Part #1 - Installation and specification

Here are some info on the UR underdrive pulleys installation. I hope this will help those who will be performing the installation.

Parts = Unorthodox Pulley Set - Ultra SS
P/N = 04.06.022.02 (same as RSX-S)

Tools required:
- 19mm socket (crank & power steering pulleys) - I'd recommend using only 6-points socket
- 22mm socket (alternator pulley) - I'd recommend using only 6-points socket
- 12mm socket and wrench (power steering & alternator mounting)
- 17mm deep socket (pcv valve)
- 10mm socket and wrench (splash shield bolts, alternator wire, battery terminal)
- 14mm offset wrench (belt tenioner pulley)
- Impact wrench (your best friend)
- 1/2 drive breaker bar (your 2nd best friend)
- Long pipe extension to use with breaker bar (removing crank pulley)
- Torque wrench
- Flat blade screwdriver (poping plastic fasteners)
- Jack and jack stands

Highly recommended:
- rubber strap tool (holding pulleys in place during removal and installation)
- Anti-sieze (coating aluminum pulleys)
- Marker pen (marking pulley)
- Crank pulley tool (not needed for MT but a must for AT)
- An extra person to help
- A car lift - wish I had one (provides good ground clearance when removing the damn crank pulley!)

Time required:
- Approx. 3.0 hrs if you can get the stock pulley off

Unorthdox pulleys


Quality design and detail - The backside of the crank pulley has a metal sleeve to prevent damage from prolong contact with the front crank seal. It also has timing marks on the pulley! Not that we can change the base timing (no distributor) but they are there for verification if necessary.




Installation prep work:
- Raise car and support on jack stands
- Remove negative battery terminal (make sure you have the radio code)
- Remove front right wheel
- Remove bottom splash shield
- Draw the drive belt routing on a piece of paper

Remove drive belt:
- Use the 14mm offset wrench and turn clockwise on the tension pulley to release belt tension. My 1/2 drive breaker bar fits perfectly on the opposite end (15mm) of the wrench to provide more leverage.
- Remove the belt off the power steering pulley (it's a single belt drive system).

Tension pulley


Release tension on pulley


Offset wrench combo


Removing crank pulley:
- 6MT: ask someone to put the transmission in high gear and press on the brake.
- 5AT: use the crank pulley holding tool and position it on the stock crank pulley.

Crank pulley tool


Stock crank pulley


- Use a breaker bar with the long pipe extension and a 19mm socket to remove the crank bolt. Note: impact wrench seems useless for this one! My high power impact gun didn't do a thing!
- Remove the crank pulley. Important Note: make sure the key on the crank is in the upper positon. Rotate the crank if necessary (reinstall the crank bolt and turn clockwise). Otherwise, you will have a hard time installing the crank pulley later.

Crank key position & front seal - Inspect the front seal to make sure no damage.


Remove power steering unit and pulley:
- Remove two 12mm bolts on the PS unit.
- Hold the PS pulley in place and use an impact wrench and 19mm socket to remove the center nut. Then remove the stock pulley.
- Don't install the new pulley yet. The unit needs to be moved aside for the alternator.

PS pulley removal


Remove alternator:
- Remove the alternator wire harness.
- Remove the PCV valve.
- Remove three 12mm mounting bolts. Note: remove the bottom two first. Otherwise, the weight of the unit will make them difficult to remove. Small hands really help in the tight space around that area.
- Remove the PCV hose and valve.
- Pull alternator out toward you slightly, then rotate 90 degrees while turning it up.
- Use a strap tool to hold the pulley in place.
- Use an impact wrench with a 22mm socket to remove the center nut. Remove the stock pulley.

Alternator harness


Remove alternaotr pulley


PCV valve



New pulleys installation:

Alternator pulley:
- Lightly coat the center bore of the new pulley with anti-sieze and install pulley on alternator.
- Install strap tool on new pulley (reverse the strapping direction from the above step).
- Use impact wrench to install the 22mm nut.
- Loosely reinstall alternator top bolt first, then the bottom two bolts.
- Reinstall wire harness.
- Reinstall PCV valve and hose.
- Tighten all 3 bolts (just hand tight to 16 lbs).

Alternator pulley installed


Power steering pulley:
- Lightly coat the center bore of the new pulley with anti-sieze and install pulley on PS unit.
- Install strap tool on new pulley (reverse the strapping direction from the above step).
- Use impact wrench to install the 19mm nut.
- Reinstall two 12mm mounting nuts on PS unit (just hand tight to 16 lbs).

Power steering pulley installed


Crank pulley:
- Lightly coat the center bore of the new pulley with anti-sieze.
- Lightly coat the pulley rear metal sleeve with motor oil to prevent damage of the front crank seal during installation.
- Install new crank pulley on crank shaft, align it with the crank key.
- Clean the crank bolt with brake cleaner.
- Apply lube to the thread and between the bolt and washer surface.
- 6MT: ask someone to put the transmission in high gear and press on the brake.
- Use torque wrench and torque to 36 lbs. Then pick a reference point on the bolt and mark the crank pulley 90 degrees from that reference point. Note: this is the factory spec, but we are not going to use it. The marking is merely for reference to see how close we are from it. It's crazy to tighten it to 90 degrees. that's the reason the crank bolt was so difficult to come out the first place. UR recommends torque to 181 lbs. My torque wrench only goes up to 150. I just used the impact wrench to tighten it while using the 90 degree mark as reference to make sure I don't go over.
- 5AT: Just use the similar process as the 6MT and use an impact wrench.

Crank pulley installed




Reinstall drive belt
- Reinstall the drive belt from the bottom up and stop at the PS pulley.
- Use the offset 14mm wrench and release the tensioner pulley.
- Route the belt on the PS pulleys, then release the tensioner.
- Inspect the drive belt routing and make sure the belt is line up with the grooves on all pulleys.

Final checks
- Make sure all tools are out of the way
- Reinstall battery terminal
- Start engine and inspect running operations.

Finish up
- Reinstall wheel and torque to spec
- Reinstall splash guard
- Enter radio code

Pulleys installed



Specifications:
Here are some interesting specs regarding voltage differences and pulley sizes. The new PS and alternator pulleys are actually under-drive as well. I guess it's necessary in order to use the stock belt. I didn't test the stereo voltage drop as I don't have a high power system. However, those who run high voltage drain systems may not want to install the pulleys or at least run them with the biggest Optima yellow top battery. Note: Some of the voltage test conditions are not realistic. They are simply for illustrating the effect of using such device or equipment under the most extreme condition.







Voltage and engine rpm




Can't complete an engine mod without engine pics.

 

Great write-up, pics and description of install process

I know anyone interested in this mod will appreciate the write-up including myself.

 

now the dyno

 

Wow. Phenomenal write-up, Johnny. Thanks. Any driving impressions yet?

 

as usual, a great write up JTso! The car is now out of warranty so this is now on my list of mods.

 

Wow! Day off? or ditch work to do this install?

 

damn looks good... But what I dont understand is that there is only one pulley that is smaller than stock and the rest are larger, so how come the voltage drops when the alternator pulley is a lot bigger.....oh yeah one more thing how do you like the way your car feels with it on as compared to stock....

 

Yes, I took a couple of days off for this install and other stuffs.


Just picture the front crank and rear sprockets on a bicycle. The bicycle crank = crank pulley (drive). The rear sprockets = other pulleys (driven). Reducing the size the crank makes it easier to turn; same for increasing the size of the driven pulleys.

 

Did other installs? If so, what else?

 

Ok thanks for clarifying that for me.. looks great, Let us know how your battery is holding up in a month or so just to see if there is any droppidge in volts.. Damn man you got most of the mods I want but too scared to get until the warranty is done with...

 

Excellent write-up. I wouldn't expect anything less from you Johnny

Have you got a chance to drive it yet? How about some preliminary driving impressions

 

Very complete and detailed write up. Nice job!!

 

great guide man i think i will tackle this mod with my buddy. where did you order it from where do i get the best price? oh btw why no reviews of this mod by you? i want you to tell us all if it is worth it. does it provide much more power?

 

Another one for the DIY handbook! Thanks JTso.

 

So what does the BUTT dyno say?

 

Excellent write up and pictures.

 

Excellent writeup. What kind of difference has it made? Driving impressions?

 

Very thorough. You always amaze me, Johnny. Keep up the good werk!

 

crap that looks like a pain, makes a header or intake mani swap look about as hard as changing oil.

 

Amazing write up

I bow to the mod god

 

Awsome!

 

Amazing write up!!!

Just wanted to ask, what happens when the power dips below 12?? Does the car shut down due to lack of power?

I see that after the pulleys are installed, that if the high beams are used they are under 12. But i presume that's if everyone else is turned on at that point??

 

Great write up Johnny! Another to do mod for the list. Can't wait to hear what intech has to say about it

 

Thanks guys! I couldn't go to the dyno as the shop is booked. Here are some observations based on the limited drive time.

1. The TSX has a very good electrical system and idle control. The idle remains very steady at ~750 rpm +/- 15 despite all the electrical loads that I turned on. The numbers on the voltage chart is each additional device being turned on. Therefore, the lowest number = all listed devices on. The car didn't shake, or lights flicker. However, the wiper speed did slow down.

2. The engine seems to respond well transitioning from 60 mph, 4000 rpm in 4th gear to WOT passing. This is the area where max torque is realized.

3. The engine still takes a few revolution to start but it turns those few revolution quicker (the recent new battery probably helps).

I'll try to do a few more test runs this weekend to get a better idea of any improvements before the dyno. The road where I normally do test runs is now a "no racing zone". I see cops everywhere along that road so I have to pick the right time.

 

Very nice write up...

 

I need to get back there! I wanna re dyno in 2nd gear. They made me dyno in third and I thiink that may be why it was so low. Johnny can you pm me with a cost of the pulley set?

 

^^
I got the pulley set from Excelerate (forum vendor) and I believe the group buy is still going on.

 

Excellent writeup

 

After a couple of weeks...how's the pulleys doing??

Any negative feedback of the pulleys/??

 

The pulleys seem to be working well, no problem so far. The performance is most noticeable when accelerating from freeway on-ramps even with part throttle input. The engine revs up effortlessly upon demand. I'd still like to hit the dyno for some numbers.

 

:thisthreadisworthlesswithoutdynoresults:

LOL j/k JT

 

I do have these in stock too. Let me know if you guys need one.

 

You da man Jonny

 

Great write up!

So if you ever plan on getting a supercharger down the road will you have to replace this set?

 

Just the crank pulley. Or get a differently-sized blower pulley.

 

Ry, you hanging on to the TSX or are you still tryin to get a GTO?

 

I already have my pulley in order and could be waiting for another weeks or 2 to get in and I already have my dc header sitting in my garage so should I wait for the pulley and put 2 together(to save labour) or it doesn't matter and I should go install the header now?

 

Still looking at a GTO. I've checked out a few, and can get a fairly good deal on one of the last 2006 models. I just need to take one for a test drive with my portable hand controls.

 

No labor time save for installing them together other than jacking up the car.

 

Johnny, thanks so much for the write-up. This mod is definitely my next, I love the idea. Now I just need to come up with the cash. I hate having to PAY for things!