It would be awesome if someone would do an indepth write up of replacing belts or at least let me in on the secret. The current writeups only say, follow haynes manual. I'm in the middle of installing UDP and can't figure out how to drop the PS pulley. I am using the gates belt K040292. Is this the wrong one? It appears to me that I need the alternate belt. I have atempted losening the PS pulley by tightening and loosening the bolt pointing upward rear of the pulley. Is this correct? What am I doing wrong? Any help is apreciated.

Broaner

 

I believe the bolt you are referring to is the tensioner bolt, you also have to loosen the bolt that holds the pump on. It's on the back side of the pump. You have to get at it from under the car. If you have a good light, two or three long extensions and a universal joint it's not that bad. I used the extensions to get at from the other side of the protective beam at about a 45 degree angle.

 

It's not an easy DIY job if you don't have the right tools......I just changed mine today (I went to a mechanic though). . . Belts cost me $46 and labor was $50. . . so for $50 i would say it's not worth going through the trouble....

Sam

 

I need to my power steering and alt belt to be replaced and Midas wanted $200 and Pepboys wanted $150, so im probably going to just get an underdrive pulley and belts and do it on my own.

 

for the power steering belt all you do is cut the old one off and jump on the new one... very easy to do, all you need is a 21 mm and a ratchet for the crank pulley nut. Do this all the time at work and it gets the jobe done fast and easy.

 

$200??? like i said, i just paid $50 for labor on both...

 

I have no honest places around here, the belts are about $15 and the rest is labor. Its just too cold outside to work on anything so im going to have to wait.

 

There are two 12 mm bolts on the PS tensioner. One goes in from the bottom, the other comes in from the side nearthe frame rail. Loosen the one that comes in from the side with a 12mm wrench. It's too tight to get a ratchet in there. That will allow you to loosen the bolt that comes in from the bottom. If I remember correclty the directions are oposite of normal. Tightening the bolt will drop the PS pump closer to the crank pulley and vice versa. Drop it as far down as you can, remove the belt. The new belts with the UDPs are a very tight fit. I had to start the belt and then rotate the crank pulley a few times to get it to mount to the PS pulley. Kinda like putting on a Bicycle chain. After it's on, tighten up the bolt from the bottom to raise the PS pump back into place and lock the bolt into place with the bolt from the side. If you need help, AIM me "HPD278".

David

 

changing the PS belt only takes 30 mins if you've got a good guide to follow. The belt cost no more than $15. Only problem is its pretty cold outside in a lot of places.

 

Oh yeah. I forgot its snowing up north. I'm running aroundin shorts and a t-shirt. ha ha

 

21mm you sure about that size? I believe they are 12mm for both bolts. Hes talking about PW belt.

 

Thanks for the help. On mine the crank pulley bolt is 19mm. BTW, I didn't have to lock the flywheel to get the pulley nut to 150Ib/ft. I just held the pulley with my hand and could get it to atleast 400Ib/ft. I saw this and was like whoa, this ain't so bad.

Kashoggio, how do you jump the belt?

 

Ok well I went to try it again and couldn't get the PS unit to budge. When I tighten the bolt facing upward it just gets tight and doesn't move the unit. If it does move I still have about two inches to go to reach the belt. Do I loosen the upper bolt alot or a little? Then I tighten the lower bolt? Is the unit just stuck on the slider thing? What is best, WD40?

 

The side boltis just the lock bolt. It only needs to be loosened. The bottom feed bolt moves the pump. Bring the pump down as far as it will go. Then install the new belts and reverse the steps. If you can't get the new belts on, try feeding them on like a new bicycle chain. Start on one side of the pulley, and then spin the crank pulley til it feeds the new belt on the PS pump.

 

You have to loosen the two bolts on the top left side of PS pumps before you try to adjust the pump using the screw on the bottom. One of the first things a person should do is buy a haynes manual if they are planning on doing any kind of work to their car themselves.

 

You either need a Haynes, Chilton's, or FSM to do this right because only one guy on here is suggesting the correct way. Everyone else that is posting thier methods could cause some expensive problems if you break something.

1) First you must loosen (counterclock wise) the tensioner locking bolt. This bolt can be loosened from above near the passenger side frame rail. It just needs to be loosen.

2) With the passenger side wheel off and the car on jack stand, reach in near the CV axle and feel the back side of the power steering pump. You should feel an relatively deep hex bolt sticking out (I believe it's 14mm). Take a 3/8 rachet and 14mm short socket and loosen the bolt (counterclock wise) . It only needs to be loosened. There's no need for extensions or swivel sockets. If my 16" arms can get in there with a standard rachet, anyone's can. The bolt should only be on with about 25-35 ft.lbs

3) Again, from the wheel well, take a small 1/4" rachet with a 10mm socket (I believe) and locate the underside of the tensioner. The adjusting bolt is located there. Start turning the bolt clockwise and ever so slowly the power steering pump will start to drop forward. Once it gets to a cetain point, it will drop quite a bit and the belt can easily be removed and reinstalled.

Install is reverse of removal. There is no need to cut belts and use excessive force to get any of these belts on. Nissan made it a fairly easy job assuming you read the directions.


Dave

 

we at nissan dont even loosen the power steering pump.
-What we do is we cut off the old belt.
-Run the new power steering belt around the crank pulley ( make sure its on nice and not resting on any bolts or whatever), hold it in place
-slide the bottom of the belt on the bottom portion of the powersteering pump and hold it there ( at this point you should have tension on the whole belt. It should be around the crank pulley and about half way on the power steering puller.
- Take a socket and rachet and turn the engine over manutally at the crank colckwise ( be sure to keep applying pressure to the belt ( sorta keep pushing it on the pulley) at the powersteering pump pulley)


This will take you a while the first time but you will get it

if you have any ? IM me

 

Well I still am having trouble with this. Its really p!ssing me off now. I found a 14mm bolt but it was on with alot more than 25-30Ib/ft. The one I was messing with went through a mounting point on the block and into the pump. I don't think its the right one cause the pump won't budge. Please take a picture of this or describe it in detail. Is it a black or silver bolt? Is it 14mm for sure?

 

While we're at it, how do you change the other belt?

 

I assume you know about jacking, standing, and taking off the splashgaurd. Once that is done loosen the bolt on the tension adjustment pulley(the bolt on the side of the pulley that is smooth, no groves, its 12mm) Then loosen the tensioner adjustment with a 14mm socket.

Again could someone please describe in detail what size, color and location this bolt is behind the PS pump? I can't find it still. I'm going in the garage right now. But its takes me 10 minutes to get dressed for the expedition.

 

Yeah I've got my alternator belt off...that was easy. I can't figure out which bolt behind the power steering pump to loosten either...and boy could I use a garage. It's 15 degrees out there. haha. I'll finish this job in the morning, hopefully in time for me to get to class and work!

 

OK I got it. There are 2 14mm bolts at the back/base of the PS pump, heads facing towards the driver. Those hold the pump together, you don't need to mess with them. Then closer to the front of the car and higher up, the head still facing towards drivers side, is the deeper one that you want. After that's loostened, you just have to mess with the tensioning bolt, and the pulley will slowly move...I could barely see it moving, but it gave me plenty of slack. Good luck!

 

That's what I do. I snapped the head of the PS tensioner bolt a long time ago. I have to buy a belt that's a half inch shorter (30.5" is stock IIRC) and feed it on by turning the crank and working the PS belt on with a big screwdriver.

I've changed the PS belt 2 or 3 times with this method...works great!

 

So how often are we supposed to change the belts? I think this is the first time mine have been changed, at 100K.

 

I got it finally! Thanks for all the help. But I stupidly overtorqued the tensioner on the front belt and the adjuster snapped. I hope Nissan has these in stock or can order them quickly. I'll be heading there tomorrow.