It’s me again guys!
Well…it looks like the Maxima car gods are having some fun with me. Not only did the alternator just go out NOW the ac compressor pulley has decided to go bad. I just reloaded the belt tensioner so I’m positive it’s the compressor pulley.

This is my fist time doing this kind of work and I understand that an Ac compressor has PAG/PO oil in it….I’ve purchased a new compressor and have it with me. So new compressors come filled with oil? If not…can someone tell me what kind of oil these take and how much please?

Also…It looks like I may need to drain the radiator and remove that bottom radiator hose to get to the compressor and alternator

thanks in advance for any help/info you can provide.

if you see a small mushroom cloud forming over Oklahoma City you’ll know I just blew my top!

 

Oklahoma City? Not again?

So... You have a new Compressor...Now what?

Did you also get a new Drier?
New system o-ring seals?
New Schroeder valve stems?
Do you have an AC Evacuation pump that will hold the vacuum at the same level over night?

This is the minimum that's needed to replace a Compressor PROPERLY if the rest is still sound. And an AC manifold to get it to proper levels.

You could be buying ANOTHER compressor if you want. Hopefully to do it right next time. LOL

Was it you I suggested you call the guy at ACKITS.com? Well... Didya? In a Dirty Harry kinda voice!

 

Hey guys! It’s OKC again!
had a busy Saturday and this is what I did:

AC compressor changed! (Had one of my mechanics evacuate the system on Friday). Have new dryer and o-rings installed. Had a very difficulty time getting one of the lines back on but I WON!

Alternator changed

Belt tensioner changed. gotta be honest here. It sure seems simple enough but I do not understand that belt tensioner and how to tighten the belt so I got it as tight as I could and am hoping for the best.

THANK YOU for all your responses!

im missing those engine splash guards and am hoping someone can tell me where I can purchase those.

 

If you over tighten the belt you are gonna put more stress on the pulleys and likely cause damage. You can check the belt tension by grabbing the belt at its longest point (in the middle between crank pulley and ac compressor). If you can turn the belt 90 degrees tension should be good. If it’s more than 90 degrees, you need more tension. If you can’t get it to 90 degrees, you have too much tension and need to loosen it a bit.

 

COOL! Literally! LOL

 

GOOD GRIEF! I really do have a triple digit IQ but this belt tensioner is make me look STOOPID!

Im sure you all know that this looks like. On top is a deep/tall 14mm bolt that is used to put tension on the small black pulley/wheel that is just under that bolt.

Running thru the small black wheel is a bolt with a nut on the end and when this nut is lossend the black wheel can Travel up and down.

this thing is screaming at me so I obviously have something wrong. Is the bolt running theu the black wheel auooosed to be right or is that tall/deep 14mm bolt supposed to be tight.

OR…are both supposed to be right? HOLY COW! It can’t be this dang difficult. I have everything back together and the engine starts and this screeching belt tensioner is the only thing left to do.

can you hep a brutha out?

 

The top 14mm deep is the adjuster for tension, you loosen or tighten. The 14mm nut is the locking nut for the tensioner, you loosen it before you adjust your tension. Once you are happy with the tension you tighten the nut to lock in place.

 

If I remember correct, there is a lock nut or something on the back side of the pulley. It may be covered with grease/ old oil if you ever had a leak from the valve cover gasket. If this isn’t loosened, you can spin the tensioner all day and it does nothing. I think a 12mm offset wrench is best to get at it.

You’re not any stoopider than the rest of us don’t worry. It took me at least 2x as long to figure out the tensioner as it did to swap my alternator.

 

Ok guys….new AC compressor is on, new drier/accumulator is on, new alternator is on and I’m still fighting that !$&@ belt tensioner.

when I tighten the bracket up against the engine it won’t allow the pulley to go down far enough to put enough tension on the belt to keep it taught. This makes no sense! Once the bolts to the bracket are tight it won’t allow that pulley to travel up or down.

i know the answer to this question because I didnt find these when i removed the bracket the first time but are there supposed to be spacers on the back of the pulley to move/push it away from the engine?

WTH? This cannot be that difficult. I know the tensioner, alternator and AC compressor are all on corectly so why can’t I get enough tension on the belt? I don’t know that the pic of the tensioner will help but here it is.

I do appreciate the patience and help

 

Are you tightening the locking nut, then trying to adjust the tension using the top 14mm? If so, how do you expect to adjust the tension?

it is a very simple system. Like I said, the 14mm nut on the tensioner pulley is the locking nut, that needs to be loosen before you can adjust tension. Once you have the proper tension on the belt using that top 14mm adjuster, tighten that 14mm locking nut on the pulley and your done. Your pic clearly shows the 14 mm locking nut on the pulley and the 14mm adjuster on top.

There is no nut on the back of that tensioner pulley like the other poster stated, probably confused it with the power steering belt which has a lock nut on the back side of the pump tensioner.

 

You are correct! This is a basic design and process which is why I’m frustrated!

I loosen the nut on the pulley first then try to tighten the top 14mm screw/bolt. At first….the pulley will start to go down but stops about 2/3 of the way down and won’t go any further.

I’ve even had both items lose, laid on the ground, placed a wrench on the pulley and pulled down at the same time to try and get tension on the belt then once I get some tension I’ll tighten the Lilley enough where it won’t move then tighten the top 14mm bolt.

There isn’t a bolt/nut on the backside as the pulley bracket fit almost flush against the engine. There is a small indentiion on the engine which is there that allows that pulley bolt to travel up and down.

I get home around 2pm today and plan to take the bracket off and I’ll post pics of the side of the engine where the bracket mounts as well as the backside of the bracket.

thank you!

 

Before removing the tensioner mounting bolts, loosen the locking nut. Once you get the tensioner off the car, you should be able to lift and drop the pulley by hand. I would also loosen that top adjuster as well. Make sure that the pulley drops all the way down. If it doesn’t, try loosen the adjuster some more. Once you get the pulley to drop all the way down, reinstall the tensioner and then adjust belt tension first. Do not tighten the locking at all, until you have proper tension on the belt, then tighten the locking nut.

 

Yes you are correct that’s what I was referring to. Although that did hinder my efforts of releasing the tension to remove my belts back when I did it.

 

Gentlemen,
as much as it pains me I’m admitting defeat! I’ve spent the last 3 weeks fighting this damn tensioner and no matter what i do it continues to squeal loudly. I’ve watched 3 YouTube videos about the pulley and have also disassembled and reassembled this part 4 times. The first time I did that I discovered I had put a washer in the wrong spot but even after proper assembly this thing continues to scream!

3 bolts hold this thing on so I’ve removed and reinstalled this thing at least 6 times trying to discover what’s making in squeal but I just can’t figure this out. Yes…this is a huge blow to my fragile ego right now as I have to admit that a pulley has bested me. A Simple alternator belt has made me look STOOPID! Obviously I’m missing something…i just can’t determine what that is

so..tomorrow i will have my car towed to a mechanic for repair. I would like to ask for prayer and sympathy as I’m feeling less than a man at this point. 😂

thanks for all your help.

 

Maxfever1987 has two 4th gen Maximas he's parting out. One with just over 100K miles. Maybe he'll ship one to you?

Call him at: 917-442-1775 and just replace the whole thing.

 

Your tensioner does not look right in the pic you posted. Something could’ve happened when you were trying to tension the belt, maybe the locknut was not loose enough to allow for adjustment.

you said you took the tensioner apart and found a spacer not in the right position, so something is definitely off with your tensioner. Another thing I noticed from your pic is how “shiny” the adjuster is and it looks out of position.

I would add a +1 to the comment above and advise that you replace the tensioner

 

Gentlemen,
after further consideration…I’ve decided to continue this battle. I refuse to let something this simple defeat me. I don’t know if the site allows this but tomorrow I’ll shoot a quick video of what I’m doing and post. I do agree that I have something that’s not right with the tensioner but here’s the strange thing.

when the belt is off the pulley will travel all the way to the bottom of the bracket BUT…when I put the belt in the pulley will only go so far down and it doesn’t matter how far down I tighten that top 14mm screw.

it seems like the back of that pulley gets caught on something about a 1/2 way down.

if I can’t post a video I’ll take several pics at various stages

again…I truly appreciate all the help and direction from everyone.

 

When you put the belt on, does it just slip into position without any resistance or do you have to push into position under the tensioner pulley?

Just from that first pic you posted, it looks like the adjuster is turned in way too much. Did you try to loosen the adjuster? You should also check the threads on the adjuster for damage/stripped etc.

 

to answer your question…I can easily slip the belt on all pulleys but after some thought I do think the threads on the adjuster could be damaged. As I tighten the adjuster I can feel reistence that does not feel normal.

as I mentioned earlier…when the belt is off the pulley will slide all the way to the bottom of the mounting bracket but when I put the belt on, no Mather how many times I try to tighten the adjuster it simply will not put any downward pressure on the pulley.

tomorrow I’ll check the threads in the adjuster and post pics

 

I ordered a new pulley and it should arrive sometime tomorrow. Once the new pulley arrives I’ll take pics during the various stages of installation and, if possible, will shoot video of the tightening process

 

This is the assembly I’ve purchased. Can someone tell me what that small ring is for and where it’s supposed to go and what function it performs? I’m almost certain that small ring is not on the idler that’s currently on my car.

insert frustrated emoji face here

 

From the looks of it, I think once you slip the new pulley assembly up thru the bracket, that o ring goes on the underside between the tensioner adjuster and bracket. But maybe another member can confirm as I have never had to replace the tensioner.

 

I've purchased the pully and bearing from a reputable source for 30 dollars several years ago.

I don't see how one can long lasting quality from an entire assembly for 13 dollars.

It should solve your problem for a while.
Should squeaking or seizing reoccur, suspect this assembly first.

 

Gentlemen
sorry for disappearing the last few weeks….work got in the way. True story here. The only way I was able to get the tensioner to work was to leave the top mounting bolt lose, pull the mounting bracket from the side of the engine, then I was able to be the tensioner to put downward pressure on the belt then I tightened the top mounting bolt and ALL WAS WELL!

or so i thought.

I reconnected the ac lines to the new ax compressor but noticed the suction line wasn’t tight enough but decided to recharge the system. It didn’t work. Insert the frustrated face emoji here again

long story short…I was not aware that this particular car had an AC compressor made up to Sept 1995 then a different AC compressor made afyer Sept 1995. Insert another frustrated face emoji here.

my Maxima was built April 1995. Guess which AC compressor I bought? You guessed correctly! The effing after Sept 1995 Compressor so I now bet to do this project all over again.

if I knew you guys better I’d be using some sailor language here. I guess the good news is I know what to do now