Y34 Belt change - Done

[Double E]

Dealer wants over $300 for this. I claim BS and go after it. Here's how:

Remove front intake parts up to the airbox. I got some replacement plastic fasteners in the process because the ones that Infiniti/Nissan use suck and crumble at the first hint of removal. (Plastic GM style body panel clips worked fine from O'Reiley's)
There are 2 belts and all you need is a ratchet set and perhaps a helper and maybe a cheater bar to move a belt into position or gain some leverage on the tensioner.
Draw diagram of first & 2nd belt diagram.
(They are available out there from a manual ...but I trust what I see before I trust what was published.)
First belt comes off easy. Second belt just as easy. Both just need a release of tension at the tensioner. (14mm)

Dealer wants around $70 for the main belt, close to that for the Power Steering belt. Local parts store for a Gates belt set is half that. Some parts stores will try to tell you there are 3 belts. (of the 3, The one you do NOT need is the longer serpentine belt.)

Installation: Small belt goes on first. Duh...

New belts are not pliable so they will fight you going on. Be patient. Make the PS pump pulley the last thing before the tensioner that goes on for the back belt and the front belt is best installed with the last to go on at the alternator and then tensioner. In both cases, put the belt on the crank pulley first.

For the small belt, at one point, I had tension on the belt but it was fubar'd across the PS pump & the crank pulley with no access to the tensioner bolt. I just bumped the starter once and it came right off.

All done.
Spent $ saved on hookers & coke.

[svard75]

Yadda Yadda Yadda Boring Tech Stuff Talk ... on hookers & coke.

Pictures please!

[TDot]

Funny, I happened to be watching something about this yesterday to figure out where the alternator is, so if he doesn't have pics, here is a how to video.
http://youtu.be/UJz3uQ_r7Sc

How do you know when it's time to change.

[Double E]

How to know when it is time to change? Mike looked exactly like this: http://www.samarins.com/glossary/img/cr ... _large.jpg

The video is OK for a general understanding of changing a belt, (and thanks for that link) but be aware the example provided is a different animal.

The car used is a V6, the Y34 is an 8.
The tensioner system used on the V6 is entirely different as the Y34 uses a spring tensioner instead of an adjustable screw type.
There's no need to remove the belly pan on the Y34.
Only the 14mm socket is used along with a cheater bar.
The orientation of the belts on the Y34 is different than that V6 (alternator is in a different side, Power steering is different, etc. See diagram of main belt: http://cdn.2carpros.com/diagrams/65799/large.gif
With 2 more cylinders there's a fraction of the room available to work on it as implied by the M35 video.

[TDot]

Yeah, but he has a v6.
And to a none engine guy like myself, what's wrong with the belt in the picture? What should it look like under "normal" use, say after half to 3/4 of its lifetime?

[Double E]

Yep...it's not easy to tell these days but here's a tutorial... http://meari.blogspot.com/2008/03/serpe ... s-101.html
A couple of cracks here and there is at half life. More than a few per inch of belt is time to replace or if there are pieces missing, or 3 years.