I know this is a belt of some sort. Happens when the car is cold, and usually only happens when I've left the AC on overnight. But even then, sometimes I'll shut the AC/heat off and it'll squeal while turning/braking. You've all heard the sound I'm talking about - it wakes the dead. My question is which belt is this and how hard is it to replace? I've helped out with engine swaps, replaced suspensions, replaced axles, and do all my own routine maintenance. Somehow I've never had to replace a belt.

This is on a stock 96 Civic.

 

It is no where as hard as swapping a engine, if you can swap then you can change a belt, simple as that. /thread

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SlalomHonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know this is a belt of some sort. Happens when the car is cold, and usually only happens when I've left the AC on overnight. But even then, sometimes I'll shut the AC/heat off and it'll squeal while turning/braking. You've all heard the sound I'm talking about - it wakes the dead. My question is which belt is this and how hard is it to replace? I've helped out with engine swaps, replaced suspensions, replaced axles, and do all my own routine maintenance. Somehow I've never had to replace a belt.

This is on a stock 96 Civic.</TD></TR></TABLE>

its easy, i swear. and i know where you are coming from... i knew how to pull a tranny, replace the clutch, and replace, and didnt know how to change the oil for a while when i first started.

check your power steering belt, a/c, and altenator. they should be snug, but not really tight. like the belt should move about 1/2" when you push down on it. easy as pie.

 

I had the same problem. There should be like a 1/4in slack on the belts. Also check to make sure your alternator isn't moving around at all.

It could be just a worn out belt and in that case it takes longer to let the engine cool down then it does to change the belt.

 

Why post if you're not going to give any sort of answer?

You should be able to twist your belts a quarter turn. Check all of them. Also check the condition of them.

 

So the snugness will tell me which of the belts needs to be replaced? Does anyone have a scanned helms or anything? Let's assume they both need to be replaced...the car has 130k on it, the belts are like $11, so I might as well....

Thanks for the confidence booster in telling me I can fix it, but I can't seem to find any instructions for actually doing it

 

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<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SlalomHonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So the snugness will tell me which of the belts needs to be replaced? Does anyone have a scanned helms or anything? Let's assume they both need to be replaced...the car has 130k on it, the belts are like $11, so I might as well....

Thanks for the confidence booster in telling me I can fix it, but I can't seem to find any instructions for actually doing it </TD></TR></TABLE>

It's not neccasarily because they are loose, so they may all be tensioned properly. That's why I said inspect the belts as well. Check for cracking or any other irregularity. We can't really post Helms pages. Copyright laws, ya' know?

 

hit up o'reilly's or even your local library has repair manuals. its a nice little something to have.

i carry a chilton;s under my seat just in case something happens on the road and i am unsure of the solution. then upgrade to a helm's later when you have the $60 to drop on one or decide that you will actually get the use out of it.

i agree with JimmyA^^^ check to see if they are worn and/or loose and go from there.

good luck!!

 

its really simple to change or tighten those belts. just requires removing about 3 bolts for each component with a belt. usually to tight you have to loosen a bolt so the powersteering/alternator/or ac thing is able to move then you tighten another bolt that would pull the ps/atr/ causing it to tension the belt.

 

If the any of the belts are loose I'd tighten them up a bit first to make sure it wasn't just the belt slipping that was causing the noise.

I think the belt for the AC is fairly simple to replace. There is the upper part of the bracket where the AC compressor is connected to the motor. There should be a wingnut (I think that's what it's called). You loosen that and then you push back on the compressor. The belt should be loose enough for you to remove it.

There's also a mount that has to come out to take off the AC belt (Hence why mine is zip-tied up.)

 

almost 99% sure it's your belts. everything you described happened to me. it's either to tight or not. mine were on too tight at one time and loose at another. i gone through wars with my belts dude.