recently finished a job replacing the timing belt on a 98 accord lx sedan.


check out the lower left corner of this pic.. the tensioner assembly.

there are two tensioners that ride on the same bolt. one is for the timing belt, the other is for the balance shaft timing belt. now.. when i took this apart i remember the bolt being very tight. so when i reinstalled it- i made it tight too. what gets to me: when this bolt is tight- the tensioners become clamped down. how do they do their job if they are held in place like that?? also note that i had to apply tension to the tensioners before tightening the bolt down all the way to keep the timing belt tense (not too tight tho, dont worry)

theres is also another bolt that acts as an anchor (E-13 on pic) on a fulcrum (13).. this bolt was also tight- again- locking the fulcrum in place.. wtf!? there are 2 tiny springs in this mechanism that are useless against the force of the bolts.

i hope i was right to tighten these two bolts down. the car starts and runs fine... but im still woried! any advice?

 

So, you're new to auto repair.

 

that was helpful...

I will be doing this maintenance, probably myself, this summer... would like to see what others have to say about starionman's experience.

 

He doesn't understand the design of the tensioning system if he asked those questions. The two bolts he asked about will not clamp the tensioners down enough to stop them from turning. The tensioners are locked down when proper tension is set, so the springs are a moot point at that time.

 

obviously i dont understand.. thats why im here. i want to learn. so shoot me.

 

The tensioner pulleys aren't supposed to be constantly spring-loaded against the belt. Also, E-13 is a shoulder bolt, it acts as a pivot even when it's tightened down. If E-13 prevents the lever #13 from moving, then something's wrong.

#24 is the tensioner bolt, it clamps the pulleys into position. The procedure is to allow the springs to hold the pulleys against the belt, then clamp down on the tensioner bolt. Then the pulleys are locked into the correct position and the springs aren't really doing anything until the next time you go thru the tension adjustment procedure.

 

thanks jim, wish there were more like you around

 

Might I recommend the following:

1998-2002 Accord 2/4-DOOR L4 Service Manual

 

that's a good price for that service manual too... someone paid $102 for the same one but used the other day on ebay. You can sell it for at least what you paid when you get rid of the car.

 

That's list price. It would be foolish to pay anymore than that price.