Great Video, very detailed and very professionally done. I have a 2008 Honda civic Canadian DGX with 132K. In the winter time I could hear a loud squealing noise in the morning when I started the car. Then it went away when it got warmer. Now its back again BUT this time it happens ONLY when during driving I lift my foot off the gas pedal. What is the noise from? Thanks
I have this same problem when start up car and goes away usually as hit has it get moving. Doesn’t happen every time I start it just say 1 of 10 times. If change the belt do I have to change the tensioner? Could it just be a bad belt? Thanks!
I've been doing all my own work for over 30 years, and, it's rare for everything to go as smoothly as they do on TV or online. Thanks for showing the extra steps most of us have gone down many many times. I live in upstate NY and rusted busted bolts are normal for us folks who live in the salt belt.
I can’t thank y’all enough! Just replaced my alternator in a Home Depot parking lot. Getting the belt back on in the dark was NOT fun. But thanks to you guys i was able to fix it. Keep it going!
Thank you guys for posting this video. I’m replacing the serpentine belt after fixing the air conditioning clutch. The tensioner is kicking my butt your videos help me understand how to do the tensioner and I thank you for that. Thanks again.
Saw the video which inspired me to fix my daughter's 09 Civic which needed a new water pump and alternator, decided to also add a new belt tensioner, a new belt, and a new battery. I bought all quality parts and spent an entire day installing them and now it runs great. I was extra careful with the finicky belt tensioner's hard to get to 8mm screw because of all the issues you had, and used lotsa liquid wrench which along with your instructions made all the difference. Couldn't have done it without you guys! MANY THANKS!!
Excellent instruction...very professional. Good camera shots, good details and coverage of peripheral methods and techniques. Bravo!!! Changed the tensioner out as the pulley bearings were shot and making a continuous grinding sound. Amazing that it lasted three years in that state. After the change...silence.
This maintenance took me 7 hours, but I did it! My 8mm bolt was actually relatively easy to get off. 45 min of penetrating oil followed by torque applied with a breaker bar from a lying position in the wheel well. I especially struggled with getting the alternator back on, and getting the serpentine belt around the alternator. Ultimately, I got it done in the end. Thank you!
this was great Guys! Finally, a Canadian channel that gives a real life, step-by-step tutorial. I'm 61 and worked on all my own vehicles, encountering myriad problems/oddities but never found a video that provides direct insight and provisional advice into these issues.....until now. Gotta do this exact job on my daughter's Civic. I love the way you've constructed this video. Thanks!!!
Koodos to the producer of this video. The instructor is impressive. I have seen many here. His calm demeanor, precise language, detailed description and his warnings all make a superb instructor. This guy is qualified to be an awesome teacher. I have learned so much from him. Thank you very much.
You covered best case scenario and worst case scenario! I really appreciate you taking the time to cover all the scenarios! Your transparency and honesty makes this video the most realistic and just overall worth watching it! Thank you so much!! You give us do it yourselfers hope and solutions:)
I just did this repair today on my 06 civic ex. I messed around not being able to get a good angle on that 8mm pivot bolt, so I sprayed it and dropped the engine and gently hammered the allen socket onto the bolt. I used a breaker bar broke the bolt free with no issues. Car is back up and running now. I broke the belt tensioner trying to remove the belt to replace the alternator and almost glad I did. After replacing it, the tensioner was so much easier to move and I was able to put belt back on by myself just like in the video.
Just went through this fix with my father in law. The pivot bolt broke off in the engine block while driving, causing the tensioner to come loose and come into contact with the water pump pulley, eventually welding the pulley to the tensioner (and preventing the belt from moving) - we had to cut the belt off to get the alternator off and then went through your “worst case scenario” as described in this video. Didn’t see this video until after we were done, but it was a nightmare dropping the engine and drilling out that bolt. Once we got the bolt out, it wasn’t too bad putting it all back together with a new tensioner and pivot bolt. Great video.
You just saved a LOT of aggravation! Hoped on TH-cam because the tensioner bolt is not moving. I’ll spray it and let it sit. Thank you very much for just how long this is going to go.
This video helped me remove my hydraulic tensioner. My 320Nm impact wrench couldn’t make it move. I used long breaker bar and long socket extension from under the wheel well after lowering the engine. Thank you!
Thank you for the great video. I ended up needing to drop the engine similar to the video in order to remove the tensioner pivot bolt. I used a propane torch, 1/2" impact and a long cheater bar. The cheater bar and the heat finally broke the socket head cap screw loose. I really don't like that design but understand why they used an internal head bolt due to space constraints. In general, working on Honda is a PITA.
Not all of them are a pita, love my 7th generation. They dropped the ball on the 8th generation, reversed the whole engine and changed the whole car. Going to have to do this to the wifes car, already soaking that pivot in bolt.
The bolt came out of my Ontario driven 2006 Civic with 353k km without much problem. I dosed it a couple of days ahead time with penetrating fluid as best I could and again after getting the alternator and pump pulley out if they way. I put in the 8 mm hex, made sure it was fully seated, then used a long extension (as a punch) from below to tap the hex bit to help break the corrosion then broke it free from above using a 24 inch 3/8 ratch. It was certainly tight, the ratchet flexed, but the bolt popped and then came out easily. I've owned the car since new. It hadn't been out before.
News flash: went for the water pump after the tensioner.... snapped a bolt. Arg! It's the one at the top that's easiest to access. The back of the bolt is exposed to the elements so it corrodes in there more than the others. It's easy to access. Could have been much worse. But not out yet....
@@JamesJon1187 My 2006 is still on the road. 404k km and used daily. Clean the bolt well, seat the 8mm hex socket well, and most importantly IMO, give it a few good smacks with a hammer (as I described) to break the corrosion bond. Maybe even adding more penetrating oil after the smacks and letting it soak for a while more.
Thank you for this very professional and detailed video! I have successfully replaced my belt and tensioner thanks to you! I guess I got lucky, the 8mm bolt in the tensioner took just about all my muscle to break friction but I got it off without breaking anything. I like that you had backup solutions in case option 1 didn’t work out!
I just replaced my serp belt at 95,000 mi.-14 yrs and had a heck of a time getting the tensioner to back off to put the new belt on (it worked fine taking the old one off) the head on the tensioner is now so boogered up I will probably have to replace the tensioner when this belt wears out or it goes bad-not looking foward to that.......
Great video. Had to replace the belt on a 07 Honda and found out the tensioner was broken. Lowering the engine down is the way to go. Takes 5 minutes and makes life so much easier. Couldn't break the bolt loose with a cheater bar so used my Milwaukee m18 impact and it brought the bolt out with hardly any effort.
I always love your videos. I have an ‘06 civic that I do most of the work on myself. Your videos are always so thorough and informative. Also, the hockey puck sent me 😂
Regret buying mine great engine and trans but everything else that continually fail on these fuckers. They become shit shows to work on. especially in the rust belt of canada.
Thanks. This video is very helpful. I've watched it and the 'parent" video replacing the water pump, which is what I'm doing this weekend. I was very concerned about that 8mm internal hex bolt, and didn't want to drop the engine to get at it. Mine was very tight, but I used my serpentine belt wrench (basically a breaker bar that is flat steel 32" long, which worked better in that tight space and gave me a little extra leverage. I used about a half-can of PB Blaster, and waited several hours. Still on very tight, but I just kept pressure on the wrench and after about 30 seconds I felt it give. That broke it free enough that I could get it the rest of the way with a flex-head ratchet and a lot of patience. Once I got the belt tensioner off, I felt that I was home free. The water pump is held on by five bolts and I removed five bolts, but the pump wouldn't budge. Now what? I crawled under and shone up a flashlight and saw that I removed four bolts from the water pump and one bolt from something next to the water pump. Oops! Once I fixed that problem the pump came off easily, and I just put the new one on. Now I need to look up all the torque specs.
Good video. Just to let you know though, they make a tool for that tensioner. The reason is, when you slip off, and most will, or you tweak it the wrong way, it screws the bearing up. I learned the hard way. Honda makes a slim breaker bar and its worth it to cough up for the extra easiness and one less bloody knuckle. Thank you for the video
Yep you're right. I had to buy the tool because I couldn't get it to budge. My issue is it came with a 12point socket on it and my dumb friend chewed up the aluminum bolt you hook onto. I took it to a welder and he chopped off the socket and put a 6 point I had on there. Works perfectly now lol.
Perfect video, I'm getting a rattling noise from my 2012 Honda civic coupe belt tensioner. I'm planning on doing the replacement myself, but I'm nervous about that tensioner bolt🤨 soooo....
Here's a hack of the bolt stuck. After you drop the motor a bit by removing the motor mount bracket. Use a leverage bar against your ratchet with the inside finder wall as the pivot point.
Rarely see new (or old re-used) bolts like the 8MM hex re-assembled with Anti-seize. Would this not be the obvious, easy and zero cost solution so when/if you ever have to remove again it will come out without problems?
+My 06 Civic needs a fresh or fixed alternator. So I need to release the belt tension. With a 30" pipe on the 3/4" wrench the tensioner will not release, yet. Despite a generous soaking with WD40. So I'm praying that it'll see it my way tomorrow. I'd hate to dismantle half the car for one lousy bolt. Never Seize is a beaut product; they should have used some. Although, once it's out of the dealership, it's simply not their problem. The video is well done! John Coltman.
For what it's worth, I striped the 8mm hole out and drilled the face of the bushing (3 holes and the face popped off) which let the assembly slide out. After taking the water pump off (bottom bolt rough) the assembly slid off leaving the bolt and bushing. I was able to grab the outside of the bushing (and outside of head) and turn with vice grips. This also made applying heat easier since the arm was now gone. if you desperate?
Thanks for the video. I have a 2006 civic, and I had a really hard to remove/reinstall the belt when I worked on the A/C clutch. I damaged the tensioner so much when trying to push it back that now I cannot push it back since my wrench would just slide on it and I have to install a new tensioner, which led me in this video LUL. It's so hard to remove the belt probably because of the new belt route 2006 civic has? However I think the belt route of my 2006 civic is the same as in the video.
Maybe the tensioner itself was seized? In the video if you pause at the right spot you'll probably that the tensioner is already damaged from a previous attempt to remove the belt so it's not hard to do.
Update: thanks to your video, it took me only ~2hr to replace it (i already got the tires and splash shield before). The bolts on thewaterpump pulley are a pain. I had to buy a six point wrench to get one of them off because a standard 12 point one would not work. The pivotal bolt comes off relatively easy for me. I did lower the engine, and tried impact wrench first. It didn't work, but then I loosened it with just a torch wrench and some penetriting oil. Funny thing is I broke the other bolt when installing the new one becuase I applied 27 ftlbs torque by mistake lol, so I had to go to Lowe's to get a new one.
A quick and relatively easy way I found to replace the belt (not the tensioner) was to loop the belt around the crack shaft pulley (lower most) first then bring it up between the idler pulleys where you can hold it against the pulleys to prevent it from slipping off the idlers and crankshaft pulley, then loop it around the aft most pulley, then the forward lowermost, then while compressing the belt tensioner loop it around the fwd upper alternator pulley. I also jacked the right fwd (without removing tire) and removed the two or three plastic fasteners securing splash panel so I could pull it back to get to get a shop light in there to facilitate getting belt around crankshaft pulley (which may not be necessary if you can see with a light from the top).
After three days trying to get the brake rotor set screws out Im Going to to start the penetrating oil on the 8mm now in plans for a belt replacement next month.
@@terry.lcarmy are you asking about the brake rotors? I ended up drilling one out and then the other I used to torch and an impact driver. Also, you need a GIS screwdriver head from Japan not the regular Phillips head they slip. 8 mm bolt on my tensioner actually came right out surprisingly
The 8mm bolt described in the video is truly a bear. I found a simple work around: Rather than replacing the whole tensioner, you simply replace the little strut on the end of the tensioner. This is held on by a T50 star bit which you can easily remove with a 3/8" drive ratchet. This potentially avoids removing the alternator, but if you do this you definitely don't need to remove the water pump pulley or the 8mm hex bolt, making this job into a 20 minute job rather than a week long one. Oh, and you DEFINITELY will not have to drop the engine. This ONLY works if the pulley on the tensioner isn't worn out. Check this by wobbling the pulley to see if the bearing is lose. Spin it a bit too and see if it's grinding. If it spins smoothly (like the one on the new part), the only worn out part is the strut I mentioned above. Good luck, hope this helps!
I wonder if you could take this a step further and just replace the pulley instead of the entire assembly? Not sure what the bearing design is. Have you ever taken one apart?
@NeverOutatime Well I did this job today just replacing the strut, and so far so good - the tensioner is no longer wiggling around and rattling against the timing cover or whatever it was hitting. The most difficult part of the job was getting the lower bolt on the alternator to thread back into the hole. It was so close to the water pump pulley there was (literally) no wiggle room. I'm confused by the wording of your post, when you say "this potentially avoids remving the alternator". To replace just the strut you DEFINITELY have to remove the alternator AND the mouting bracket, because the T50 fastener is on the back side of the tensioner bracket. Is this just an idea you had but haven't actually done? In any event, it was a great idea and saved me a ton of work (for now anyway).
I'd wondered why you can't just buy the strut. That's actually what's doing the tensioning, unless the pulley bearing is screaming, there's zero reason to replace that entire assembly. The Honda part number for the strut is 31179-RWK-005
I used that same method on a 2az-fe motor once, for other reasons. Worked out fine. I was wondering if it would work on this. Both me and my gf have 8th gens and both are having this issue. Hers is the 1.8 (r18) and mine is the 2.0 (k20)... I glanced and figured it would be tedious job. Glad I seen the video
You can't get the water pump out to change it without removing the tentioner as the bottom bolt is under it. Not even sure the pump would have enough clearance to be changed even if you could get to the bolt. I ordered a Dorman replacement tentioner idle wheel but the original Japan made one seemed to roll better and bearings were better than the Chinese replacement so I kept it. The strut was still in good shape on my tentioner and only a little play in the pivot so I wasn't going to either pay 200 bucks for oem or put a 20 Chinese tentioner on just to have it fail. I put a touch of anti seize on that tentioner bolt, rather have that damn thing come loose than the head strip off or the bolt break off if I ever do have to replace the tentioner.
Hello!! I have a problem with my tensioner bolt always breaking too often now a serious problem for me I am scared driving far from home cos it might just break again on the higher way What do I do
Wish you would show the heating up of the tensioner bolt....Like would you heat the head of the bolt itself or heat the engine block where the bolt goes into?
The bolt on mine actually broke while I was driving (didn't know at that time), luckily I was in the drive-thru when I heard this ticking sound. Eventually, completely broke off causing my water pump pulley to make contact with the belt tensioner and grinding it. Had to extract the broken bolt that was stuck in the engine.
joeyyung911 Mine broke after 10k miles after having tensioner and water pump replaced. Before that I had went 26k miles with same parts replaced. Love the car but just don’t trust it now. Thought about a Camry. How’s your Civic holding up?
@@MrHuck - I did lost a little trust with this car, but I think mine is just getting old. 14+ years, 195K+ miles, parts will break down and I'll still love this car!!
joeyyung911 I’ve got 316,000 miles on mine. That bolt broke when i was driving too! The tensioner was rubbing on the water pump pulley, cut a deep groove into it, then stalled out the engine at a red light, couldn’t restart it. Thought engine had seized lol, but was that pulley. We fixed that at about 189,000 miles, it’s been fine since, however we had to drill out the old bolt and put a helicoil into the engine block. Amazingly enough...has held since !
Broke 19mm tension adjuster bolt while replacing an alternator, rest everything is good. Is there any work around to put the belt back on or I'll have to replace the complete tensioner? Thx
There are 2 bolts that Honds has. one is slightly bigger and one is smaller. Which one do I choose. I have both and why are there two bolts for the tensioner pivot bolt?
Think this was fun.. try replacing the starter.. you need small hands and couple universal sockets.. putting back in was more fun getting the upper starter bolt started with little room to work with.. but book says 4hrs I did it in 5.75hrs 😎 which is not bad for 1st time
Is it possible to install a new alternator without loosening the belt? The belt bolt to release tension broke off. We were able to take out the old one. But fitting the bottom screw is extremely hard. I was wondering if there were any tips to help find the hole for the bottom screw of the new alternator when installing. Is it possible to see it from the side through the passenger tire side view?
Patently worked like hell to get the tentioner bolt out. Was about to give up on changing the water pump, gave it one last try and it came loose. Was not rusted just covered in what looks like orange anti seize, though I was home free but boy was I wrong. The bottom water pump bolt was rusted to bad that It would not come all the way out, hours of oil and in and out and nothing, ended up braking off with about 1/8" sticking out of the block. Tryed to weld a nut to the end but no use. Gave up and ground ot smooth and drilled and tapped it out to a 1/4 20 bolt, of course the hole walked when I drilled it to the seal side slightly but I was able to dremel out the new pump mounting hole to make it work, no idea how I didn't damage the seaing surface where the o ring seals. Almost 12 hours to do do a water pump, thermostat and belt. The redesign on the 8th gen civics are stupid, honda dropped the ball on making you have to remove the tentioner to get to that bolt. Would have rather done a 7th generation full timing service 3 times than went through what I had to do. I put that damn tentioner bolt back in with a touch of anti seize on the threads and shaft, would rather the damn thing come loose than snap off or strip the head out when I ever have to do a tentioner. Ugh.....
Love your guys videos! I changed my water pump with your video. It was very helpful. I was wondering if you could do a AC compressor video. I want yo change it my self because i have no money at the moment. Thank you!
Hi! According to Honda TSB 06-059, the belt needed for the new routing is Honda Part No. 04301-RNA-307. You can get a Honda one or cross reference the Honda part number to get a aftermarket belt. Please refer to TSB 06-059 and make sure that the this new belt and new routing design applies to your vehicle. Thanks for watching!
I recently noticed a metallic rattling sound in my GFs 2009 Civic (123k miles) on cold starts, goes away after a couple minutes. I noticed that the tensioner is shaking quite a bit when it is in gear (not much at idle). I assume it is not a good thing that the tensioner moves at all? I have watched a few other videos and it seems to be perfectly still.
ncyankee101 I have the same cold start rattle on my 06 Civic, and suspect the tensioner, too. I had it replaced about 100k miles ago and I'm not sure how long they last.
Doing this job a second time now on my '09. The tensioner bolt broke off both times. First time I used a drill and patience, and was able to reverse it out. The replacement tensioner had come with a bolt. lasted about 1.5 yrs. This time the bolt broke off but there was enough left out of the engine block for me to unscrew it with my fingers (not sure if I should be happy or sad). Now as I am trying to put the tensioner bolt back on, using a new Honda OEM 10x59x1.25, I feel resistance threading it back in, he bolt head still out of tensioner bolt hole (not fully screwed in) more than I thought I would. the bolt threads are not stripped or malformed. I don't want to force it in and strip the threads in the bolt hole or beak the bolt. Anyone else have the same issue when re-mounting the Tensioner Bolt? is the OEM bolt a little thicker than the hole?
does this help if the tensioner is vibrating every once in a while? the one I have vibrates not when press on the gas, but only when its idle every few seconds.
So the part number for the serpentine belt is slightly longer now? I was having trouble putting the belt back on and was wondering why it was just soo damn hard
Hey guys, I have followed the procecure to loosen the belt. I've got a nice long 19mm ratchet wrench on that tensioner bolt and have slowly pushed it back many times, but my belt is not loosening. What should I do to get it to loosen up?
I think I know why the Allen/hex bolt was such a pain to get out. It seems to me that Honda applied a LIQUID GASKET near but not related to the Allen/hex bolt and then bolt it in WITHOUT LETTING THE LIQUID GASKET DRY FIRST. This explains why when loosening it there is no movement for the Allen/hex bolt to get loose so it strips the Allen/hex bolt. So make sure after you extract the bolt clean the engine block surface before installing the new Allen bolt. I also decided not to use ANTI-SIEZE a since the bolt was very clean and the end where the bolt goes into the engine block is not open. Good luck with patience I use a impact drill with drill bits size smaller than the Allen bolt and well as a drill bit close to the size of the Allen bolt AND with a CHIZEL AND HAMMER to loosen it COUNTER CLOCKWISE.
Great Video, very detailed and very professionally done. I have a 2008 Honda civic Canadian DGX with 132K. In the winter time I could hear a loud squealing noise in the morning when I started the car. Then it went away when it got warmer. Now its back again BUT this time it happens ONLY when during driving I lift my foot off the gas pedal. What is the noise from? Thanks
Belt definitely sounds like a possibility!
This might help you narrow it down - th-cam.com/video/AEUe6uKxTv8/w-d-xo.html
I have this same problem when start up car and goes away usually as hit has it get moving. Doesn’t happen every time I start it just say 1 of 10 times. If change the belt do I have to change the tensioner? Could it just be a bad belt? Thanks!
I've been doing all my own work for over 30 years, and, it's rare for everything to go as smoothly as they do on TV or online. Thanks for showing the extra steps most of us have gone down many many times. I live in upstate NY and rusted busted bolts are normal for us folks who live in the salt belt.
I can’t thank y’all enough! Just replaced my alternator in a Home Depot parking lot. Getting the belt back on in the dark was NOT fun. But thanks to you guys i was able to fix it. Keep it going!
Thank you guys for posting this video. I’m replacing the serpentine belt after fixing the air conditioning clutch. The tensioner is kicking my butt your videos help me understand how to do the tensioner and I thank you for that. Thanks again.
@@FredShawit’s kicking my butt too 🤣
Saw the video which inspired me to fix my daughter's 09 Civic which needed a new water pump and alternator, decided to also add a new belt tensioner, a new belt, and a new battery. I bought all quality parts and spent an entire day installing them and now it runs great. I was extra careful with the finicky belt tensioner's hard to get to 8mm screw because of all the issues you had, and used lotsa liquid wrench which along with your instructions made all the difference. Couldn't have done it without you guys! MANY THANKS!!
Greatest video I’ve seen yet
How much would that cost if I went to a mechanic? I actually gave to fix my tensioner now
Excellent instruction...very professional. Good camera shots, good details and coverage of peripheral methods and techniques. Bravo!!! Changed the tensioner out as the pulley bearings were shot and making a continuous grinding sound. Amazing that it lasted three years in that state. After the change...silence.
This maintenance took me 7 hours, but I did it! My 8mm bolt was actually relatively easy to get off. 45 min of penetrating oil followed by torque applied with a breaker bar from a lying position in the wheel well. I especially struggled with getting the alternator back on, and getting the serpentine belt around the alternator. Ultimately, I got it done in the end. Thank you!
this was great Guys! Finally, a Canadian channel that gives a real life, step-by-step tutorial. I'm 61 and worked on all my own vehicles, encountering myriad problems/oddities but never found a video that provides direct insight and provisional advice into these issues.....until now. Gotta do this exact job on my daughter's Civic. I love the way you've constructed this video. Thanks!!!
Good luck with the bolt!
We're in NL so this car has been soaked in salt for the last 12 years - you should be a bit better off
Koodos to the producer of this video. The instructor is impressive. I have seen many here. His calm demeanor, precise language, detailed description and his warnings all make a superb instructor. This guy is qualified to be an awesome teacher. I have learned so much from him. Thank you very much.
You covered best case scenario and worst case scenario! I really appreciate you taking the time to cover all the scenarios! Your transparency and honesty makes this video the most realistic and just overall worth watching it! Thank you so much!! You give us do it yourselfers hope and solutions:)
We try to keep it positive, but this is definitely one of those "you should know before you start" scenarios
@@LemurMonitors when the tensioner bolt breaks too often what might probably be the cause
this is one of the best how to videos ive ever come across. no annoying fluff and great info. subbed!
I just did this repair today on my 06 civic ex. I messed around not being able to get a good angle on that 8mm pivot bolt, so I sprayed it and dropped the engine and gently hammered the allen socket onto the bolt. I used a breaker bar broke the bolt free with no issues. Car is back up and running now.
I broke the belt tensioner trying to remove the belt to replace the alternator and almost glad I did. After replacing it, the tensioner was so much easier to move and I was able to put belt back on by myself just like in the video.
Just went through this fix with my father in law. The pivot bolt broke off in the engine block while driving, causing the tensioner to come loose and come into contact with the water pump pulley, eventually welding the pulley to the tensioner (and preventing the belt from moving) - we had to cut the belt off to get the alternator off and then went through your “worst case scenario” as described in this video. Didn’t see this video until after we were done, but it was a nightmare dropping the engine and drilling out that bolt. Once we got the bolt out, it wasn’t too bad putting it all back together with a new tensioner and pivot bolt. Great video.
23:48 RIP wrench, you were a faithful companion! But seriously great guide and video!
Gone to the land of the missing 10mm
No doubt! I'd have had my magnet on that sucker before it finished falling.
You just saved a LOT of aggravation! Hoped on TH-cam because the tensioner bolt is not moving. I’ll spray it and let it sit. Thank you very much for just how long this is going to go.
This video helped me remove my hydraulic tensioner. My 320Nm impact wrench couldn’t make it move. I used long breaker bar and long socket extension from under the wheel well after lowering the engine. Thank you!
Thank you for the great video. I ended up needing to drop the engine similar to the video in order to remove the tensioner pivot bolt. I used a propane torch, 1/2" impact and a long cheater bar. The cheater bar and the heat finally broke the socket head cap screw loose. I really don't like that design but understand why they used an internal head bolt due to space constraints. In general, working on Honda is a PITA.
Not all of them are a pita, love my 7th generation. They dropped the ball on the 8th generation, reversed the whole engine and changed the whole car. Going to have to do this to the wifes car, already soaking that pivot in bolt.
@@noelleonard2498 How to put penetratin fluid on the back of that bolt?
The bolt came out of my Ontario driven 2006 Civic with 353k km without much problem. I dosed it a couple of days ahead time with penetrating fluid as best I could and again after getting the alternator and pump pulley out if they way. I put in the 8 mm hex, made sure it was fully seated, then used a long extension (as a punch) from below to tap the hex bit to help break the corrosion then broke it free from above using a 24 inch 3/8 ratch. It was certainly tight, the ratchet flexed, but the bolt popped and then came out easily. I've owned the car since new. It hadn't been out before.
News flash: went for the water pump after the tensioner.... snapped a bolt. Arg! It's the one at the top that's easiest to access. The back of the bolt is exposed to the elements so it corrodes in there more than the others. It's easy to access. Could have been much worse. But not out yet....
As a fellow ontarian with a 2008 civic, im glad to hear about your success! It gives me hope for my attempt 🤞🤞🤞.
@@JamesJon1187 My 2006 is still on the road. 404k km and used daily. Clean the bolt well, seat the 8mm hex socket well, and most importantly IMO, give it a few good smacks with a hammer (as I described) to break the corrosion bond. Maybe even adding more penetrating oil after the smacks and letting it soak for a while more.
Thank you for this very professional and detailed video! I have successfully replaced my belt and tensioner thanks to you!
I guess I got lucky, the 8mm bolt in the tensioner took just about all my muscle to break friction but I got it off without breaking anything. I like that you had backup solutions in case option 1 didn’t work out!
I just replaced my serp belt at 95,000 mi.-14 yrs and had a heck of a time getting the tensioner to back off to put the new belt on (it worked fine taking the old one off) the head on the tensioner is now so boogered up I will probably have to replace the tensioner when this belt wears out or it goes bad-not looking foward to that.......
Great video. Had to replace the belt on a 07 Honda and found out the tensioner was broken. Lowering the engine down is the way to go. Takes 5 minutes and makes life so much easier. Couldn't break the bolt loose with a cheater bar so used my Milwaukee m18 impact and it brought the bolt out with hardly any effort.
I always love your videos. I have an ‘06 civic that I do most of the work on myself. Your videos are always so thorough and informative.
Also, the hockey puck sent me 😂
Awesome video. Thanks for providing such great detail and even including the torque spec for each of those bolts.
Thanks for talking me out of buying one.
Happy to help!
@@LemurMonitors Do you need to replace the tensioner?
Regret buying mine great engine and trans but everything else that continually fail on these fuckers. They become shit shows to work on. especially in the rust belt of canada.
great video, thanks for being honest on how much time it really took. it gives real expectations' have to do this and the water pump
Awesome video. Very realistic like would go in the real world. Very detailed and very inspiring. Thanks for this video. Loved it!!!
Someone stripped the tensioner adjusting bolt on my 06...have to replace the tensioner. Thanks for showing me how!
A hockey puck. So very Canadian. Lol
Thanks for the great video!
Thanks. This video is very helpful. I've watched it and the 'parent" video replacing the water pump, which is what I'm doing this weekend. I was very concerned about that 8mm internal hex bolt, and didn't want to drop the engine to get at it. Mine was very tight, but I used my serpentine belt wrench (basically a breaker bar that is flat steel 32" long, which worked better in that tight space and gave me a little extra leverage. I used about a half-can of PB Blaster, and waited several hours. Still on very tight, but I just kept pressure on the wrench and after about 30 seconds I felt it give. That broke it free enough that I could get it the rest of the way with a flex-head ratchet and a lot of patience. Once I got the belt tensioner off, I felt that I was home free. The water pump is held on by five bolts and I removed five bolts, but the pump wouldn't budge. Now what? I crawled under and shone up a flashlight and saw that I removed four bolts from the water pump and one bolt from something next to the water pump. Oops! Once I fixed that problem the pump came off easily, and I just put the new one on. Now I need to look up all the torque specs.
You got lucky you didn't try to remove the crankshaft pulley. That could mess up the engine timing.
Glad I watched this before diving in. Ain't like my Acura TL!
Thank you. I’m planning on doing this with no removal of alternator. I just had a major fight with the axel. We will see how it goes. Thank you.
Good video. Just to let you know though, they make a tool for that tensioner. The reason is, when you slip off, and most will, or you tweak it the wrong way, it screws the bearing up. I learned the hard way. Honda makes a slim breaker bar and its worth it to cough up for the extra easiness and one less bloody knuckle. Thank you for the video
Yep you're right. I had to buy the tool because I couldn't get it to budge. My issue is it came with a 12point socket on it and my dumb friend chewed up the aluminum bolt you hook onto. I took it to a welder and he chopped off the socket and put a 6 point I had on there. Works perfectly now lol.
Link,
Part number? I'm not finding it
Very nice work good explanation!!
Very professional
Good and realistic video that I have ever watched. Thanks
Perfect video, I'm getting a rattling noise from my 2012 Honda civic coupe belt tensioner. I'm planning on doing the replacement myself, but I'm nervous about that tensioner bolt🤨 soooo....
they may have changed it!...check it out... the 8th gen are 06-11...I think 12 is 9th. gen
must be Canadian? , using a hockey puck to lift engine and lots of rust under car. Thanks for the great tutorial!
Fantastic video. very clear. great instruction and camera work. Now if you could just magically make that pivot bolt a little easier...
Hey it’s that guy from impractical jokers
No Name no kidding holy smokes this world is weird
@@raiderrichard7291 better bu y lottery ticket to find luck...if your lucky...hahaha
Very great video, full of details , i love it. Thanks
Good job The serpentine belt “ tensioner” is a pain in the a$$ to replace on the 9th gen civic compare to 8th gen..
@Will I am
Neither Civic model is easy.
Civic's are great vehicles but Corolla's are easier to service.
Here's a hack of the bolt stuck. After you drop the motor a bit by removing the motor mount bracket. Use a leverage bar against your ratchet with the inside finder wall as the pivot point.
Rarely see new (or old re-used) bolts like the 8MM hex re-assembled with Anti-seize. Would this not be the obvious, easy and zero cost solution so when/if you ever have to remove again it will come out without problems?
I dont see the part number for the tensioner bolt
Is the TSB belt routing ONLY for the 2006 year? I have a 2008.
Thank you so much for a detailed tutoriaL...
(keep it uP!)
+My 06 Civic needs a fresh or fixed alternator. So I need to release the belt tension. With a 30" pipe on the 3/4" wrench the tensioner will not release, yet. Despite a generous soaking with WD40. So I'm praying that it'll see it my way tomorrow. I'd hate to dismantle half the car for one lousy bolt. Never Seize is a beaut product; they should have used some. Although, once it's out of the dealership, it's simply not their problem. The video is well done! John Coltman.
For what it's worth, I striped the 8mm hole out and drilled the face of the bushing (3 holes and the face popped off) which let the assembly slide out. After taking the water pump off (bottom bolt rough) the assembly slid off leaving the bolt and bushing. I was able to grab the outside of the bushing (and outside of head) and turn with vice grips. This also made applying heat easier since the arm was now gone. if you desperate?
Holy shiet
Did I miss it ? What was the part number for the allen / hex tensioner bolt?
Thanks for the video. I have a 2006 civic, and I had a really hard to remove/reinstall the belt when I worked on the A/C clutch. I damaged the tensioner so much when trying to push it back that now I cannot push it back since my wrench would just slide on it and I have to install a new tensioner, which led me in this video LUL. It's so hard to remove the belt probably because of the new belt route 2006 civic has? However I think the belt route of my 2006 civic is the same as in the video.
Maybe the tensioner itself was seized? In the video if you pause at the right spot you'll probably that the tensioner is already damaged from a previous attempt to remove the belt so it's not hard to do.
@@LemurMonitors Hey sorry what do you mean by "seized"?
Update: thanks to your video, it took me only ~2hr to replace it (i already got the tires and splash shield before). The bolts on thewaterpump pulley are a pain. I had to buy a six point wrench to get one of them off because a standard 12 point one would not work. The pivotal bolt comes off relatively easy for me. I did lower the engine, and tried impact wrench first. It didn't work, but then I loosened it with just a torch wrench and some penetriting oil. Funny thing is I broke the other bolt when installing the new one becuase I applied 27 ftlbs torque by mistake lol, so I had to go to Lowe's to get a new one.
This just happened to me and I rounded a bit the 8mm bolt and now have to figure something else out, maybe try dropping the engine or whatever.
A quick and relatively easy way I found to replace the belt (not the tensioner) was to loop the belt around the crack shaft pulley (lower most) first then bring it up between the idler pulleys where you can hold it against the pulleys to prevent it from slipping off the idlers and crankshaft pulley, then loop it around the aft most pulley, then the forward lowermost, then while compressing the belt tensioner loop it around the fwd upper alternator pulley. I also jacked the right fwd (without removing tire) and removed the two or three plastic fasteners securing splash panel so I could pull it back to get to get a shop light in there to facilitate getting belt around crankshaft pulley (which may not be necessary if you can see with a light from the top).
Is this pretty similar to the 2012 civic?
8:49 I too use that same parts tray! 😂
After three days trying to get the brake rotor set screws out Im Going to to start the penetrating oil on the 8mm now in plans for a belt replacement next month.
How did you finally get them out? Mine are both rounded inside, can't get a bite to hold onto.
@@terry.lcarmy are you asking about the brake rotors? I ended up drilling one out and then the other I used to torch and an impact driver. Also, you need a GIS screwdriver head from Japan not the regular Phillips head they slip.
8 mm bolt on my tensioner actually came right out surprisingly
@@pgreenx yes, brake rotor bolts removal
....will drill 1st. Thanks!
The 8mm bolt described in the video is truly a bear. I found a simple work around:
Rather than replacing the whole tensioner, you simply replace the little strut on the end of the tensioner. This is held on by a T50 star bit which you can easily remove with a 3/8" drive ratchet.
This potentially avoids removing the alternator, but if you do this you definitely don't need to remove the water pump pulley or the 8mm hex bolt, making this job into a 20 minute job rather than a week long one. Oh, and you DEFINITELY will not have to drop the engine.
This ONLY works if the pulley on the tensioner isn't worn out. Check this by wobbling the pulley to see if the bearing is lose. Spin it a bit too and see if it's grinding. If it spins smoothly (like the one on the new part), the only worn out part is the strut I mentioned above.
Good luck, hope this helps!
I wonder if you could take this a step further and just replace the pulley instead of the entire assembly? Not sure what the bearing design is. Have you ever taken one apart?
@NeverOutatime Well I did this job today just replacing the strut, and so far so good - the tensioner is no longer wiggling around and rattling against the timing cover or whatever it was hitting. The most difficult part of the job was getting the lower bolt on the alternator to thread back into the hole. It was so close to the water pump pulley there was (literally) no wiggle room.
I'm confused by the wording of your post, when you say "this potentially avoids remving the alternator". To replace just the strut you DEFINITELY have to remove the alternator AND the mouting bracket, because the T50 fastener is on the back side of the tensioner bracket. Is this just an idea you had but haven't actually done? In any event, it was a great idea and saved me a ton of work (for now anyway).
I'd wondered why you can't just buy the strut. That's actually what's doing the tensioning, unless the pulley bearing is screaming, there's zero reason to replace that entire assembly. The Honda part number for the strut is 31179-RWK-005
I used that same method on a 2az-fe motor once, for other reasons. Worked out fine. I was wondering if it would work on this. Both me and my gf have 8th gens and both are having this issue. Hers is the 1.8 (r18) and mine is the 2.0 (k20)... I glanced and figured it would be tedious job. Glad I seen the video
You can't get the water pump out to change it without removing the tentioner as the bottom bolt is under it. Not even sure the pump would have enough clearance to be changed even if you could get to the bolt. I ordered a Dorman replacement tentioner idle wheel but the original Japan made one seemed to roll better and bearings were better than the Chinese replacement so I kept it. The strut was still in good shape on my tentioner and only a little play in the pivot so I wasn't going to either pay 200 bucks for oem or put a 20 Chinese tentioner on just to have it fail. I put a touch of anti seize on that tentioner bolt, rather have that damn thing come loose than the head strip off or the bolt break off if I ever do have to replace the tentioner.
Would a Milwaukee right angle impact wrench fit in to reach the 8 mm tensioner bolt and avoid the need to drop the engine?
Changing the belt tensioner on a 2008 Civic with 270,000 kms (about 165,000 miles),good idea to change water pump at the same time?
Water pump and alternator, and might as well get your valves re gapped, that’s what I’m planning on doing
@@AntonioGomez-du3zi
The valves on mine need to be adjusted for sure.
I'll find someone with experience for that.
Great video. Save me a ton of time, especially using helper, wife.
According to them there's alot of luck involved 😂
yeah thats bullshit
An amazing video. Thankyou
If i put a shorter belt, without the AC being engaged will it stop the crying/ squeaking sound, which randomly starts anytime...
Great video. But the main bolt that holds the tensioner assembly broke, half of it is in the block. Any ideas on how to get that out. Thanks
Hey, what size is that tensioner's allen bolt?
Hello!!
I have a problem with my tensioner bolt always breaking too often now a serious problem for me I am scared driving far from home cos it might just break again on the higher way
What do I do
Wish you would show the heating up of the tensioner bolt....Like would you heat the head of the bolt itself or heat the engine block where the bolt goes into?
What is the bolt part number?
What about the lower engine mount. You didn't have to loosen or remove it ? Just the top arm and side motor mount?
Thanks for the vid! What is the part number for the screw? I didn’t see it on the description.
Excellent video guys!
Thank you for all the tips great video
The bolt on mine actually broke while I was driving (didn't know at that time), luckily I was in the drive-thru when I heard this ticking sound. Eventually, completely broke off causing my water pump pulley to make contact with the belt tensioner and grinding it. Had to extract the broken bolt that was stuck in the engine.
joeyyung911 Mine broke after 10k miles after having tensioner and water pump replaced. Before that I had went 26k miles with same parts replaced. Love the car but just don’t trust it now. Thought about a Camry. How’s your Civic holding up?
MrHuckabst
Sounds more like you shouldn't trust your mechanic.
@@MrHuck - I did lost a little trust with this car, but I think mine is just getting old. 14+ years, 195K+ miles, parts will break down and I'll still love this car!!
joeyyung911 I’ve got 316,000 miles on mine. That bolt broke when i was driving too! The tensioner was rubbing on the water pump pulley, cut a deep groove into it, then stalled out the engine at a red light, couldn’t restart it. Thought engine had seized lol, but was that pulley. We fixed that at about 189,000 miles, it’s been fine since, however we had to drill out the old bolt and put a helicoil into the engine block. Amazingly enough...has held since !
@@Lyndonkb11 You need to buy some lotto tickets with the good luck you have...LOL
Does anyone know if you have to bleed the tensioner after installing it? And, if you do- what happens if you forget to do so?
So the NEW routing belt is only for the 2006 they have changed ? I have a 2007 lx sedan
Broke 19mm tension adjuster bolt while replacing an alternator, rest everything is good. Is there any work around to put the belt back on or I'll have to replace the complete tensioner? Thx
it was very helpful thank you so much!
What was the part number for the bolt the tensioner bolt m10 by 1.25 millimeter
There are 2 bolts that Honds has. one is slightly bigger and one is smaller. Which one do I choose. I have both and why are there two bolts for the tensioner pivot bolt?
What are the part numbers?
@@LemurMonitors 90001-R1A-A00
Bolt, Socket (10X59)
and
96700-10055-18
Bolt, Socket (10X55)
Think this was fun.. try replacing the starter.. you need small hands and couple universal sockets.. putting back in was more fun getting the upper starter bolt started with little room to work with.. but book says 4hrs I did it in 5.75hrs 😎 which is not bad for 1st time
After you first one it isn't so bad. No snap hands required just gotta know what you're doing. Plenty of angles to get at it.
Done this job 3 times, pain in the ass. I have also had to drill out a broken Tensioner bolt.
I can feel it breaking free, the relief "it's out!", then the horror
@@LemurMonitors "the horror" made me think of Brando in Apocalypse Now....LOL
I've been there done that, I know the feeling.
Great job👍👍
Is it possible to install a new alternator without loosening the belt? The belt bolt to release tension broke off. We were able to take out the old one. But fitting the bottom screw is extremely hard. I was wondering if there were any tips to help find the hole for the bottom screw of the new alternator when installing. Is it possible to see it from the side through the passenger tire side view?
Patently worked like hell to get the tentioner bolt out. Was about to give up on changing the water pump, gave it one last try and it came loose. Was not rusted just covered in what looks like orange anti seize, though I was home free but boy was I wrong. The bottom water pump bolt was rusted to bad that It would not come all the way out, hours of oil and in and out and nothing, ended up braking off with about 1/8" sticking out of the block. Tryed to weld a nut to the end but no use. Gave up and ground ot smooth and drilled and tapped it out to a 1/4 20 bolt, of course the hole walked when I drilled it to the seal side slightly but I was able to dremel out the new pump mounting hole to make it work, no idea how I didn't damage the seaing surface where the o ring seals. Almost 12 hours to do do a water pump, thermostat and belt. The redesign on the 8th gen civics are stupid, honda dropped the ball on making you have to remove the tentioner to get to that bolt. Would have rather done a 7th generation full timing service 3 times than went through what I had to do. I put that damn tentioner bolt back in with a touch of anti seize on the threads and shaft, would rather the damn thing come loose than snap off or strip the head out when I ever have to do a tentioner. Ugh.....
Love your guys videos! I changed my water pump with your video. It was very helpful. I was wondering if you could do a AC compressor video. I want yo change it my self because i have no money at the moment. Thank you!
This video is really helpful!! Thank you so much!
The clear coat is peeling just like mine! 😂
Once you notice it on one you see it on them all!
All Hondas peel
Just like everybody else in the WORLD!
Great video....!!! What is the size of vbelt for new routing??
Hi! According to Honda TSB 06-059, the belt needed for the new routing is Honda Part No. 04301-RNA-307. You can get a Honda one or cross reference the Honda part number to get a aftermarket belt. Please refer to TSB 06-059 and make sure that the this new belt and new routing design applies to your vehicle. Thanks for watching!
@@LemurMonitors older routing I think 7pk/1960....is bando 7pk/2164 fit for new routing??
F,,,,k me that escalated quickly . simple job right? :D XD
I recently noticed a metallic rattling sound in my GFs 2009 Civic (123k miles) on cold starts, goes away after a couple minutes. I noticed that the tensioner is shaking quite a bit when it is in gear (not much at idle). I assume it is not a good thing that the tensioner moves at all? I have watched a few other videos and it seems to be perfectly still.
ncyankee101
I have the same cold start rattle on my 06 Civic, and suspect the tensioner, too. I had it replaced about 100k miles ago and I'm not sure how long they last.
At 16:41 did you think to put some anti seize on that bolt?... Knowing the pain in taking that bolt out doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
I started wondering about that.
My bolts are very stuck..
you didn't put the link for the size of the bolt. what is it? thanks
Can a bad tensioner cause the power steering to deteriorate or fail
Great job! Well presented video.
Outstanding video.
Doing this job a second time now on my '09. The tensioner bolt broke off both times. First time I used a drill and patience, and was able to reverse it out. The replacement tensioner had come with a bolt. lasted about 1.5 yrs. This time the bolt broke off but there was enough left out of the engine block for me to unscrew it with my fingers (not sure if I should be happy or sad). Now as I am trying to put the tensioner bolt back on, using a new Honda OEM 10x59x1.25, I feel resistance threading it back in, he bolt head still out of tensioner bolt hole (not fully screwed in) more than I thought I would. the bolt threads are not stripped or malformed. I don't want to force it in and strip the threads in the bolt hole or beak the bolt. Anyone else have the same issue when re-mounting the Tensioner Bolt? is the OEM bolt a little thicker than the hole?
does this help if the tensioner is vibrating every once in a while? the one I have vibrates not when press on the gas, but only when its idle every few seconds.
Wacking a impact 8mm into the with a hammer a few times can also help shock the threads and break loose
Appreciate the tip. Hopefully, I am not going to need it on my unexpected belt replacement, but it is nice to have that in the repertoire if needed.
I would be concerned that it could crack the block.
How the hell would you fit a hammer in there
@@Anon-f7f remove the passenger wheel, use a long extension through the wheel well
@@robertjohnson4401 not using a sledge hammer lol , just a few sharp whacks to shock the threads. Done it many times.
I stripped the Hex Bolt on the tensioner. What can I do to
remove the bolt?
Learn to weld...
My belt keeps favoring the side towards the engine. Is something knocked out of line?
So the part number for the serpentine belt is slightly longer now? I was having trouble putting the belt back on and was wondering why it was just soo damn hard
THANK YOU SO MUCH I JUST SAVE SO MUCH GREAT VIDEO
Hey guys, I have followed the procecure to loosen the belt. I've got a nice long 19mm ratchet wrench on that tensioner bolt and have slowly pushed it back many times, but my belt is not loosening. What should I do to get it to loosen up?
I think I know why the Allen/hex bolt was such a pain to get out.
It seems to me that Honda applied a LIQUID GASKET near but not related to the Allen/hex bolt and then bolt it in WITHOUT LETTING THE LIQUID GASKET DRY FIRST. This explains why when loosening it there is no movement for the Allen/hex bolt to get loose so it strips the Allen/hex bolt. So make sure after you extract the bolt clean the engine block surface before installing the new Allen bolt. I also decided not to use ANTI-SIEZE a since the bolt was very clean and the end where the bolt goes into the engine block is not open.
Good luck with patience I use a impact drill with drill bits size smaller than the Allen bolt and well as a drill bit close to the size of the Allen bolt AND with a CHIZEL AND HAMMER to loosen it COUNTER CLOCKWISE.
What kind of socket is used to remove the tensioner?