DIY: 7th Gen I4 Serpentine Drive Belt Replacement

[AznAccord08]

I recently replaced my drive belt and figured I do a DIY while I'm at it. Here's my drive belt replacement at 58k miles

What you need:
Your 7th Gen Accord
14mm wrench
Towel or cloth
New Drive Belt

Optional: Raise vehicle on ramp so you can access lower pulleys alot easier.


The new serpentine belt. Goodyear Gatorback 4070700


1. Check condition of belt


2. Check indicator on tensioner pulley. If the arrow is to the right of the bar, that means your belt needs replacement. If the arrow is to the left of the bar, that means the tensioner pulley and belt needs replacement. Center means GOOD.



3. Move the power steering reservoir to the side.

4. Position 14mm wrench on tensioner pulley as pictured:


5. Wrap towel or cloth over wrench for extra support and push down (clockwise) to relieve the belt.

6. Hold pushed down and pull off the old belt.

7. Install new belt starting from the bottom.



8. Push back down the wrench to release the tension and pull belt over the top pulley.

9. Release and the tension will return back to original position. THERE IS NO REASON TO TURN THE TENSIONER COUNTERCLOCKWISE!

10. Check the belt is properly installed.

11. Check the indicator. You will see the arrow and line is centered again.



12. Start up the engine.


Before.. my engine idles in park at 1300rpm. Now...750rpm


Before.. my engine idles in drive at 900rpm. Now...550rpm


The old bad belt. (As you can see, it started to crack and glaze)

[Nomis]

Very cool. What's the suggestion for when you should do this as far as miles are concerned or is this just something to keep an eye on?

[AznAccord08]

Originally Posted by Nomis

Very cool. What's the suggestion for when you should do this as far as miles are concerned or is this just something to keep an eye on?

It's something you should just keep an eye on. I replaced mines because it started to crack and after it rains or in cold weather, the belt squeaks embarrassingly. Myself, I had the squeak since I bought home the car at 31k miles and never replaced it until today at 58k miles (31 months = 27k miles not bad). I've seen people who needed to replace the belt at 15k and others who were replacing it for the first time during their 105k service.

[CYANiDE]

Mine has gone bad due to a leak I had. It's a bit worn. I did notice it looks like a pain to get back onto the pulleys because of how far down it goes. How did you manage to get around this? Also, the leak caused some bit of rubber to get onto the pulleys (sort of tiny tiny bits melted rubber on them), how do you suggest I get rid of them?

[Nomis]

Originally Posted by AznAccord08

It's something you should just keep an eye on. I replaced mines because it started to crack and after it rains or in cold weather, the belt squeaks embarrassingly. Myself, I had the squeak since I bought home the car at 31k miles and never replaced it until today at 58k miles (31 months = 27k miles not bad). I've seen people who needed to replace the belt at 15k and others who were replacing it for the first time during their 105k service.

Thanks.

[chiggaraccord03]

How do you like the Gatorback belt? Is it noisy or quiet? People says it is noisy compared to OEM. Thanks. Great post!

ChiggarAccordO3

[96accordcoupe]

Yeah my belts didn't need to be replaced till my timing belt job. No squeak no nothing, just had them do it while they were at it.

[paperboy42190]

i had no idea there was an indicator. i dont really have any squeaks or problems driving. theres slight vibration during idle, and sometimes it'll idle too high or low, but nothing out of ordinary. i checked my indicator earlier and its about the same, arrow to the right, as the OP. should i bother replacing it? and if i were to replace it, what other options are there besides the goodyear gatorback? and where is the cheapest place to get one?

[CYANiDE]

Originally Posted by paperboy42190

i had no idea there was an indicator. i dont really have any squeaks or problems driving. theres slight vibration during idle, and sometimes it'll idle too high or low, but nothing out of ordinary. i checked my indicator earlier and its about the same, arrow to the right, as the OP. should i bother replacing it? and if i were to replace it, what other options are there besides the goodyear gatorback? and where is the cheapest place to get one?

Replace it. It's not terribly expensive and if I remember correctly your car has a bad history, might as well start treating it right as the new owner.

I say stick with an OEM belt, I was looking into replacing this for my car as well.

You car and mine seem to share the same belt.
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...ESSOR+%28L4%29

#11 on the diagram costs about $30 + shipping.

[AznAccord08]

Originally Posted by CYANiDE

Mine has gone bad due to a leak I had. It's a bit worn. I did notice it looks like a pain to get back onto the pulleys because of how far down it goes. How did you manage to get around this? Also, the leak caused some bit of rubber to get onto the pulleys (sort of tiny tiny bits melted rubber on them), how do you suggest I get rid of them?

Raise the car on a ramp and from under the car, you can reach the belt to route the lower two pulleys.

Originally Posted by chiggaraccord03

How do you like the Gatorback belt? Is it noisy or quiet? People says it is noisy compared to OEM. Thanks. Great post!

ChiggarAccordO3

QUIET.. ALOT QUIETER. I noticed a big change in the RPM and acceleration. RPM moves quite better than before and acceleration is a lot smoother. When I had both belts in my hand, the OEM belt felt cheap (or unless the prev. owner replaced it before I bought it over at 31k miles). I never got to hear the OEM belt when it was new so I'm not really sure which is quieter.

[paperboy42190]

I just have a few more questions.

Is the tensioner pulley going to be hard to push down? I have a 3/8 inch drive ratchet with a 14mm socket, will that be strong enough or should I go rent a breaker bar from autozone?

Does the belt go on in any way? Like, theres no dots or lines to match up?

Does anyone have the diagram to show how the belt route? I don't have a sticker on my hood because its aftermarket =X

just ordered the goodyear gatorback from amazon because its only $26.99 shipped, and seems to have really good reviews...

[AznAccord08]

Originally Posted by paperboy42190

I just have a few more questions.

Is the tensioner pulley going to be hard to push down? I have a 3/8 inch drive ratchet with a 14mm socket, will that be strong enough or should I go rent a breaker bar from autozone?

Does the belt go on in any way? Like, theres no dots or lines to match up?

Does anyone have the diagram to show how the belt route? I don't have a sticker on my hood because its aftermarket =X

just ordered the goodyear gatorback from amazon because its only $26.99 shipped, and seems to have really good reviews...

4cyl engine? The ratchet and socket will not fit with the space given. I tried. You will have to use a 14mm wrench. Wrap a towel over the wrench and push. Look at the size of the wrench I used.



Belt go on anyway? Follow the routing diagram. Here's a prev. post I made, people contributed some links to routing diagrams.
http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/sh...d.php?p=623701

I was going to buy from amazon.com but their shipping usually takes over two-three weeks to get to me.

[Jeff]

If you put the 14mm wrench on, then get another larger wrench, like a 17mm, you can lock it in with the 14mm so you can get a lot more leverage. Works every time for me.

[paperboy42190]

k I'll get a long 14mm wrench when my gatorback belt arrives from amazon!

[Furple]

Can you draw the orientation of the belt around the pulleys?