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How to - Change the aux drive belts


steve3000

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Aux drive belt change on the Z - in pictures :)

 

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View from above – belts as seen looking down from the open bonnet (Left: alternator/water pump/power steering pump belt; Right: A/C belt)

 

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View from above - alternator/water pump/power steering pump belt

 

Procedure to change belts:

 

1) First check the tension of current belts using ruler and strong thumb pressure. Working from above, line up the ruler at with the belt at the mid point between its two upper pulleys and press firmly. Record the number of mm deflection you achieve for each belt – you will need this later. [Note].

 

2) Drive car up on ramps (or jack up and use stands)

 

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DIY ramps – ideal for lowered cars!

 

3) Remove undertray – 14 screws (10mm socket) and one clip at centre (prise middle of clip outward to release)

 

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Undertray removal (rotate 90)

 

4) Locate the two idler wheels and spray some WD40 on the central nut of each (red in picture below).

 

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Idler wheels, viewed from under front of car, looking up. Central (locking) nuts in red, tensioner bolts in green.

 

5) Have a cup of tea

 

6) Loosen central nut (14 mm socket) by a couple of turns on both idler wheels – but do not remove completely. This will allow you to adjust the tension using the tensioner bolt (green in above pic), directly below each wheel.

 

7) Release tension on each idler wheel by undoing the tension bolts a few turns (12 mm socket), until you have enough free play in the belts to remove them.

 

8) Remove the two belts.

 

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Comparing old (front) belts with new (back), check both are correct before fitting(!)

 

9) Fit new belts (remember to fit a/c belt first) – you may need to slacken off the tensioner bolt for each idler slightly further to get enough clearance to fit the new belts.

 

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Routing new alternator belt when fitting

 

10) With new belts correctly in place, tighten the tensioner bolts for each of the two idler wheels, until you can feel the each belt is no longer loose.

 

11) Now check tension at centre of each belt (as in step 1). The ideal deflection for the new belts should be slightly less (1-2 mm less) than with the old belts you recorded earlier. [Nissan specify 3.5-4.5 mm deflection @ 98 N pressure (10 kg) for a new alternator belt and 8-9 mm deflection @ 98 N (10 kg) for a new a/c belt].

 

12) Adjust tensioner bolts accordingly and recheck tension - until correct tension reached. Do not overtighten, as this could lead to excessive wear of the pulleys/belts.

 

13) Tighten the centre bolts of each idler wheel to 35 Nm.

 

14) Fire up the engine, and run for 20-30 seconds, then turn off.

 

15) Recheck tension on each belt – it may have changed slightly, if it is now outside the recommended values, loosen the idler wheel central bolts and go back to step 12.

 

16) Refit the undertray.

 

17) Drive car off ramps (or lower form jack/stands).

 

Job done!

 

Steve

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Good guide Steve - nice work! :D

 

Jim - something makes me think 5 years is the recommendation to check/change these belts, i'm sure someone will be able to give you a definitive though.

 

Thanks. That would make mine overdue. Anybody confirm this?

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nice write up, do you think it would be easy enough to replace the cogs to light weight items when you have these off anyway ?

 

Paul

 

Thanks. You could possibly replace the tensioner pulleys and water pump pulley, but a/c pulley is on a clutch system so that'd be tricky and alternator would be difficult as it is integrated...I guess crank pulley would be a tough bolt to budge too... Unless you're building a strip-down race car it's probably not a worthwhile saving for the weight, but would be good for show though.

 

Steve

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Good guide Steve - nice work! :D

 

Jim - something makes me think 5 years is the recommendation to check/change these belts, i'm sure someone will be able to give you a definitive though.

 

Thanks!

 

I can't actually find the aux belt change interval mentioned in my (2003) service guide under the Z section (ie. 9000 mile service interval page). 5 years/72000 miles is quoted for cars with 18000 mile servicing and that's the norm for many other cars, so would be the best bet.

 

Also my belts were looking quite worn (cracking rubber) at 60k/5 years, so it was definately the right time for mine. :thumbs:

Steve

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Good guide Steve - nice work! :D

 

Jim - something makes me think 5 years is the recommendation to check/change these belts, i'm sure someone will be able to give you a definitive though.

 

Thanks!

 

I can't actually find the aux belt change interval mentioned in my (2003) service guide under the Z section (ie. 9000 mile service interval page). 5 years/72000 miles is quoted for cars with 18000 mile servicing and that's the norm for many other cars, so would be the best bet.

 

Also my belts were looking quite worn (cracking rubber) at 60k/5 years, so it was definately the right time for mine. :thumbs:

Steve

 

Thanks. Where did you get the new belts?

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

You just need a ruler and your thumb :thumbs: - as in step 1. Line up the ruler, keep it in held the same position as you press down on the old belt, and see how many mm you can push the belt. After fitting the new belt, repeat the same and adjust the new belt so you can push it down the same distance as with the old belt.

 

Steve

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Sorry for dragging up the old thread.

 

Looking at doing this myself soon. How did you measure the tension. Did you have a special tool or did you just judge how tight it should be?

 

Glad you brought it up Rob, with just joining forum this year was unaware of procedure & time factor. Excellent write by Steve & very informative.

 

:drive1

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Sorry for dragging up the old thread.

 

Looking at doing this myself soon. How did you measure the tension. Did you have a special tool or did you just judge how tight it should be?

 

Glad you brought it up Rob, with just joining forum this year was unaware of procedure & time factor. Excellent write by Steve & very informative.

 

:drive1

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  • 4 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

just how easy is this - doesnt look that challenging but I know just how quickly little jobs I do soon become nightmare all nighters!

 

Been getting a few quotes to have it done at garage and they are ranging between £85 - £100 which just seems silly money for what is essentially swapping out an elastic band!

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While I got a garage to do the job because I was short of time - they screwed it up and did not tighten it properly meaning I had to re-adjust it - I found it all fairly easy.

 

I would say its a 1 spanner job :)

 

The only hard bit if making sure its tight enough once you put it back on. I found it was meant to be tighter than I thought - very easy if you have another car to compare against

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just how easy is this - doesnt look that challenging but I know just how quickly little jobs I do soon become nightmare all nighters!

 

Been getting a few quotes to have it done at garage and they are ranging between £85 - £100 which just seems silly money for what is essentially swapping out an elastic band!

might have to do my own myself, my mech seems to be to busy at the moment to do it.. or any other work for that matter! :thumbdown:

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I've got the belts now (thanks Alex) and so will be doing this in next couple of days. two questions;

 

1. do I need a torque wrench or will a spanner and socket set do me?

2. How do I test the tension of the belts, keep hearing that its so and so mm at 22lb, but how do i measure that?

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  • 3 months later...
Could a worn or loose belt account for the power steering sometimes getting very heavy whilst maneuvering? It also makes a whining noise.

 

That is well possible mate or your pas fluid could be low or pas pump or pressure sensor may be on its way out. I have all parts in stock if required.

 

Also new Gates belts here.

 

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=31548

 

Cheers,

 

Alex.

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  • 11 months later...

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