Fan Belt taken off after Alternator replacement, hard to put back. Needs a new belt t
Thread Starter
|
2nd Gear member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 419
Fan Belt taken off after Alternator replacement, hard to put back. Needs a new belt t
Hello,
Title:
Fan Belt taken off after Alternator replacement, hard to put back. Needs a new belt tensioner?
1 of my mechanics, the nearest available, took off my alternator to get it tested
It came back in good condition
So, the culprit is probably the battery this mechanic said
In keeping with putting back a tested alternator back....,He spent almost 4.5 hours trying to put the Serpentine fan belt over the pulleys, because there wasn't enough slack or room to put it over (too tight)
I helped him hold the flash light and to hold onto the fan belt at some areas
At one point this mechanic tried to pry with a screwdriver the last part of the fan belt over 1 pulley (the tightest part)
He then after cutting his finger said, "it's probably the belt tensioner," it is so old that there's a krink or resistance somewhere in the tensioner, which won't give enough slack to put the fan belt over the pulleys
I then asked him not to work on it anymore, and ordered a "belt tensioner" and a new car battery (as it seems the top end name brand pricey one I bought almost 1 year ago) was defective
and called my top notch mobile mechanic to stop by thursday december 15th, my birthday, but oh, well, I'm not having a non-working car sit in the apt building garage.
Is this something that's an easy fix?
In other words is a serpetine fan belt easy to put over a new belt tensioner? Will there then be more slack / more room to put the serpetine fan belt over the pulleys?
I have more confidence in my top notch mobile mechanic although he charges a lot more, and is very busy this time of year, but generally speaking is this an easy fix once a new belt tensioner is attached?
Thanks a lot in advance
Title:
Fan Belt taken off after Alternator replacement, hard to put back. Needs a new belt tensioner?
1 of my mechanics, the nearest available, took off my alternator to get it tested
It came back in good condition
So, the culprit is probably the battery this mechanic said
In keeping with putting back a tested alternator back....,He spent almost 4.5 hours trying to put the Serpentine fan belt over the pulleys, because there wasn't enough slack or room to put it over (too tight)
I helped him hold the flash light and to hold onto the fan belt at some areas
At one point this mechanic tried to pry with a screwdriver the last part of the fan belt over 1 pulley (the tightest part)
He then after cutting his finger said, "it's probably the belt tensioner," it is so old that there's a krink or resistance somewhere in the tensioner, which won't give enough slack to put the fan belt over the pulleys
I then asked him not to work on it anymore, and ordered a "belt tensioner" and a new car battery (as it seems the top end name brand pricey one I bought almost 1 year ago) was defective
and called my top notch mobile mechanic to stop by thursday december 15th, my birthday, but oh, well, I'm not having a non-working car sit in the apt building garage.
Is this something that's an easy fix?
In other words is a serpetine fan belt easy to put over a new belt tensioner? Will there then be more slack / more room to put the serpetine fan belt over the pulleys?
I have more confidence in my top notch mobile mechanic although he charges a lot more, and is very busy this time of year, but generally speaking is this an easy fix once a new belt tensioner is attached?
Thanks a lot in advance
Last edited by CamBigCat; Dec 13, 2022 at 10:10 PM.
Thread Starter
|
2nd Gear member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 419
I'm worried that for some reason my top notch mechanic, the mobile mechanic coming on thurs. december 15th, won't be able to get the serpetine belt back on all the pulleys
as mentioned, only 1 part was not going over the last part of the pulley
the 1st mechanic swore he followed the diagram, but then blamed it on the belt tensioner not moving enough to give enough slack
as mentioned, only 1 part was not going over the last part of the pulley
the 1st mechanic swore he followed the diagram, but then blamed it on the belt tensioner not moving enough to give enough slack
Fourth Generation Moderator
October 2009 ROTM
October 2009 ROTM
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 10,560
From: Eastern PA,
ROTM Winner's Club
If the belt came off and your are trying to put it back together then with the same alternator and it will not go something is together wrong. The only other explanation I know of is the belt tension broke inside when it was released and will not return to its original position.
Thread Starter
|
2nd Gear member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 419
If the belt came off and your are trying to put it back together then with the same alternator and it will not go something is together wrong. The only other explanation I know of is the belt tension broke inside when it was released and will not return to its original position.
So would getting a new belt tensioner solve the problem?
Or is it the fixture in the engine bay, under the hood, to which the belt tensioner is attached, that would be the problem?
Here's what I ordered and what the existing belt tensioner looks like....
Thread Starter
|
2nd Gear member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 419
I noticed this on a Honda forum, but it's similar to my problem
Is this also a good way to go about my problem with my 4th gen. camaro?
question:
grommet
New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Knightdale, NC
Posts: 7
Any tricks for getting a tight drive/serpentine belt on?Hi folks - I'm changing the drive belt and tensioner on my 2012 Fit and for the love of god I can't get the new Honda OEM belt back on. The old belt was super tight to begin with so obviously this one is worse, even with the tension released.
Are there any tips or tricks that I'm not aware of? Which pulley should I try to get the belt around last? Like I said, even with the tension released it's just nowhere near loose enough to get around that last pulley. So frustrating.
Last edited by grommet; 10-16-2016 at09:52 PM.
Grommet
Quick update: I found a trick that worked pretty well for me and only required one person.
1. Remove the negative battery connection.
2.Loosenthe lower alternator bolt andremovethe upper bolt. This allows the alternator to pivot back slightly towards the passenger cabin allowing for a little more slack on the belt. This may be optional depending on how tight your belt is.
3. Route the new belt starting at the alternator and working your way down towards the ground. Leave the belt off of the A/C pulley (at the bottom) which is what you'll work on last.
4. From below the car, release the belt tension and wrap as much belt on the AC pulley as you can. It should completely wrap around the black outer cover.Ensure the belt is completely on the water pump and crank pulleys!
5. Hand turn the engine clockwise via the crank bolt which will gradually route the belt on the AC pulley.Make sure the belt doesn't route itself off of the crank shaft pulley as you do this!You won't need to release tension at this part, and the belt should easily route itself on all the proper pulleys.
Now you'll need to reinsert the upper alternator bolt which is not possible at the moment because the alternator is being pulled back towards the cabin. Grab a long crow bar and *gently* place it behind alternator near the bolt (not on it!) and pull the alternator forward enough to reinsert the bolt. It won't take much pressure to do this and it should slide right in.
6. Torque down the two alternator bolts down to specs. On my 2012 Fit it's 17 ft/lbs.
That's it! It was pretty easy once I got the routine down. Hope this helps
Is this also a good way to go about my problem with my 4th gen. camaro?
question:
Any tricks for getting a tight drive/serpentine belt on?
grommet
New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Knightdale, NC
Posts: 7
Any tricks for getting a tight drive/serpentine belt on?Hi folks - I'm changing the drive belt and tensioner on my 2012 Fit and for the love of god I can't get the new Honda OEM belt back on. The old belt was super tight to begin with so obviously this one is worse, even with the tension released.
Are there any tips or tricks that I'm not aware of? Which pulley should I try to get the belt around last? Like I said, even with the tension released it's just nowhere near loose enough to get around that last pulley. So frustrating.
Last edited by grommet; 10-16-2016 at09:52 PM.
Grommet
Quick update: I found a trick that worked pretty well for me and only required one person.
1. Remove the negative battery connection.
2.Loosenthe lower alternator bolt andremovethe upper bolt. This allows the alternator to pivot back slightly towards the passenger cabin allowing for a little more slack on the belt. This may be optional depending on how tight your belt is.
3. Route the new belt starting at the alternator and working your way down towards the ground. Leave the belt off of the A/C pulley (at the bottom) which is what you'll work on last.
4. From below the car, release the belt tension and wrap as much belt on the AC pulley as you can. It should completely wrap around the black outer cover.Ensure the belt is completely on the water pump and crank pulleys!
5. Hand turn the engine clockwise via the crank bolt which will gradually route the belt on the AC pulley.Make sure the belt doesn't route itself off of the crank shaft pulley as you do this!You won't need to release tension at this part, and the belt should easily route itself on all the proper pulleys.
Now you'll need to reinsert the upper alternator bolt which is not possible at the moment because the alternator is being pulled back towards the cabin. Grab a long crow bar and *gently* place it behind alternator near the bolt (not on it!) and pull the alternator forward enough to reinsert the bolt. It won't take much pressure to do this and it should slide right in.
6. Torque down the two alternator bolts down to specs. On my 2012 Fit it's 17 ft/lbs.
That's it! It was pretty easy once I got the routine down. Hope this helps
Fourth Generation Moderator
October 2009 ROTM
October 2009 ROTM
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 10,560
From: Eastern PA,
ROTM Winner's Club
I guess the belt could be the wrong one. Have you had it off before? If the tensioner is bad and the belt is too tight it could cause you a lot of problems.
Thread Starter
|
2nd Gear member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 419
it didn't take long to put on a new fan belt in January 2022 by my #1 go-to mechanic
Yesterday, the belt won't even go entirely on as there's no slack on the last pulley, no matter how much mechanic #2 (less of a go-to mechanic, not the top notch one) tried working it.
so just to play it safe I ordered a new fan belt (in addition to ordering a new belt tensioner) because as mentioned the #2 qualified mechanic I used tried to put a srewdriver and pry the belt onto the last pulley to make it fit, but couldn't so I ordered another one to avoid any problems with srewdriver marks on the fan belt
the #1 go to mechanic will stop by tomorrow, he knows well enough to have enough slack and not too tight when it is completely on
The problem is that the fan belt couldn't be put on completely, the last loop would not go over the pulley, it was too tight
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post