EJ8mike

1999 civic EX

I was going to change timing belt today. Took care of P/S and alternator. Onto the A/C.....the damn tensioner pulley bolt was on so damn tight, I was trying for an hour to get it loose and then it ended up getting rounded to the point where it was useless.

What I wanted to know is this:
Is there an alternate way to get the belt off. The pulley looks like its on a bracket? Can I just unbolt the 2 bolts on that bracket and move the pulley away? Or.....can I unbolt the compressor to get the belt off?

If I can avoid cutting and drilling the pulley bolt and go with one of the 2 options above, plz tell me! Thanks!

piggy96

you might be able to unbolt the compressor to get it off, getting it back on would be very tricky

EJ8mike

Thanks.

Any other input?

piggy96

if you pull the compressor off, i think the tensioner pulley is apart of the compressor mounting bracket, pull that off and maybe see is a shop can get the bolt out without damaging anything else. then just get a new bolt

98civdx

Cut the belt. I had this exact same issue when doing mine.

But, the real issue is the idler pulley needs to come off.

if I remember correctly there is 2 bolts holding the bracket on.

The lower one is accesabile with a rachet, so it should be simple to break free. The top, not so esay. I had to use a pry bar, wedged under the bracket, and pryed up to break it free. Then stick your wrench in there and start lossening.
It will take a while, but you'll get it. A gear wrech would REALLY help!