tyipengr

Hey all. About to attempt to change my timing belt and maybe the water pump. Have a few questions for you guys that have done this on a B18B1 or even a B18C1 since the questions aren't really type specific.

#1). What should I do to make sure the that the alternator, power steering, and a/c compressor belts are tensioned correctly? The service manual says to use either a tension belt gauge (which I cannot find) or to use the deflection method. I am guessing the deflection method is the way to go but I can't seem to find the deflection gauge tool to apply the specified amount of force on the belts.

#2). Which part numbers for the timing belts are you guys using? 14400-PR4-A01 and 14400-P7J-004 will run me about $40 bucks but 14400-P72-014 is like $50. Whats the difference? They all supposedly fit.

#3). And lastly, will changing the p/s, alternator, or a/c belts be very smart, cost wise? The p/s and alternator belts are cheap (less than $10 bucks each) but the a/c belt is about $30 bucks. I don't really know if these things are prone to break or not so I am not sure about changing them. These belts look 'ok' to my eye. No cracks or anything.

Thanks ahead of time.

Philly-Titan

Question#1) I was told to tighten the belts to where if u push on the belt it should only have about a cm of free play at most

Question#2) not sure

Question#3)If they look ok they should be all right I have only ever had proublems with my alt belt But that was more than likely my fault having the alternator crooked

Daniel

With regards to the power steering belt, there's an alternative to measuring the tension without a tension guage.

Applying a force of 22 lbs, measure the deflection directly inbetween the power steering pulley and the crankshaft pulley. Fr a used belt, the acceptable deflection is 11.5-13.5mm/.45-.53 in. For a new belt, it is 8.0-10.0mm/.31-.39 in.

For the A/C belt, you would apply the same force, 22lb, to the belt directly inbetween the A/C compressor and the crankshaft pully. A new belts acceptable deflection is 7.5-9.5mm/0.30-0.37 in. A used belts acceptable deflection is 5.0-7.0mm/0.20-0.28in.

The alternator belt's deflection is also measured with 22lb of force between the alternator and crankshaft pulley. A used belt's acceptable deflection is 9-11mm/0.35-0.43 in. For a new belt, the acceptable deflection is 6-8mm/0.23-0.32mm for the B18B1 and B18C1 engines, and 7-9mm/0.28-0.35in.

Please keep in mind, when I refer to new versus used belt, a new belt is defined as a belt that has been ran for less than five minutes. Anything above that is considered used, and the appropriate measurements should be used.

The B18C timing belt part number is 14400-P2T-004.

What is your mileage? If you are around the 90k mark, I would go ahead and make the change. If you are past that and know or are not sure if they have been done yet, I would change them. If you are inbetween 90k and 150k and know they were changed at 90k, then I would leave them.

tyipengr

Yeah, I was guessing that was going to be the way to go with the tension measurement. My only question is exactly how does one apply 22lbs/98N of measured force? What do you use to measure the amount of force you are applying on the belt? I am guessing some type of gauge but I can't seem to find one at Sears or at Snapon's website.

In regards to my mileage, its at about 75,000 miles. In my case it isn't the mileage thats going to be the factor but the age of my car. 1997 Integra GS, I am gussing that things are going to start drying out or aging by now. Yeah, you are right. I am just going to go in and change everything while I am at it, I gotta keep the car running as amoothly as I can since I have to drive it daily.