Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

I installed my UDP yesterday and in the process discovered I had a stripped upper tension bolt (for the AC/ALT). I managed to get the pulley in place and tighten it by pushing down on the adjuster (without the bolt attatched) and tightening the bolt at the same time. I only put the AC/ALT belt on yesterday because it was dark and I was wrapping up.

Two questions:

1.) Is it bad to drive without PS? (man is it hard)

2.) Can someone explain the PS tensioner, I have the FSM and a book, but neither have very much explanation. I have turned the two adjusting bolts (one 14mm on the back, one 12mm near the PS pulley) untill they are loose and the pulley was not budging. Is there an order to this?

3.) What is the proper tightening/loosening procedure?

I am going to get an upper tensioner bolt (or assembly) from the stealer tomarrow and do the PS belt. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

Just for reference this is the motostorm UDP compared to stock.



I havent weighed both but the MS was about 1.5lbs on the bathroom scale.

Pieps

Bump...nice two questions

4DRSpeed

iTrader: (22)

I just changed my belts last week and what a PITA.

The power steering belt was killin me. The one tensioner bolt is a left handed screw. So you have to have your socket wrench set to tightening and it will loosen the bolt. And then the bolt in the back of the PS pump is a pain as well. For me at least I had to loosen that thing basically all the way before the belt started giving. Then I just went back to the left handed bolt and loosened it some more and finally it came off.

Problem I have now is I had a hell of a time getting the bolt thats behind the PS pump back in. I knocked it back in with a hammer till it caught the thread, but now won't screw in. May take it to my friend's house and see if air tools will get it back in there.

My belts on start up squeel for at least a minute sometimes longer and it is VERY annyoing.

mikeyen

You're right, that bolt on the back is a pain. I found the key was to lift the car as high as possible so I could actually position myself. The mechanic who installed mine had about 60 ft-lbs on it. That's just way too much; the book says 10-15 ft-lbs.

Next, on the long tensioner bolt, it's actually a right-hand thread, but you turn clockwise to loosen. I think the key here is, Have you also LOOSENED the bolt on the FRONT of the pump? It's not fun to get to either, but I don't think the thing will pivot if you don't loosen that one, too. DO NOT REMOVE IT! Just loosen it. If you remove it, it'll take you 30 minutes to put it back in. Trust me on this one

For what it's worth, in my opinion, driving with your P/S disabled is very dangerous. You could get into an emergency situation you just can't muscle your way out of. Be very careful with this, please. Personally, I wouldn't do it.

4DRSpeed

iTrader: (22)

Don't remove the bolt on the back of the steering pump b/c it will take 30 minutes to get back in, and now it won't even tighten completely.

mikeyen

To clarify my point:

On the front of the P/S pump, there are actually two bolts; the long, obvious one, and the short one that's horizontal that holds the block into which the long bolt threads. If you do not loosen this shorter bolt, the pump will not move. This front bolt and the one on the back are actually concentric and the two together form the pivot.

And I reiterate; DO NOT remove this shorter front bolt; just loosen it.

I have no idea how you'll get the back bolt back on. I do not envy you. I almost think you're at half-shaft removal time, I regret to say.

Good luck.

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

Alright, so loosen the front bolt a good bit, then the back?

I had both pretty loose and the PS pulley/pump was going nowhere.

IS there an order?

Thanks for the clarification on left/right hand thread, so the PS IS opposite thread as well, ok. I know ALL ABOUT the AC/ALT tensioner, had the whole assembly on/off the car a couple times = teh not fun.

mikeyen

On mine, I loosened both the front and rear "horizonal" bolts, and then turned the long "vertical" bolt as though I were tightening it, and it came right apart. If yours isn't coming right apart, you might have something in the pivot that's just frozen up. I'd be tempted to whack on things at that point, but that doesn't sound like a good idea.

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

Ok, I am taking a break after prep and re-assembling the tensioner with new threaded adjuster and bolt. I have gotten the PS pump to WIGGLE alittle bit.

It makes me think I am on the right track but I just need to get it to come towards the crankshaft pulley about 5mm.

Any other advice/opinions welcome before I get back into this.

mikeyen

Okay, you're going to lying on your back, looking up, and the front and rear "horizontal" bolts will be loose, but not out. Then you're going to turn the long bolt clockwise, like you're tightening it. That should loosen the belt.

If it doesn't, try some WD-40, then go away and watch a nice, short movie, like "Return of the King" or something, and very gently tap, but only on relatively substantial things (like the pulley). I just don't think tapping on the body of that P/S pump is a hot idea. It's aluminum; it can't be all that robust.

If none of this works, I guess you remove the halfshaft to give yourself more room to work. Beyond that... I'm out of ideas.

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

Alright guys, I got it done at about 6pm today (about one hour). About 30-45 minutes was loosening the PS pulley and the rest of the time was re-assembling my tensioner with new thread and bolt. After that things went on and were adjusted pretty quickly.

Thanks for all the help!

maximariceboi

iTrader: (32)

damn..good thing my dad has a shop so i can put it up on the lift. well good luck man and hope u like the pulley.

DcMaN

iTrader: (13)

any wobbling on that pulley! lol look closely

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

Yeah man it was a good purchase all around. ^^^ Great Seller.

No wobbling on this pulley, very smooth at speed.

I think part of it could be the way you look at it, on 1st glance it seems like the pulley has some minor movement but when you take the gentle shake of the engine and distracting belts into account it looks very normal.

You REALLY need a short video clip for your other thread.

Frank Fontaine

This is a good post--last time I was under my car I was thinking about taking care of both belts, that A/C belt is pricey. But in my case I just don't have the time to fool around, I like straightforward jobs. Gone are the days of the '69 Buick 350 V8 with no A/C I guess. You could literally almost stand inside the engine bay and everything was easily adjustable belt-wise....

mikeyen

Glad to hear it. This area of the car (the belts, the water pump, and the pulleys) is not for the faint of heart. A lift is definitely an advantage here.

I think you can see that after you've done this once, the second time won't be that hard, though.

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

Yeah, another thing, and I would recommend this to Frank Fontaine, is to try and look at a picture of a VQ30 (or DE-K) OUT OF THE CAR. I happened to see a post about UDP's last night and seeing that picture made it perfectly clear to me how it worked even AFTER I was finished.

Now that I have replaced my AC/ALT tensioner and realized how the PS pump tensioner works, I would rate this job (swapping belts) at 30-45mins.

I would add maybe another 30-40 mins for swapping crank pulley and crankshaft oil seal (which is a must when swapping pulleys).

Again, I appreciate the help and am glad that I may now be able to help someone in a similar situation now that I see how it is done.

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

This is a great picture of the PS adjusting screw. Someone needs to host this in-case it gets taken down.

thnikkamax

iTrader: (2)

I'll host the pic... so my belts have started sqealing when the car is in idle and I either turn on the headlights or the climate control. I think it may be the alternator or maybe a loose belt. I haven't checked yet.. but I don't plan on removing anything, just adjusting the tension. Can this be done from above the engine, or do I have to get underneath the car.

I'm assuming the adjusting bold is that gold assembly in the top left, correct? Which bolt is the adjuster? The one underneath, or the one on the side?

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

That is the adjusting assembly for the PS pulley.

For your ALT/AC you need to use the tensioner in the top right (the adjusting bolt it out of the picture alittle). You first have to loosen (not remove) the bolt on the idler pulley (black pulley to the right of the crank). And then turn the adjusting bolt (crown looking gold bold close to the timing chain cover). To TIGHTEN your belts it is left. To LOOSEN your belts it is right.

You could probably do most of this from above, but just lifting and removing the splash sheild makes it very easy to both loosen the idler pulley and check the tension on the belt.