bruistopher

I notice this morning i hear a little squeal during warm up at idle. I know its the belts because since i had the car i don't think they have been replaced and it doesn't say in the carfax report.

Where should I get oem belts, can i go to honda or acura for the belts and how much are they?

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

ummm........ it won't say something stupid like that on carfax, carfax is more for accident damage and such, not maintence items

does it say every time your oil was changed too???

bruistopher

thanks for the sarcasm it was highly needed...

on a serious note what belt is recommended? can i go to autozone because they have listed by gatorback and duralast and both are $20 each.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

your' welcome

i would try carquest instead, or even better your local imported parts store, anyways i like bando brand belts (alot of oem belts are made by them)


autozone parts are not very good by what i have seen

bruistopher

are you saying autozone as a seller or the manufactures that make the belts?

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

autozone is a seller, but they buy cheap parts, so you get cheap parts, for dirt cheap

you do get very much what you pay for in stock replacements parts

bruistopher

so your saying gatorback is horrible? i've heard good things about them but i might go with oem and go to acura tomorrow and get the ac/alternator and power steering belts from them. I expect them to charge me a arm and leg for some belts i bet.

i can go to honda and get the same belts correct, cheaper? because all the are engine is, is nothing but a beefed up honda accord v6 engine, correct?

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

never had much luck with goodyear belts not cracking and such (on the ribs)
but also if you can find gates belt, they seem to be good too


if yopu can just get the part number from acura for the belts then take it to honda (as long as it is actually used on a honda branded car, but the belts are actually quite universial [not like interior pieces and such) across both lines, so more then likely they will have it) you should be easily able to get them

and yeah motor is just a longer stroke accord motor, with the 3.5 being even longer stroke

btw: our cars are basically just a 98-02 v6 accord, so alot of carryover parts between the two

bruistopher

well dude, can you give me an estimate on what acura might charge me for the air conditioning/alternator belt and the power steering belt?

because to be honest i don't want to gamble and go the complicated way and try to save money. it has to be at least $20 right? because the labor i will do myself.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

try: http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/index.php?p=home they got the part numbers for both acura and honda

p/s #56992-P8A-A01 and a/c #38920-P8C-A02 ,also call them up and check, but anyways it looks to be the same price at both places (very few items are actually the same price at both places )

Leejahd

Hmm Im Having the same problem but my squealing has gotten louder and louder do you think its the the belts? Cause Ive looked Under The Hood And It Does Sound Like the Belts..
Let Me Know

thinhthan

each belt is like 24 if i remember right. i just bought me some from acura

bruistopher

it is the belts dude reason being is if there is a slight squeal near the belt area while the car is running sooner or later the squeal will get louder. mines only started at start up during idle but after warm up it goes away. and to be totally honest since this car was a leasing car its whole life, the belts have never been changed and i got the car at 79k so when that being said im at 97k. a serpentine belt change for the power steering and a/c and alternator is going to get changed today in class.

im heading to acura now to find out the actual pricing and will post my results after the job is done.

thanks thinhthan for the heads up! wish me luck on my first ever serpentine belt change

01tl4tl

good time to replace the ac belt tensioner pulley too- many go out by 80 and sound like a rumbling V8 and other belt noises--thats the tensioner not keeping the belts at the correct tension!!
part is about $85-100 you want the complete unit- mine was from local imported parts store

belts: bando-gates-goodyear gatorbacks are all fine
you are talking about an external belt -not the timing belt! which iirc is a gates product~

autozone sells good enough to use for street driving, kragen/oreilly is OE quality meaning decent but still what the car maker gets a great deal on for mass quantities, import store often has a higher quality choice

01tl4tl

you are also overdue for ps fluid flush- due at 60 and every 60
and brake fluid flush- do that yearly

chrismeoli

Use only honda/acura ps fluid or trudt me you'll get whine.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

i don't think there is any actul maintence scheadle (sp?) for the p/s fluid, but yeah i am at 105k and i know mine needs to be change, but it has been a little too bitter outside
and brake fluid is normaly like every 30k (or two to three years), but alot of the times it never gets done, so it would not hurt to have it done



also being that you are at 100k almost it would not hurt to do the timing belt (if it has not already been done) while you are at it

bruistopher

hola guys, well i did the serpentine belt replacement. on my journey to acura dealership i asked the parts sales guy for the p/s belt and the a/c alternator belt and gave him the parts numbers. well he looked at me like why does he know this. like as if to say "you don't know what your asking for so let us handle it". so he went to go look for it and he asked me 5 times they would change my belts, and i said no because im in school for automotive engineering and im learning so i got this. so he tried to get me to change my mind 4 times until i got fed up and told him to please hand me the belts and i went to checkout and the lady just laughed at the dude.

well went to school and my gosh that serpentine replacement was pretty long to do. maybe because it was my first time. well i did it and i started at 11:30 and ended at 1:30 lol. well this was my FIRST time so what do you expect! lol

during my time with it the easiest to get off was the alternator/ a/c belt and the p/s belt but getting them back on was hard due to we had a hard time releasing the tension off the tensioner but we finally did it with some hassle and we started the car and things ran smoothly. i just needed to apply some torque to the power steering bolt for tension. but after that things worked fine. things are smooth. but that tensioner was hard to release!!!

the belts were horrible considering they have never been replaced since the car was first moved off the dealership back in 1998 lol but by the sound and looks this car is smooth. only a few things left to do now.

oil change
tranny fluid change (3x3 this time, last time i only did 3x1)
timing belt replacement at 105k (saving the money now because honda is doing it)
front and side engine mount
4300k or 5000k hids (im trying to decide which to get. i know that 5000 kelvin is the color but if i go higher the lumens is going to be low and i will not be able to see. but i think 5000k is about even).
and get 02-03 wheels, love those rims :-)

this was the a/c belt (notice a little crack in it and also they are glazed up) (and my hands scratched up trying to get in deep to the tensioner!!!)


this is the power steering belt

bruistopher

i will think about the power steering fluid in a few more miles. im thinking about doing it at the 105k mark. and the price for each belt at acura was $35 each!!

but it was worth proving the sales person wrong

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

$35 each did not think they be that much, but yeah always fun proving the parts people wrong, but i am kinda lucky in that i walk to the parts counter and the main parts guy knows who i am, so he doesn't even bother asking questions like that

also about your cut up hands, you kinda got to get use to it, happens quite often when working on cars

acutee

Gator belts should be fine unless you want to pay 35 bucks each.

bruistopher

thanks for telling me at the last minute

and friesm2000: yes dude they asked for $35 and he looked at me and said yeah $35 and also the serpentine belt is the same. so do you still want them?" and i laughed and said "sure had them over". he was a douche i should of ran back to acura and showed him what i did

thanks though fries you helped me out somewhat

01tl4tl

the owner book does call for ps fluid change at 60 and every 60- thats the fluid change service
Use only honda PS fluid as said before

brake fluid- acura says start at year 3 of cars life, then every year forever
We have expensive ABS parts to protect- wiki hygroscopic for why fluid absorbs moisture and needs to be fully changed out
Ask anyone who has done it and they will tell of nasty looking fluid comes out!
Its easy, cheap and returns solid brake pedal feel
If your brake pedal feels mushy now, its definetly past time

do the front motor mount with trans replacement if thats an option

jdjohn84

xlost4, please tell us you used a serpentine belt tensioner tool to relieve the tension on that pulley. One tip I have is to place one end of a pry bar, or something similar, through the top of the engine bay to rest on the belt on top of the crank pulley. This will keep the belt in place on the crank pulley while you work the belt around the alternator and a/c pulleys. Then, using the serpentine belt tool, push the tensioner back, and slide the belt underneath. There is usually some final maneuvering to make sure the belt is properly seated in all the grooves, and that the belt is in the middle of the tensioner pulley - not hanging over an edge.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

:scatchhead: a wrench works just fine for it (just has to be a straighter one though)
and it is already on too, with no problem getting them on, just buying them was the issue

jdjohn84

Yeah, I know a regular wrench will work, but the longer handle on the special tool makes it easier [that's what she said]. They have them as loaner tools at most parts stores.

Since it was his first time at changing one, I thought I would offer some tips so that it might not take him two hours next time.

bruistopher

well i tried to use the serpentine belt tensioner and didn't really like it because i couldn't work with it like i wanted to.

all i did was use a 14mm wrench i think and applied some torque to it using the serpentine belt tensioner lol and i released the tension and got the belt on with no problem.

but thanks for the heads up. it was my first time using the serpentine belt tensioner, so i didn't really know the in's and out's of the device so i stuck with the wrench which my instructor suggested me to use also.