I've given up fighting this thing, is it safe to drive on a short distance if I have a shop break it loose and tighten it back up but not all the way? How tight should they make it, half the torque specs?

And what's the torque specification for this bolt on a Y7?
I've read about 135ft-lbs and 181ft-lbs, so now I'm unsure and I don't want to under-torque it.

 

I would not even TRY to risk it.

 

drive it there, have the break it loose with an impact gun, tighten it by hand, tight drive it home chances are you'll be able to break it loose.

 

So it should be fine then? it's a short trip back once it's loose.

What about the torque specs when I tighten it back up, 181ft-lbs?

 

Tight.

I've never torqued one, just tightened it. Get it as tight as you can without resorting 8 foot pipes and you should be ok.

 

Book says 135ft-lbs. I got mines loose by wedging a pry bar in by my clutch disc. Did no damage to the disc or anything in that area for that matter.

 

Lots of folks report being fine using this approach (driving to a shop and having the shop loosen it, then tightening the bolt just a bit for the return trip). I would trust 94EG8's suggestion regarding how tight. To be super safe on the return trip: Drive as smoothly as possible. Avoid sudden, large accelerations etc. Listen for any odd sounds. If you hear anything odd, stop, inspect the engine bay near the pulley from the top, and also turn your driver's side front wheel so you can see the pulley (if possible), inspect. You can search H-T and find way too many reports of the pulley coming off and destroying either the pulley, the keyway, or something else expensive and a pain to repair because someone did not tighten the bolt enough.

I would go with what's done here: http://www.civicforums.com/forums/23...t-96-00-a.html. Namely, tighten to 14 ft-lbs then tighten another 90 degrees.

 

Well we got it off Saturday, or I should say a shop did. The thing was on there so tight it took 2 of their mechanics and the master tech plus 1 & 1/2 hours to do it lol. Took the drive home slow and everything worked out.
Car's running great now.

Yeah I tightened it up that way, I got access to AllData late Saturday and it recommended the same thing. Good guide too.