Belt Tensioner & Belt - 2006-2011 1.8L Honda Civic 

Great Video, very detailed and very professionally done. I have a 2008 Honda civic Canadian DGX with 132K. In the winter time I could hear a loud squealing noise in the morning when I started the car. Then it went away when it got warmer. Now its back again BUT this time it happens ONLY when during driving I lift my foot off the gas pedal. What is the noise from? Thanks

I've been doing all my own work for over 30 years, and, it's rare for everything to go as smoothly as they do on TV or online. Thanks for showing the extra steps most of us have gone down many many times. I live in upstate NY and rusted busted bolts are normal for us folks who live in the salt belt.

Saw the video which inspired me to fix my daughter's 09 Civic which needed a new water pump and alternator, decided to also add a new belt tensioner, a new belt, and a new battery. I bought all quality parts and spent an entire day installing them and now it runs great. I was extra careful with the finicky belt tensioner's hard to get to 8mm screw because of all the issues you had, and used lotsa liquid wrench which along with your instructions made all the difference. Couldn't have done it without you guys! MANY THANKS!!

I can’t thank y’all enough! Just replaced my alternator in a Home Depot parking lot. Getting the belt back on in the dark was NOT fun. But thanks to you guys i was able to fix it. Keep it going!

This maintenance took me 7 hours, but I did it! My 8mm bolt was actually relatively easy to get off. 45 min of penetrating oil followed by torque applied with a breaker bar from a lying position in the wheel well. I especially struggled with getting the alternator back on, and getting the serpentine belt around the alternator. Ultimately, I got it done in the end. Thank you!

this was great Guys! Finally, a Canadian channel that gives a real life, step-by-step tutorial. I'm 61 and worked on all my own vehicles, encountering myriad problems/oddities but never found a video that provides direct insight and provisional advice into these issues.....until now. Gotta do this exact job on my daughter's Civic. I love the way you've constructed this video. Thanks!!!

Koodos to the producer of this video. The instructor is impressive. I have seen many here. His calm demeanor, precise language, detailed description and his warnings all make a superb instructor. This guy is qualified to be an awesome teacher. I have learned so much from him. Thank you very much.

You covered best case scenario and worst case scenario! I really appreciate you taking the time to cover all the scenarios! Your transparency and honesty makes this video the most realistic and just overall worth watching it! Thank you so much!! You give us do it yourselfers hope and solutions:)

Excellent instruction...very professional. Good camera shots, good details and coverage of peripheral methods and techniques. Bravo!!! Changed the tensioner out as the pulley bearings were shot and making a continuous grinding sound. Amazing that it lasted three years in that state. After the change...silence.

23:48 RIP wrench, you were a faithful companion! But seriously great guide and video!

this is one of the best how to videos ive ever come across. no annoying fluff and great info. subbed!

Just went through this fix with my father in law. The pivot bolt broke off in the engine block while driving, causing the tensioner to come loose and come into contact with the water pump pulley, eventually welding the pulley to the tensioner (and preventing the belt from moving) - we had to cut the belt off to get the alternator off and then went through your “worst case scenario” as described in this video. Didn’t see this video until after we were done, but it was a nightmare dropping the engine and drilling out that bolt. Once we got the bolt out, it wasn’t too bad putting it all back together with a new tensioner and pivot bolt. Great video.

I just did this repair today on my 06 civic ex. I messed around not being able to get a good angle on that 8mm pivot bolt, so I sprayed it and dropped the engine and gently hammered the allen socket onto the bolt. I used a breaker bar broke the bolt free with no issues. Car is back up and running now. I broke the belt tensioner trying to remove the belt to replace the alternator and almost glad I did. After replacing it, the tensioner was so much easier to move and I was able to put belt back on by myself just like in the video.

This video helped me remove my hydraulic tensioner. My 320Nm impact wrench couldn’t make it move. I used long breaker bar and long socket extension from under the wheel well after lowering the engine. Thank you!

Thank you for this very professional and detailed video! I have successfully replaced my belt and tensioner thanks to you! I guess I got lucky, the 8mm bolt in the tensioner took just about all my muscle to break friction but I got it off without breaking anything. I like that you had backup solutions in case option 1 didn’t work out!

Thanks. This video is very helpful. I've watched it and the 'parent" video replacing the water pump, which is what I'm doing this weekend. I was very concerned about that 8mm internal hex bolt, and didn't want to drop the engine to get at it. Mine was very tight, but I used my serpentine belt wrench (basically a breaker bar that is flat steel 32" long, which worked better in that tight space and gave me a little extra leverage. I used about a half-can of PB Blaster, and waited several hours. Still on very tight, but I just kept pressure on the wrench and after about 30 seconds I felt it give. That broke it free enough that I could get it the rest of the way with a flex-head ratchet and a lot of patience. Once I got the belt tensioner off, I felt that I was home free. The water pump is held on by five bolts and I removed five bolts, but the pump wouldn't budge. Now what? I crawled under and shone up a flashlight and saw that I removed four bolts from the water pump and one bolt from something next to the water pump. Oops! Once I fixed that problem the pump came off easily, and I just put the new one on. Now I need to look up all the torque specs.

Thank you for the great video. I ended up needing to drop the engine similar to the video in order to remove the tensioner pivot bolt. I used a propane torch, 1/2" impact and a long cheater bar. The cheater bar and the heat finally broke the socket head cap screw loose. I really don't like that design but understand why they used an internal head bolt due to space constraints. In general, working on Honda is a PITA.

Here's a hack of the bolt stuck. After you drop the motor a bit by removing the motor mount bracket. Use a leverage bar against your ratchet with the inside finder wall as the pivot point.

You just saved a LOT of aggravation! Hoped on RU-vid because the tensioner bolt is not moving. I’ll spray it and let it sit. Thank you very much for just how long this is going to go.

Great video. Had to replace the belt on a 07 Honda and found out the tensioner was broken. Lowering the engine down is the way to go. Takes 5 minutes and makes life so much easier. Couldn't break the bolt loose with a cheater bar so used my Milwaukee m18 impact and it brought the bolt out with hardly any effort.

The bolt came out of my Ontario driven 2006 Civic with 353k km without much problem. I dosed it a couple of days ahead time with penetrating fluid as best I could and again after getting the alternator and pump pulley out if they way. I put in the 8 mm hex, made sure it was fully seated, then used a long extension (as a punch) from below to tap the hex bit to help break the corrosion then broke it free from above using a 24 inch 3/8 ratch. It was certainly tight, the ratchet flexed, but the bolt popped and then came out easily. I've owned the car since new. It hadn't been out before.

A hockey puck. So very Canadian. Lol Thanks for the great video!

Good video. Just to let you know though, they make a tool for that tensioner. The reason is, when you slip off, and most will, or you tweak it the wrong way, it screws the bearing up. I learned the hard way. Honda makes a slim breaker bar and its worth it to cough up for the extra easiness and one less bloody knuckle. Thank you for the video

I always love your videos. I have an ‘06 civic that I do most of the work on myself. Your videos are always so thorough and informative. Also, the hockey puck sent me 😂

Thanks for talking me out of buying one.

For what it's worth, I striped the 8mm hole out and drilled the face of the bushing (3 holes and the face popped off) which let the assembly slide out. After taking the water pump off (bottom bolt rough) the assembly slid off leaving the bolt and bushing. I was able to grab the outside of the bushing (and outside of head) and turn with vice grips. This also made applying heat easier since the arm was now gone. if you desperate?

A quick and relatively easy way I found to replace the belt (not the tensioner) was to loop the belt around the crack shaft pulley (lower most) first then bring it up between the idler pulleys where you can hold it against the pulleys to prevent it from slipping off the idlers and crankshaft pulley, then loop it around the aft most pulley, then the forward lowermost, then while compressing the belt tensioner loop it around the fwd upper alternator pulley. I also jacked the right fwd (without removing tire) and removed the two or three plastic fasteners securing splash panel so I could pull it back to get to get a shop light in there to facilitate getting belt around crankshaft pulley (which may not be necessary if you can see with a light from the top).

The 8mm bolt described in the video is truly a bear. I found a simple work around: Rather than replacing the whole tensioner, you simply replace the little strut on the end of the tensioner. This is held on by a T50 star bit which you can easily remove with a 3/8" drive ratchet. This potentially avoids removing the alternator, but if you do this you definitely don't need to remove the water pump pulley or the 8mm hex bolt, making this job into a 20 minute job rather than a week long one. Oh, and you DEFINITELY will not have to drop the engine. This ONLY works if the pulley on the tensioner isn't worn out. Check this by wobbling the pulley to see if the bearing is lose. Spin it a bit too and see if it's grinding. If it spins smoothly (like the one on the new part), the only worn out part is the strut I mentioned above. Good luck, hope this helps!

Good job The serpentine belt “ tensioner” is a pain in the a$$ to replace on the 9th gen civic compare to 8th gen..

Thank you. I’m planning on doing this with no removal of alternator. I just had a major fight with the axel. We will see how it goes. Thank you.

Awesome video. Thanks for providing such great detail and even including the torque spec for each of those bolts.

8:49 I too use that same parts tray! 😂

Someone stripped the tensioner adjusting bolt on my 06...have to replace the tensioner. Thanks for showing me how!

Awesome video. Very realistic like would go in the real world. Very detailed and very inspiring. Thanks for this video. Loved it!!!

Hey it’s that guy from impractical jokers

According to them there's alot of luck involved 😂

Glad I watched this before diving in. Ain't like my Acura TL!

I think I know why the Allen/hex bolt was such a pain to get out. It seems to me that Honda applied a LIQUID GASKET near but not related to the Allen/hex bolt and then bolt it in WITHOUT LETTING THE LIQUID GASKET DRY FIRST. This explains why when loosening it there is no movement for the Allen/hex bolt to get loose so it strips the Allen/hex bolt. So make sure after you extract the bolt clean the engine block surface before installing the new Allen bolt. I also decided not to use ANTI-SIEZE a since the bolt was very clean and the end where the bolt goes into the engine block is not open. Good luck with patience I use a impact drill with drill bits size smaller than the Allen bolt and well as a drill bit close to the size of the Allen bolt AND with a CHIZEL AND HAMMER to loosen it COUNTER CLOCKWISE.

“Until next time, fear no fix.” This video just made me decide not to attempt the repair 😆

must be Canadian? , using a hockey puck to lift engine and lots of rust under car. Thanks for the great tutorial!

great video, thanks for being honest on how much time it really took. it gives real expectations' have to do this and the water pump

Think this was fun.. try replacing the starter.. you need small hands and couple universal sockets.. putting back in was more fun getting the upper starter bolt started with little room to work with.. but book says 4hrs I did it in 5.75hrs 😎 which is not bad for 1st time

Now I know why Honda is charging me $700+ to replace the tensioner belt on my 2009 Civic

Thanks for the video. I have a 2006 civic, and I had a really hard to remove/reinstall the belt when I worked on the A/C clutch. I damaged the tensioner so much when trying to push it back that now I cannot push it back since my wrench would just slide on it and I have to install a new tensioner, which led me in this video LUL. It's so hard to remove the belt probably because of the new belt route 2006 civic has? However I think the belt route of my 2006 civic is the same as in the video.

Rarely see new (or old re-used) bolts like the 8MM hex re-assembled with Anti-seize. Would this not be the obvious, easy and zero cost solution so when/if you ever have to remove again it will come out without problems?

The bolt on mine actually broke while I was driving (didn't know at that time), luckily I was in the drive-thru when I heard this ticking sound. Eventually, completely broke off causing my water pump pulley to make contact with the belt tensioner and grinding it. Had to extract the broken bolt that was stuck in the engine.

Fantastic video. very clear. great instruction and camera work. Now if you could just magically make that pivot bolt a little easier...

Wacking a impact 8mm into the with a hammer a few times can also help shock the threads and break loose

Very nice work good explanation!! Very professional

Patently worked like hell to get the tentioner bolt out. Was about to give up on changing the water pump, gave it one last try and it came loose. Was not rusted just covered in what looks like orange anti seize, though I was home free but boy was I wrong. The bottom water pump bolt was rusted to bad that It would not come all the way out, hours of oil and in and out and nothing, ended up braking off with about 1/8" sticking out of the block. Tryed to weld a nut to the end but no use. Gave up and ground ot smooth and drilled and tapped it out to a 1/4 20 bolt, of course the hole walked when I drilled it to the seal side slightly but I was able to dremel out the new pump mounting hole to make it work, no idea how I didn't damage the seaing surface where the o ring seals. Almost 12 hours to do do a water pump, thermostat and belt. The redesign on the 8th gen civics are stupid, honda dropped the ball on making you have to remove the tentioner to get to that bolt. Would have rather done a 7th generation full timing service 3 times than went through what I had to do. I put that damn tentioner bolt back in with a touch of anti seize on the threads and shaft, would rather the damn thing come loose than snap off or strip the head out when I ever have to do a tentioner. Ugh.....

Is the TSB belt routing ONLY for the 2006 year? I have a 2008.

Done this job 3 times, pain in the ass. I have also had to drill out a broken Tensioner bolt.

The clear coat is peeling just like mine! 😂

Im paying a mechanic for this, forget all this. I'm done after watching this. I do most things on my car. This? No bueno! Noooo way!

Perfect video, I'm getting a rattling noise from my 2012 Honda civic coupe belt tensioner. I'm planning on doing the replacement myself, but I'm nervous about that tensioner bolt🤨 soooo....

Did I miss it ? What was the part number for the allen / hex tensioner bolt?

Very great video, full of details , i love it. Thanks

An amazing video. Thankyou

I like the official parts tray . 😂😂😂

A week??!?!?! a week?!?! Holy crap

We'll put that in the official "parts trey." LOL! I know it all too well.

Good and realistic video that I have ever watched. Thanks

F,,,,k me that escalated quickly . simple job right? :D XD

Thank you so much for a detailed tutoriaL... (keep it uP!)

And magically, the car appears on ramps instead of jack stands. and one wheel is a few inches off the side of the ramp. but overall is a great video.

Love your guys videos! I changed my water pump with your video. It was very helpful. I was wondering if you could do a AC compressor video. I want yo change it my self because i have no money at the moment. Thank you!

Good and all but damn you had to remove everything made it hard as hell

it was very helpful thank you so much!

Thank you for all the tips great video

Great job👍👍

At 16:41 did you think to put some anti seize on that bolt?... Knowing the pain in taking that bolt out doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Excellent video guys!

It's evident here that both water pump and Alternator were both replaced with new! :)

Great video. Save me a ton of time, especially using helper, wife.

Changing the belt tensioner on a 2008 Civic with 270,000 kms (about 165,000 miles),good idea to change water pump at the same time?

Did anyone notice that the bolt he took out had threads at the end but the replacement did not lol. Well I got the one that has threads at the end part Genuine Honda Bolt Socket (10X55) 96700-10055-18. I will take out the old one and compare it Friday. I have a 08 Civic made in Canada.

My car may need replacement tension you are scaring me. Lol

Thanks

Hey, what size is that tensioner's allen bolt?

Great job! Well presented video.

Outstanding video.

After three days trying to get the brake rotor set screws out Im Going to to start the penetrating oil on the 8mm now in plans for a belt replacement next month.

This video is really helpful!! Thank you so much!

I had to drop the engine front mount and hit that 8mm hex bolt with a 1/2 inch air impact to get it off. The electric ones were not even budge it at all. Air impact zipped it right off.

I dont see the part number for the tensioner bolt

Este mismo video en español me serviría tanto para solucionar mi auto..

Man that was a mad job. I just did it a few days ago

Awesome video thank you. One but! Throw a little anti seize on that nasty bolt to save the next guy. I just mite be you. 👍

Wish you would show the heating up of the tensioner bolt....Like would you heat the head of the bolt itself or heat the engine block where the bolt goes into?

Where do I find this "any luck" he keeps mentioning. Pep boys doesn't carry it.

Is this pretty similar to the 2012 civic?

maybe i missed it but i think you didn't mention when to change the tensioner.

Great job 👌

how long did it take to do this? great video, thanks for posting

Great video. But the main bolt that holds the tensioner assembly broke, half of it is in the block. Any ideas on how to get that out. Thanks

Very good detailed video.

What about the lower engine mount. You didn't have to loosen or remove it ? Just the top arm and side motor mount?

Good tutorial, thanks so much!

Thanks for the vid! What is the part number for the screw? I didn’t see it on the description.

My bolts are very stuck..