Just wanted to say thanks. I just performed this operation on a 2016 Honda Odyssey. Have to say, was a bit nervous pulling the pin on the tensioner before installing, but the job went well as you described. Had to lay on back, as didn't quite have the visibility you had in the video, but all in all it went well. Thank you sir. I watched about 11 videos on this job and yours was the ONLY ONE that bypassed the need to remove belts and covers. Well done. 👍
This worked very well. For anyone with a 2016 Accord V6 you'll have to take off the oil pressure switch (if you're comfortable with that) in order to get to the screws holding in the tensioner. After that follow this video and you'll be fine. Luckily for me the tensioner didn't snap back so it was a quick old out and new in.
Just did replaced the tensioner on our 2008 Odyssey, and it fixed the problem perfectly! Took about 20 minutes. A HUGE thanks for posting this! My wife's car no longer sounds like a WWII fighter plane 🤣
Just did this on my wife’s odyssey van the same way, and your video was a TOTAL LIFE SAVER!!!! Thank you so much! Took me about 2 hours total. Great video. Little tighter on a van, but it still worked great!
I have a 2006 accord 3.0 that needed this done. I couldn’t find a good video to do it without removing a bunch of stuff I was not prepared for. Found your video and was concerned a bit that I’d blow my motor but I did it and it worked beautifully! Can’t thank you enough! Well explained videos like this on how to do things easier save so much time and money, can’t thank you enough!
This video was 100% spot on from start to finish. I have been wrenching for years. Over 30 plus year and this was one very well done DIY video. Did the job in less than 40 minutes. Thank you!
I will add my thanks as well. This noise has been building for a while and several other videos just didn't seem to match up with our issue. It took me less than an hour for the whole repair on our 2016 odyssey. This saved so much money! Thanks so much for posting this video!
Thanks a million bro. FYI, it’s a little different on the 2012 and up models. I had to remove an oil sensor because it’s right in front of the lower bolt. Once I did that, it took 15 mins. You are awesome bro!
I just want to really thank you for your information and knowledge. One of the most informative RU-vid videos I have ever seen. Worked on a 2009 Honda Odyssey, and everything went smooth. It was a fantastic shortcut as opposed to all the other videos ive seen! Again saved me the hassle from taking all those lil 10mm bolts from the timing belt cover...Again Thank You for sharing your knowledge.
I'm so glad I found your video. I have a 2012 Ridgeline was hearing this noise for the last month or two. I heard it all- (it's your engine, it's your valves) I went ahead and got the whole timing belt kit including water pump. All that to say my truck sounds like a brand new. Thanks a million for this video 💯
Just Finished a 2008 Honda Odyssey with a 3.5L and 247K Miles on original tensioner. Went exactly as mentioned and instructed in the video. Needed to rotate my crank a bit to allow room for the bottom bolt hole to align up. BEST VIDEO on how to do this bar none!! Thank You for posting this as it saved me a whole lot of hours and from disassembling the whole left side of the engine. I did use a 30mm deep well socket since I did not have the 27mm and it worked just as good. Subscribed!
This video (especially the audio clip of the noise) really saved me a LOT of money. After hearing the same noise from my engine, I was about to order an engine as I thought I had a rod bearing issue. Changed the belt/tensioner and viola, the noise was completely gone! Thank you so much for your video.
Today was a big relief for me and all because of your awesome video. Just done fixing my pilot following your video. You're awesome man and I would like to say Thank you very much. You are a life saver. God bless you!
Excellent video. I’m going to give this a try tomorrow on my 14 Odyssey (85k miles). Cold weather blew in and I confirmed what the noise was with your video. Thanks again.
This video is spot on. My brother-in-law and I did this on my V6 2011 Honda Accord. It was super loud before, but is now so quiet. Trying to get my hands to the tensioner was tight, but simple. Thanks for the video! If I can do it, anybody can.
Great video and tip. Just completed this install. Planning on the full service (timing belt, water pump, etc. - shortly). I was a little worried about aligning the hydraulic on the tensioner plunger with the tensioner pulley, but you could 'feel' it working/connecting the correct way. Thanks for the tip and video - Great stuff!
Thank you for this! Just did my 2016 odyssey in 25 minutes following your advice. Big time saver versus taking covers and belt off. Thanks again, it worked perfectly for me.
Thank so much. You just helped me to save hundreds of dollars 💵💵. I just did mine. 2 mechanics quoted me for new engine replacement for my Odyssey. You saved me thousands of dollars. After watching this , i went ahead to order the part which Costed me $80. Then spent 1hr tying to replace it. Now voallaa. So quite and smooth. I dont look like i drive a tractor 🚜🚜 on the road anymore. Thank you so much for this.
Wow, new engine replacement?? Did they tell you it was the valves clattering? I originally thought that was might be causing the noise on my 2009 Pilot, but I took off the tensioner and found it leaking oil, just like the video says. I haven't put on the new part yet, but I am very thankful for this video and hope the new tensioner goes on smoothly.
Hillside, how were you able to get the cam tensioner to pivot back into place? My new one won't budge (had to start the top bolt first, couldn't get the bottom to line up).
Update. Took the tensioner back out, tried the bottom bolt first again. Realized I had been pushing it TOO far in, that was why the lower bolt hole wasn't lining up. (Did advance the crank about 2" on the outside to loosen). Anyway, lined up the bottom and it went in. Then... the top one took a little pressure and lined up! THANKS MAN!! This whole procedure, while a pain (due to the mis-align), saved my probably $1500+ and a ton of PITA. Huge thanks ABCDE! - Dave.
Thank you for the video of the noise, a way to double check and ensure it is in fact a tensioner. And a how to to replace the tensioner without dismantling 50 items and doing it the long way. You have saved hundreds maybe thousands of people thousands of dollars and hours of labour!
I want to thank this amazing man. He saved me $1500 that's how much they told me to fix my tensioner. I did it on my 2017 Honda Pilot. On new body it's a bit different but same thing. U will have to remove Oil filter sensor totally to get to the lower bolt. Which I did and I installed new tensioner same way as he does. Car works great NO MORE NOISE!!!
I followed your video and replaced the tbelt tensioner on my 2011 Honda Pilot. Everything worked awesome, took me about 2 hours (which is slow, i think). Thank you so much for going through the trouble to record your work. Helped me a TON.
Took me no more then 5 minutes to change it out the way you did! Thank you for the video. Was skeptical but figured I couldn't fuck it up more then it was already. Great job
Amazing, this noise just started happening on my odyssey. I was afraid it was my timing belt, but I can check this first, then look for bigger problems. Thanks!
I’m glad I found you video before buying all the parts for the timing belt job. Now I’m going to just replace a tbelt tensioner. I have a 2015 Odyssey with 86k miles.
Please subscribe. Your mileage is pretty low but your timing belt is due by time. 7yrs or 105k miles. Which ever comes first. So i suggest you should still replace your timing belt.
Worked out well for my 2007 Honda pilot. I did need a friend to help as it was really hard to turn crank shaft enough and maneuver/set the tensioner and line up the bottom bolt. Thanks for posting.
Awesome, very cool! I wasn't sure if this technicque would work on my Acura. The clearance was very tight, but your technique worked like a charm. Thanks for sharing the cool tricks, you're the man!
What year is your MDX? I've got a 2006 would it work on mine? It's got 103K miles and started making a knocking sound on cold start but goes away in a few minutes.
Mine had a sensor and a big bolt in the way of the tensioner bolts that I had to remove first, just be ready to plug it because oil will seep out. Thanks to you and all the comments regarding this job I really was afraid to skip timing like everyone else. I did change the serpentine belt and lubricated the pulleys as well , huge difference, sounds so quiet now, 2012 Honda Pilot 4WD.
So I did this today on my 3rd Gen Acura TL. Things went to plan. Thanks so much for this video. You did a great job filming and explaining. Few extra tips: -jack the car as high as you can, especially on a sedan that sits lower. Extra visibility and reach is a must -use a good bright light to luminate the working area. My headlamp didn’t give me the best visibility. -turn your wheel to the right after for some more room -take off brake caliper for more room -use the 27mm socket + extension to keep the tensioner moving up or down. Just directly backwards. -don’t be fat or you’re gonna have a hard time!
@@huydang7191 really? So u lined up the bottom? That’s the hard one tbh with tension. Use the socket + extension method to give you more leverage. More light, more visibility. Get a look at where the bolt hole is and it should line up. Don’t get frustrated. The hard part is done.
hey im going to try this on an 06 acura RL, assuming that the engines are about the same, will the job go as smoothly as he did in the video or did you have to do anything different?
Thanks for sharing this with such clear and straight forward directions, especially doing the video by yourself. I checked mine like u had suggested and changed mine, bang on Appreciate!!!
I just wanna add a little bit of icing to the cake so when I call Honda and specifically ask them, can they give me a price for the tensioner only being replaced for the timing belt? They explained to me that it’ll be $950 because it’s a 6 hour job and it requires you to remove the timing belt to replace it per Honda so let’s just say these dealerships or these repair shops are all about stealing your money and doing unnecessary things that don’t even need to be done. Thanks to your lovely video and my boyfriend doing the work. I saved a ton of money. Appreciate you yet again.
you really cant blame the dealer. they are not stealing your money. it just happen that i find a way to do it easier. but by the book, its a complete removal of timing belt to replace the tensioner. in real life, theres a short cut going to a store, but not all people, even google doesnt know that way. Only few people I taught this trick back at the dealer where I work at. again, this procedure is not certified by honda.
Just did this job exactly as you describe on my 2008 Pilot. Saved me much time and aggravation and about $600. Thank you for being so clear and not assuming too much.
At first I was skeptical so I took the top timing chain cover off to verify. Yup…super loose. I had issues placing the lower bolt in but after clockwise turning the crank it then slid into place. The top bolt with help from the 27mm socket went super easy for the final fix. It took about an hour to replace. After my happy dance with no more noise …… I decided to send you some ‘Thanks’ Money! You are a true blessing!
lol. thank you. a support on my page and some share would be great. watch some of my videos. i am willing to take some criticizm. im sure all you guys that made the repair are more smarter than me. some comments and maybe request on my other videos would help my grow and create more informative videos.
@@tylernelson7757 As long as it is the 3.5L engine. Take a look on the right side of the engine and if you see the tensioner…I would think yes it is possible.
Well this could be a game changer, I have a 2008 Odyssey with 206k an a noisy tensioner. I saw someone remove the covers but this seems way more doable!! Thank you!
Just finished my 2012 Odyssey. THE BEST video explaining this repair anywhere! I am not a very mechanically gifted person and I was able to follow along perfectly. Great job!
Just finished,, 08 Accord,, the only few differences from the video are , at the beginning when you pull off two pieces of plastic that are ruining the visual, the accord 4 door anyways you can pull the plastic on the right but there is no plastic to give you a clear shot at the tension, ya gotta get low and look up, slightly,, taking it off went as this video shows , and the other difference I experienced was putting the new one back in, bottom first went in with controlled force, not a lot of force, I didn't have to turn the crank with the 19 mil, the top hole went in almost as easy , so, I must say, the video and just as importantly to me the comments gave me the confidence to do it up , So, ide say anyone afraid to do it like I was even tho I've don't alotta things under the hood, , just follow this video, it's dead on, Happy Holidays to you all,, and Thank you Mr mechanic 🧰 I can stop worrying I'm gonna destroy the car ,, 💯
Thanks for the video! I found that when I went to reinstall the tentioner that it needed to be at that angle facing up to get the lower bolt to line up when you put pressure on it. Couldn’t get it at first but i finally realized that and bam, job done 😎
Number one tutorial video on the internet, lifesaving experience because of this video thank you very very much, and you also save me a whole lot of money😂
i have done it plenty of times. made good money from the dealer already because of this trick. 4hrs customer pay, 2 hrs warranty. and get it done in 15minutes. lol.
Really good trick. My tensioner is leaking but I already ordered timing belt kit. If I dont forget I will try that trick with all the covers out and old tensioner before replacing everything.
@Hermiie I did it the old-fashioned way, removed and replaced everything. I had limited amount of time to do the job and did not play around to see if his trick is working. :(
@@lakay990 in some model where oil pressure switch is right on top of the bolt for tensioner then yes, you need to remove the pressure switch. Use 27mm or adjustable wrench
@abcdeinformation3048 Yes boss pinoy ako🤣🤣🤣bossing salamat ngayon ko lang nagawa yong pilot ko halos katatapos lang boss langyang pawis ko sa kaba kala ko d ko mapapasok yong bolt boss🤣🤣🤣pero napasok dn maraming maraming salamat nasave mo ako ng 500$😂 taga fresno lang ako sa pinas camiling tarlac,paano gawin natin sa page mo boss?🍻🍻🍻
Great video, thank you. I just did this in about 90 minutes. Very important to put the lower bolt in first. This is best way to do the job without taking off the lower timing belt housing and the crank shaft pulling which can be a real challenge. I too was very nervous pulling the pin out before installing....all went well.
A little concerned about getting the tensioner into the receiver and on the cam. I needed to turn the cam shaft more than I thought and about twice as much as shown in this video.
@@mikeduffy5670 yep first time ever doing this and can’t see what’s contacting it. Basically move the crank if the tensioner isn’t going in. Bolt bottom bolt, move crank again so top bolt can be lined up. In a nutshell?
If the vehicle has 100K miles or has driven that many miles since last timing belt replacement, then it is more than just the tensioner that should be having maintenance. There are kits that have the water pump, tensioner and associated pulleys, as well as the timing belt. It is cheaper to do the entire maintenance instead of risking the belt, water pump, and/or pulleys going bad after just replacing the tensioner.
Good tip. My 06 Pilot started making that noise, about 10 minutes later it sounded like the engine was eating itself, the two bolts holding the tensioner in place broke off in their holes. Sucks.
Gracias por compartir, ya lo hice y me quedo muy bien ,en una Acura Mdx 2014, nada mas que tuve que quitar el sensor de aceite por que me estorbaba para quitar el tornillo de abajo.
I'm working on my timing belt tensioner on 2007 Saturn Vue 3.5v6. I replaced my tensioner it was rattling. When I put my new tensioner on it took me a few times to get it right. My question is I had to turn my crankshaft alot but the new one then just fell in place. I rolled it around and I don't feel any metal to metal hit but still nervous about starting it up. For my own peice of mind is there anyway I can check the timing to make sure I didn't do anything wrong
Yes. Deffinitely. Remove the 2 rubber plug on the front and rear timing belt cover, turn the crank clockwise till you see on crankshaft pulley white markings lining up to the timing cover. Also check inside the plug of top timing cover. Front cam sprocket have numberings. Indicating firing order. Line it up to #1. Once its lined up, check the crank and rear cam sprocket if they are also lined up with the timing marks on the cover
Don, great video. I was hearing the same noise and many on RU-vid are saying it’s the timing tensioner issue. So I replaced it a few days ago (before I saw yours so it took me much longer to replace it) but I’m still hearing the exact same noise. Can it be the timing tensioner pulley or idler bearing issue?
If I completely move the crankshaft pulley like you, it doesn't go out of time? I had to move my pulley just the same to be able to insert the hydraulic tensioner, that's my question (obviously without removing the timing belt, I turned with the two upper pulleys, they moved next to the crankshaft pulley
Thats the same question as the other guy here at the forum. It also says on the video that even if it sprung on you, it will not go out of timing. You can keep spinning the crank untill you get enough room to get the tensioner in place. But its a good practice to put it on tdc to save you some time.
Quick question, how does turning the crank not throw off the timing? I have the same noise and issue with my 2011 Honda pilot and I’m super nervous I’m gonna throw the timing off and destroy my engine.
It wont. The timing cover has a very small gap for the belt to jump teeth. Only way it will jump is, if you start the engine without the tensioner. But hand cranking it, its not enough to put it out of timing. And deffinitley you can check the timing after you replace the tensioner. By just setting it to tdc, and check the timing marks if they are lined up before you start your engine.make sure you only turn the crank pulley clockwise.
Im really glad that 98% watched my video successfullycompleted the job and happy about it. I guess in return, I would like you guys to post some questions or video request. Im running out of videos to post. hahaha.
Great video, I’m gonna try this as soon as my new tensioner comes in the mail. Is it possible that the belt can skip time when you take the tensioner off?
Great job, thank you for the time saving method of replacing the tensioner. I will say that this repair has a bigger picture to include when making the call to do the whole job vs just the tensioner. Affer having to do the whole job, only to have to do it all over again due to Duralast garbage replacement tensioner 30k later, and asjust the valves at theie scheduled maintenance; Honda should redesign the tensioner away from hydraulic, or shoot anyone who makes them cheap and last only a third of the time OEM lasts.
Both of my top and bottom screws broke off when I tried removing the old tensioner I had the 27mm socket to support it and everything, it was probably just old and haven’t been touched in years. Any advice of how to get them out??
the head of the bolt broke off? it would depend how it broke off. if the thread is not cross threaded, you should be able to pull the stuck thread using bolt extractor. drill hole in the middle and use the extractor. if it is cross threaded, you have no choice but to drill it our then tap a new thread.
