it straight up and off it's bracket as shown.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/DemonPizzaboy/DSC00048.jpg

Place the wrench on the pulley shown.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/DemonPizzaboy/DSC00050.jpg

Pushing up on the pulley, take the belt off of the P/S pulley. This part takes a little muscle, but be sure to relieve just enough tension to slip the belt off the P/S pulley- too much force could damage the tensioner.

After slipping the old belt off, slowly lower the tensioner.

Put the new belt on using this routing diagram (I couldn't find this anywhere else online..)
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/DemonPizzaboy/BeltRouting.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/DemonPizzaboy/DSC00049.jpg
After you have the belt more or less in it's place, push up on the pulley as you did before and put the belt over the P/S pulley.

Go all around the belt and make sure it's properly seated on all pulleys.

put the P/S reservoir back on it's bracket and you're done!

needs to be a sticky

When you said "Pushing up on the pulley, take the belt off of the P/S pulley. This part takes a little muscle.", which pulley did you mean? You had the wrench on a tensioner, right? Do you mean pushing that tensioner up? As in vertically up?

The tensioner goes counterclockwise.

I am a newbie on this. If you turn the tensioner counterclockwise to relieve the tension so you can take the belt off, right? How do I know the tensioner is sufficient when I turn it clockwise to tighten it after the replacement? I heard of a indicator or finger test. I didn't find any labeling around that area and I have no idea how my finger should feel.

Thanks.

You don't have to turn it clockwise to put the belt back on. Once you release it, it goes back to it's original position. When you put the belt back on, you turn it counterclockwise again.

Technically you are not turning it but rather pulling it back.

You push on it to turn it counterclockwise to release the belt... then after putting the new belt on... you basically ease off of the wrench and let the tensioner go back to where it was.... its a SELF ADJUSTING TENSIONER

Thank you for this Post very easy to follow Just One question which belt brand would you suggest?

Regards

check this website for routing diagram:

www.justanswer.com/.../1ej3j-install-serpentine-belt-2004

check this website for routing diagram:

www.justanswer.com/.../1ej3j-install-serpentine-belt-2004

...for a 4 cylinder

First of all excuse me if I come across as a novice but I am one. =)

I'm in need of a new serpentine belt & based on these great instructions it looks fairly straight forward.

Can you tell me if:
1) I could do this by myself or would I need a second pair of hands?
2) Is it possible to route the belt from the hood or will I need to go under the car in order to do it?
3) Approximately how much time "should" this take to do?

Thanks!

First of all excuse me if I come across as a novice but I am one. =)

I'm in need of a new serpentine belt & based on these great instructions it looks fairly straight forward.

Can you tell me if:
1) I could do this by myself or would I need a second pair of hands?
2) Is it possible to route the belt from the hood or will I need to go under the car in order to do it?
3) Approximately how much time "should" this take to do?

Thanks!

1) You can by all means do this by yourself, *edit* although a second set of hands can help put the belt on the power steering pulley *edit*
2)It's easiest to change the belt from above. Going below the car may help you get the belt around the compressor and the crankshaft pulley, but I just loop the belt around those two items from above.
3) For a novice it might take 45 minutes to an hour worst case. If you're a fairly burly individual I wouldn't sweat getting extra tools, but if not a "serpentine belt tool" can give you much more leverage and make the hardest part of pushing the tensioner easier.

1) You can by all means do this by yourself, there isn't room for a second pair of hands.
2)It's easiest to change the belt from above. Going below the car may help you get the belt around the compressor and the crankshaft pulley, but I just loop the belt around those two items from above.
3) For a novice it might take 45 minutes to an hour worst case. If you're a fairly burly individual I wouldn't sweat getting extra tools, but if not a "serpentine belt tool" can give you much more leverage and make the hardest part of pushing the tensioner easier.

You realize that your list of what you need says you need an assistant? :dunno:

You can just use a long breaker bar so you don't run the risk of stripping a ratchet. I've done it and it isn't fun.

Thanks for the quick replies & info. Local repair shops wanted $120-$150 which seems ridiculous. I'm going to get everything together & tackle this over the weekend.

You realize that your list of what you need says you need an assistant? :dunno:

You can just use a long breaker bar so you don't run the risk of stripping a ratchet. I've done it and it isn't fun.

Oops!My bad! It's been a while, but yes, an assistant can often help when pushing the belt onto the power steering pulley. I find it easier to do myself, but then again I don't really think about it anymore.

Just out of curiosity when did you strip the ratchet? The last time I broke one I bent the metal at the head of the ratchet..

needs to be a sticky

+1 :thmsup:
Very Similar to the 7th Gen 4cyl too.

Thanks or the how-to.

I just did mine at a friend's driveway, took around 20 mins (first timer here).

I did it only own, and it took heck a lot of effort to loosen the tensioner. Also have the same rachet size/length as shown in the pics...

Was worried at first cause it wouldn't budge turning counter-clock wise. Re-read the thread on my phone and gave it another try.

I can imagine it'll be much easier if you have a longer rachet or breaker bar but I hulk myself enough to put the belt on.

Changed mine cause mine was squealing embarrassingly loud during wet mornings, and I have only 42k miles.
Probably overkill at my mileage, but I'll see if this solves that squealing sound.

I went with Honda OEM, part number 38920-RCA-A03

Did it today and for a newbie went very easyl less than an hour. I thought that the rachet was to loosen a nut, but it is just to hold on to the tensioner and move it to get belt on and off the Power steering. Thanks for the excellent help. I ordered an OEM belt because I feel that if we are doing the labor lets use the best parts.

Hey all, I found a routing diagram for our cars from Goodyear's website. It is attached below.

I read this thread a few times even had the instructions printed out. But when I turn the bolt counter-clock-wise, I can see the belt tension is loosen but I couldn't get it off the P/S pulley. So I pushed harder and the nightmare began... I broke the tensioner bolt.

Next I attempted to remove the whole tensioner assembly hoping I could perhaps extract the stuck bolt. However, after I loosen the the bolt in the idler's pulley, it didn't want to come out (it was hitting the frame), and I could not reach the second bolt down below that was holding the assembly.

So I had the card towed to the dealer's today and waiting for an answer tomorrow. I just checked online the drive belt auto-tensioner assembly can cost as high as $200. My attempt to save some money turned out to be a mess. Has this happened to anyone before? Any words of wisdom?

thanks,

-ted

I'm truly sorry to hear that :/ Unfortunately I'm not sure how well I can assist you since you already had your car towed. For anyone else who has had this problem, removing the tensioner assembly is much easier with the car elevated so that you can not only reach the second bolt but see what is happening. I've only removed the tensioner once, and it was when I did my timing belt about two years ago.

I read this thread a few times even had the instructions printed out. But when I turn the bolt counter-clock-wise, I can see the belt tension is loosen but I couldn't get it off the P/S pulley. So I pushed harder and the nightmare began... I broke the tensioner bolt.

Next I attempted to remove the whole tensioner assembly hoping I could perhaps extract the stuck bolt. However, after I loosen the the bolt in the idler's pulley, it didn't want to come out (it was hitting the frame), and I could not reach the second bolt down below that was holding the assembly.

So I had the card towed to the dealer's today and waiting for an answer tomorrow. I just checked online the drive belt auto-tensioner assembly can cost as high as $200. My attempt to save some money turned out to be a mess. Has this happened to anyone before? Any words of wisdom?

thanks,

-ted

I took my car to my grandparents' house a couple weeks ago for my first belt change on my Accord, and man was it interesting! First off, I had a 3/8 ratchet with the socket attached to the wrong pulley. I hooked it up to the idler pulley on accident. It wouldn't budge, so I found a 3 foot metal pipe in the neighbor's yard that fit snugly over the ratchet. I kept turning the ratchet and accidentally loosened the idler pulley bolt. I was like "Oh crap," so I tightened it back up and hooked it up to the correct pulley, the tensioner pulley. This pulley moved with ease.

Now I don't know how you tried to take the belt off (off the power steering pulley at first?), but I slid it off the tensioner pulley first. Then I took the ratchet off the tensioner pulley and continued to remove the belt. It came off with ease.

The hardest part in my opinion was putting the new belt back on. I had to get my grandpa to help me hold the belt because it kept slipping off the crankshaft and A/C pulley. It's a pretty tight space down there, but I then routed the belt through the idler pulley and alternator pulley, then through the power steering pulley, and finally through the tensioner pulley. Putting the belt on the tensioner pulley was the hardest part because it was a pain in the butt slipping it on there. I think I had to budge it with a flat head screwdriver, but it got on there. I even had to get my grandpa to hold the ratchet/metal pole while I pushed the belt on the tensioner pulley.

After that I double checked everything and ran the car for a couple minutes. It did sound a bit quieter than the old belt. After that, I threw the old belt in the trunk in case the new one messed up on me, and it's always good to have a backup belt just in case something bad happens to the new belt.

Anyways, I don't know about any of you guys, but I find it easy to slip the belt off the tensioner pulley first, and then run the new belt first from the crankshaft and A/C pulleys, then through the idler and alternator pulleys, then the power steering pulleys, and finally the tensioner pulley. I hope it isn't too hard or expensive to replace your tensioner pulley though. The part's fairly cheap, but the labor isn't. Good luck though buddy!

Just checked with the dealer and they want $354 to replace a new tensioner assembly and put the belt (my own) back. They also suggested timing belt work (belt, water pump, seals, etc) for $1337 since they said they found signs of oil leaking and it'll save me some on labor fees if they are done together today with the tensioner. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of budget so I told them to just put the tensioner and the drive belt back so I can get the car going again.

Thanks @Antartica for your advice on routing order. I think I should have slide the belt off the tensioner like you suggested, instead of trying to pry it out of the P/S pulley. Oh, well, now that I know these steps, I can attempt it on my Odyssey :-)

Just joined the forum to say thanks for this thread. I used to be the guy that could barely pump gas right. With the downturn in the economy though started relying more on threads like this to gain the knowledge to do pretty simple tasks that at one point i could not. Was so simple to do. Took me less then 10 mins. Thanks a ton!

Glad to hear you were able to easily replace the belt. It's easy as tying your shoes lol!

For anyone else who reads this and wants to change their belt, I have some advice on making it easy:

First off, get a buddy to help you. Offer him some beer so he feels appreciated. Second, get a good ratchet and a pipe that will fit over it snugly. I used a 3 foot pipe I found lying around. Once you get the old belt off, go ahead and route the new one from the bottom up. Get under the car and slip it into the crankshaft and A/C pulleys first. Get your buddy to hold the belt snugly so it doesn't slip off the pulleys. This is where I had some trouble. After that, run it through the alternator and idler pulleys. Then, run it through the power steering pump pulley. Make sure the belt doesn't slip off the crankshaft or A/C pulleys. It happened to me several times. Finally, while the belt is being held snug, push back the tensioner pulley as far as it will safely go and slip that belt on. Double check everything and start the car to test it. If all goes well, drink to your success!

Just got done changing my belt and it was no big deal. Took about 30 minutes. Hardest part was getting the new belt back on. I was using my 1/2" breaker bar with a 14mm ratchet but once I was to putting the new belt back on, I had to change to my 3/8" ratchet because of clearance issues. That took away a lot of leverage but I finally got....and all by myself!

I'm new to the forum. I just changed the drive belt on my 2006 V6 6mt sedan and it went great. Thanks for all the posts. I've never even changed my oil before, but I couldn't bring myself to pay for the labor related to the belt change. I picked up the original belt at the local honda dealer for $37. I only have 63K on it, but it started getting noisy. In fact, 2 years ago it was a little noisy and the mechanic put some belt dressing on it and it had been fine until now. I used the same size ratchet as shown in the first picture. Taking the P/S reservoir off made plenty of room. It definitely took some strength, but I was able to do it without any help, so it's possible to do solo.

Nice guide. :)

I wanted to add that it's easier to remember how to route a new belt if you just remember that the ribbed side of the belt goes against ribbed pulleys and the smooth side of the belt goes against smooth pulleys.

Seems silly, but keeping that in mind can make it easier when you've got your hands down in there.

you can go to autozone and borrow their tool. That what I did for my accord and Dad mdx. push the bar that is on the tensioner towards the rear of the car. After that just remove it off the P/S and then you have to unbolt the side mount.

After that just remove it off the P/S and then you have to unbolt the side mount.

You do NOT have to remove the side engine mount.

I found a long 3/8" breaker-bar, or a regular short breaker-bar with a 16" piece of pipe over the handle, works great. I had tried with a ratchet, but it was binding up on the engine mount (V6), and the handle wasn't round, so you would need a larger diameter pipe to go over it. I know this because I was trying to diagnose an intermittent noise, and must have removed and replaced the belt 10 times in about 2 hours. You can put the belt on all the pulleys from the top, you just have to hold the belt in a smaller loop, to make the belt more stiff and easy to push around the crankshaft and A/C pulley. Then you just have to make sure you hold the slack in the belt up, while going through all the other pulleys.

Just did this today. It literally took 10 minutes from start to finish with a 3/8 drive and a metal pole for leverage. You need to find a wrench with a small head, because the pulley won't move enough since the head will be hitting something else around there.

Anyone ever have to change the Tensioner Pulley? I changed my drive belt today and it almost melted off from a frozen pulley. The area is so tight and is hard to get to. Any ideas or suggestions before attempting? Local shop wants about 250 to change the tensioner pulley out/replace belt.

October of last year, I changed the timing belt, water pump, and tensioner of my 2005 EX V6. When it was cold in Dec & Jan, I could hear slight squeal after starting the motor, and went away after it warmed up. Recently, whenever the radiator fans are on, I always hear some clear rattle from the serpentine belt area. I found out the rattle sound is from the tensioner pulley when it vibrates. Is it because the timing belt was changed, and the serpentine belt wasn't, consenquently making the tensioner pulley off balance? Would changing serpentine belt fix the rattle or would I need a tensioner replacement? :dunno: :confused:
Thanks a lot! :)
Youtube: http://youtu.be/TqvygQlkeCY

Thanks "accordriver" and all other contributors. I used this guide to change me belt today. It was squealing like a mo fo. Changing the belt fixed it! :banana:

Thanks for the quick replies & info. Local repair shops wanted $120-$150 which seems ridiculous. I'm going to get everything together & tackle this over the weekend.

I just called, and found out that it would cost me $167 for the parts and $90/hour labor. So, I'm looking at how to do it myself. I can order the parts for less than the price of 1 hour's labor.