Replacing power steering belt - Honda Prelude Forum

telram · 05-14-2004, 01:53 PM

Hi all,
Well I kind of messed up my power steering belt last weekend after a nitrous run. I guess I mishifted and the belt got torn up and came right off. Anyway, I put the old belt back on at the track so I could drive home and I just got a new belt.

My question is, I
m in the process of putting the new belt on and basically I'm loosening 3 srews around the PS pulley, 2 on top corrected by a small piece of metal with two holes for the screws and one to the lower driver side of the pulley. Is there any order I have to follow to drop the pulley. All 3 of the srews are loose but the belt that is on now seems pretty tight. I could probably wrestle it off but I would then have a lot of trouble getting the new one on. Am I missing something, possibly a fourth screw somewhere? I know that the belt is becoming a little looser after unscrewing the 3 screws but I don't think it is enough. Any info would help...

Thanks

JayZ98 · 05-14-2004, 02:36 PM

I just did this as well as my alternator. Sounds like your pretty mechnacialy inclined, so sounds like you already know what you need to do.

Well if you are questionable, here is a little insite. Just unhook ps fluid resevior over to the right, leaving hoes' attached. 0nly loosen the two top bolts that are into a small bracket which is the tentioner mechanism. If I remember correctly, if that is loose enough, you should be able angle the pulley enough to get the new belt on and then tighten it back up. If this is not, so loosen the bottom bolt, uncrew them and slide it down to get the belt on.

Remember, when doing the tension do NOT put it too tight. Just estimate for a little over 1/2" of play in the tautness. Should only take you about 20 mins max. Have fun!

telram · 05-14-2004, 02:49 PM

Hmm ok, so will the belt be hard to remove? Because this is my main problem now. I think that I either haven't dropped the pulley enough or the belt is naturally difficult to remove.

JayZ98 · 05-14-2004, 02:58 PM

So if it fell off and you put it back on how did you do that? The PS must have been really loose to begin with then right? On the bracket? Well, if you have to (I did cause I have the AEM PS pulley) remove it intirely. Either way, just make sure the teeth are all lined up on both ends before you tension it.

The reason I said not to take out the entire tensioner is because it can be a pain to put back on.

telram · 05-14-2004, 04:26 PM

Actually me and a friend did it last week, he is more mechanically inclined than me. I am simply trying to re-do what he did. So all three screws are loose, the two at the top and the one below the pulley. The darn thing is just as tight as it is at the start the pulley isn't dropping to the point where it becomes noticible.

I also noticed that after retightening everything the screw below the pulley just wont go tight now. I think there is an order that needs to be followed here. Do the screws need to be undone in a certain order?

telram · 05-14-2004, 06:02 PM

well this is totally driving me crazy, the pulley will not drop at all. I ended up snapping a bolt when I was tightening everything back up. it's the lower of the two top bolts. Funny thing is that the power steering is working fine.

My transmission however seems to have something wrong with it. I noticed that at 50 mph I can try going into first gear and I will hear grinding. Is this normal, shouldn't this be prevented?

Also the car seems a little bogged down in the lower RPMs, mind you I haven't driven it since my nitrous runs last weekend when I mishifted. If there is a problem with the internals shouldn't I get an CEL?

At this point I don't know if I've just become paranoid or if something is really wrong with the car. Any info, reasurance or otherwise would be much appreciated.