BlkChryKord

G/f took her car in for a 4whl alignment today at local Goodyear. Apparently they have some checklist they must do for cars that come in over a certain mileage, sounds like BS to me since my brother used to work for them and I've never heard of such a thing but anyways..

They tell her to get a powersteering flush, change the rear diff fluid, and that her serpentine belt is in bad shape and should be replaced immediately. I just changed the oil for her, powersteering is dirty and low so it could use a flush perhaps. She has no clue when/if the rear diff fluid was ever changed. My main question here is - How hard is it to change the serpentine belt? I'm assuming it's like my accord, one belt operates the powersteering and A/c, another runs the alternator. I can't seem to find a diagram anywhere on it though. The guy told her I wouldnt be able to do it unless I had a lift which sounds like BS to me but then again I've never worked on a CRV before.

They were also pretty pushy with her about these services so that also leads me to believe they were trying to slightly scam her into extra stuff she doesnt need.

02 CRV, ~112k, auto 4WD LX

TIA

kitkat127

it will be hard. you'll need a special tool in order to untighten the auto tensioner.

do you know if this is a K-series motor?? or is it still the 1st gen CR-V?

JDM_Ej

I think its a K-series... first gen is 97-01.

jimlaw3

man the belt on the new CRV's are tight,has 1 belt.There is not much clearence so getting the belt on and off can be tricky.I do have a special leverage tool to release the tension,I guess if you kave a long closed end wrench it could be done that way.Its not easy as it would seem,but its not impossible.

Crx Jimmy

the rear diff fluid should be changed if its maintenance is questionable. use only the specified honda fluid. the powersteering is a sealed system it should not need to be changed, but if it needs fluid use only honda fluid

90sedan

First off, don't be annoyed at the shop for doing an inspection, while they might just be trying to "upsale" additional work, these items could also actually need some maintenance and now you know about them.

The power steering system pretty much never needs to be flushed unless some foreign materials get into the system or the fluid gets contaminated. The fluid will almost always look very dark/dirty and isn't really a concern.

The rear differential fluid should be changed ~ 30k or 3 years. If you aren't sure when it was last changed, then it probably needs to be replaced.

The serpentine belt on these CRV's typically need to be replaced between 100-120k unless they are noisy or cracked. They really do suck to replace because of the lack of clearance between the pulleys and the frame. You should honestly just pay the 1/2 hour labor and have it done for you. However, if you feel like you are up for a challenge you should be able to complete the job with a couple wrenches and jackstands.

You'll need to jack the crv up and remove the passenger front wheel. You'll also need to loosen/remove the splash shield guarding the side of the engine. Then you can loosen the belt by applying pressure on the auto-tensioner pulley bolt. The special tool does make this much easier, but it can be done with using two standard combination wrenches, by connecting them both together for more leverage. Just make sure you know the route of the belt, it can only go on one way, but if you forget the route, you'll have a fun time remembering how to put it back on.

Also at 105k a tune-up should have been performed. The spark plugs should have been replaced, and a valve adjustment should have been made. The coolant should have been flushed as well.

99blackcivicSi

crv belts are the WORST belt honda has to change there is no room and its quite tight without the SST (special service tool) word to the wise prop the hood up with a broom handle and move the power steering resivor out of the way, the belt likes to slip off 1 ridge on the crank or on the a/c compressor just make sure you remeber the belt routing or its not going

EFSiR

No special tools needed to remove serpentine belt. I did my 05 crv, it was beginning to spit brown dust out of the tensioner pulley, the belt was showing signs of cracks every few cm. this is at 138,000km.
Got a belt and just a pulley as the tensioner was just fine, (still well within the OK tension range according to the OE Honda service manual). To remove the belt, get a 14mm open ended standard wrench and a 17mm wrench. with those two wrenches, you can release the tension and slip the belt off. To replace the tensioner pulley, I took the 2 bolts that hold ps pump off (12mm) and move it aside. I also had to remove p.s. oil reservoir holder (two 10mm screws). Remove the side cover on the inside of the right wheel to gain access to the crank and AC pulleys so that you can put the belt on.
I had the car on the floor, not jacked up as it was not needed. If you have to get the tensioner off, I think you have to take the engine mount off despite the fact that Honda shop manual does not specify to do so.
HTH

Michajr

My son came home with my 2004 CRV-EX only to find out the serpentine belt was shredded. He said he drove about 20 miles after the AC went out. As he pulled in the driveway the battery light came on and he told me the next morning. I replaced the serp belt and charged the battery but now it won't even start. Any ideas?