Replaced belts tonite!

[elwesso]

I just thought I would post up a quick reminisince of my belt replacement this afternoon.. as an aside, I set out to play golf but it was a little hot, so i figured sticking my head in the engine bay would be better..... If you didnt catch that I was being slightly sarcastic...

Anyway, for wahtever reason that I have yet to determine I only replaced the alternator and PS/Fan belt.. I seem to remember the AC belt being taken care of, but I was about 4-5k overdue on the other belts..... If my AC belt breaks on me, shame shame! My water pupm belt was in sorry shape, and it had been on for 35k...

So I tear into this thing, first thing you want to do is take off the alternator belt..... Loosen the tensioner.. Now one thing I didnt know about before digging into this was the tensioner adjustments..... I was a bad Q45 DIYer and did not consult the Q45 bible before I started... Fortunately, i had a streak of lazy and took a break..... So then I went down and got the belts off, getting them off was no problem, i probably just could have cut them but I decided not to, i may put them in the back of the car "just in case"... I have a spare tensioner I may keep on hand as well, just for the rainy day.....

Im going off on a massive tangent here..... Let me try and sum this up real fast...

Tools used: 12 and 14mm socket, hammer (always on-call ),

Heres the correct procedure1. Loosen alternator tensioner2. Remove alternator tensioner3. remove alternator belt4. loosen waterpump/PS tensioner5. Remove waterpump/PS tensioner6. Loosen AC tensioner7. Remove AC tensioner8. Remove AC belt

-assemble in reverse order... and replace loosen with tighten

Helpful tips (PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU START)

1. note how tight hte belts currently are... When you reinstall them try and make them just slightly tighter... Thats the best way I can describe how tight to make them, besides actually measureing the deflection...2. Note the position of the tensioners... I put the alternator one on backwards the first time and that made an aweful screeching noise... not good! Also, the tensioners are different, so be sure to keep them seperate..... 3. All of the tensioner adjustments can be reached from below.... I tried from the top and you just cant do the water pump adjustment from the top... Theyre both easy to work with on the bottom..... Youd proabbly want to jack it up, but I was too lazy to get out the stands so I didnt bother.....

Bottom line.. Took me about an hour of actual work... maybe a little less..... Easy job.. Get you a set of belts from Joe, theyre only about $40.....

[maxnix]

Nice write up with illustrations!

[JedCoop]

I still want to know how tight to make the center bolts on idler pulleys. Too tight wrecks the bearings. Loose make me worry too. I didn't see a tourque specification in the FSM.

[JedCoop]

I still want to know how tight to make the center bolts on idler pulleys. Too tight wrecks the bearings. Loose make me worry too. I didn't see a tourque specification in the FSM.

Never mind, I see it in the picture - duh!

[elwesso]

Since I dont have a torque wrench, I have the wes-o-meter... To put things into perspective, with one of those little 1/4in ratchets you can tighten it to like 20ft/lbs...

Other than that, I have about 5-6 "torque" settings I base myself off of.. Snug (small nuts and bolts that dont have anything that need serious support, less than 10 ftlbs), tight (about how spark plugs are tightened to 15-25 ft lbs), really tight (probably what most bolts are, 30-40 ft lbs), never coming off (50-60ft lbs), get out the breaker bar (70-80 ft lbs), and oh crap I hope this doesnt break (90+)

I tightened these to my "tight" setting ... I know having a torque wrench is important, but this is more fun!! For the things that really matter I use a torque wrench.....

[maxnix]

Subjective torque guessing is like the butt dynamometer, it ain't quantitatively accurate.

Too much depends on the angle of the effort and muscle memory isn't good when reach is not uniform.

Bottom line, get a good breaking torque wrench, have it calibrated every year, and never worry.

[elwesso]

Subjective torque guessing is like the butt dynamometer, it ain't quantitatively accurate.

Too much depends on the angle of the effort and muscle memory isn't good when reach is not uniform.

Bottom line, get a good breaking torque wrench, have it calibrated every year, and never worry.

I agree..... I think if you buy a craftsman one you get free recalibration...

A torque wrench is on my list of things to buy... Hopefully (knock on wood) i wont have to be wrenching the Q for a little while.....

[JedCoop]

I agree..... I think if you buy a craftsman one you get free recalibration...

A torque wrench is on my list of things to buy... Hopefully (knock on wood) i wont have to be wrenching the Q for a little while.....

I always use a torque wrench when I tighten lug nuts.

Seems silly?

On my '92 previa with stock aluminum wheels I found that uneven torquing would result in feeling a small amount of disk warp when braking!!! Ever since I torque down wheel lug nuts religiously on all cars, usually about 95 ft-lbs.

Getting back to belts and pulleys, I've seen a lot of reports of the idler pulleys going bad on this forum. I haven't used a torque wrench on the idler pulley center nuts, maybe I'll go out and see how close I was to the right torque.

[3Q Jay]

the vh41de is a bit harder, but not too bad. 4 belts, one of which is for the unique purpose of a waterpump drive belt on a double pulley so that it in turn can drive [if i remember right] the alternator. but i digress.....

only thing i would add is that i believe you can do it all by merely loosening the 'bearing' nut [the center one] and then backing off the adjuster. entire tensioner does not have to be removed [unless you are replacing cause its bad].

[SAINTJ]

Do you have any information on how to get the Alternator out.please Help...

[maxnix]

Do you have any information on how to get the Alternator out.please Help...

Several posts here, so try a search. Got FSM?

[Q451990]

Somehow I think he tried a search to revive a two year old thread!

Saint - what year is your Q? Anything from '94+ is available at http://www.phatg20.net - but even the 94 manual should be fine for 90-93. No real changes in the alternator placement or design...

Heath

[maxnix]

Somehow I think he tried a search to revive a two year old thread!

If so, the alternator repair threads should have popped up, no?

[xmateo]

How similar is it working on a Y33 for belts? Did the engine set up change much for this model?

[maxnix]

4 belts, 6 bearings (2 double) on a VH41DE.

[Q45denver]

I wonder if it would be of any value to put a little grease in the bearings with your have them out?

[maxnix]

Should be lubed for life, and external grease traps dirt.

[goody90q45]

I wonder if it would be of any value to put a little grease in the bearings with your have them out?

It's a double shielded (sealed) bearing. Grease would only stay on the surface.

[xmateo]

4 belts, 6 bearings (2 double) on a VH41DE.

Thanks. Changed them out yesterday. Pretty simple job.

[Q45denver]

I have a hypodermic needle like grease fitting used to grease wheel bearings that might work?

It's a double shielded (sealed) bearing. Grease would only stay on the surface.

[maxnix]

I have a hypodermic needle like grease fitting used to grease wheel bearings that might work?

Ummmmm.......sealed means.......sealed, I think.

New bearings don't require lubrication and any old bearing that is rough in the slightest is shot. No amount of lubrication will repair it.

[Q45denver]

Ya, hate to swap them out unless I have to. Forgot to check the price on new ones. I do have the replacement bearings that meet the standards, but OEM is probably better.

My water pump is fried. Loosing about a gallon a day. Hopefully I didn't overheat it, although been kind of sluggish recently.

[maxnix]

Get the best bearings and they will match OEM quality. They retail for about $20 each. Read TexasOil's post on them.

Don't drive until you replace water pump, thermostat and appropriate gaskets. Preventative maintenance means repairs at the time of your dhoosing, not at inconvenient crisis times.