2005 Odyssey Belt Tensioner Bolt Keeps Breaking Off

[nednarb]

Hey any all help would be great.

I have a 2005 Ody, and it started making power steering noise. Just to confirm I took it to a deal, and the said yes you need a new ps pump. I choose of course not to have them put it on, and instead ordered one from the net and installed it.

Here is where my problems begin. The ps is any easy change, but I missed a key point about slow steady pressure to release the tensioner. I snapped the bolt that holds the hydraulic part to the to belt rollers. I fixed this and thought lesson learned. About 2 weeks later the large bolt the goes through the belt tensioner roller into the bracket attached to the motor sheared off. Man what a pain that was. I wasn't prepared to handle or extract a bolt like that. However I ended up getting the bolt out, and replaced it. Everything seemed fine till the bolt sheared again a few weeks later. I said man what is wrong. I ordered a new belt tensioner assembly, and a new bracket that it attaches to. Between my two extractions I figured just replace the thing. So figured out how to remove ac compressor and the bracket from the motor all parts were replaced and I thought this problem has to be licked!

Well now after again only a few weeks the bolt has sheared again. Obviously I am the problem in this equation. What am I doing wrong. Why is this bolt shearing like this? I am failing to extract the bolt this time also. I have tried everything, and it just seems frozen in their. I will probably have to buy that bracket again, but I need to fix this problem.

[nednarb]

Does anyone know if the bolt that attaches the belt tensioner to the bracket has a torque specification. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[nicomtl]

This is the manuel page for the J35A7 engine (VCM). Depending on which bolt it is either 54 or 16 lb/ft.



Nicolas

[nednarb]

Thanks for that. It is the top bolt (54 lb/ft). Hopefully I can get a positive result using this information.

[gpete111]

Did you ever find a fix for this issue? I am having the exact same issue. I've replaced the tensioner three times and the belt twice. Broke again today, ever two weeks.

[Rabbittooth]

Did you two ever find the problem or fix? I am having the same exact problem. It already broke twice and I am on my third bolt second tensioner. call the dealer and they said they never heard of such problem before. I would like some insight if you have any. I notice that the belt or pully makes a loud screeching noise before it broke. It started to make the noise again and i looked under the hood and found the the pully is starting wobble. I have yet yo tried a torque wrench but maybe the bolt is backing out or bending?

[dburch]

Tensioner bolt on my 05 just sheared off two weeks after having the timing belt replaced. How did you all get the bolt out? Mechanic wants to take off compressor and other parts in order to get into that area.

Not sure of fix, but did find this one response while searching:
"Some DFR yahoo's at auto service centers will crank down on the adjuster before loosening the pulley retaining bolt, which will mushroom, bend, and subsequenly *shear* the adjuster bolt"

[meinekeguy]

We are having this same, exact, and very mysterious problem with an 07 'Ody at our shop. After one of our technicians replaced the timing belt, the serpentine belt tensioner bolt has sheared off in the same place 2 times, each about a week apart, leaving a flush bolt carcass in the AC compressor bracket, but fortunately, we've been able to successfully remove it each time.

This is the J35A7 engine. Here's what I have noticed about this tensioner that is currently on the vehicle, though. We replaced the attaching bolt (a grade 8 was available from Lowe's in the correct length.) When the tensioner is installed, belt on, engine running, the upper pulley is sitting out farther than the lower pulley. It's almost as if the whole assembly is bent or crooked. Whether this happened while my technician last installed the belt, I don't know. I do know that trouble is inevitable when the belt is not riding on the same plane as all the other pulleys. Also there are 2 hex bolts that can be used for detensioning. The actual tensioner is quite stiff. Perhaps it's getting bent by using only one of the 2 hexes.

I'm going to replace the tensioner again, and install it myself, oil the bolt as described on Alldata and the diagram above, and post the fix (if this indeed fixes it). Wish me luck. Would also appreciate anyone who might have already solved this issue to post their fix on this forum too.

[royrescue]

45. Reinstall the drive belt auto-tensioner and do the
bleed procedure (2007 J35A7 engine shown).
• Attach a socket wrench to the drive belt autotensioner from above the engine.
• Slowly (for at least three seconds) compress the
auto-tensioner, in the direction shown, until it
bottoms out.
• Release the auto-tensioner, then compress and
release it three more times.
AUTO-TENSIONER http://dvpatel.homelinux.com/forumfiles/SB/A09-042.PDF

[Paul Neumann]

First question: Should the air-bleed procedure be performed even when simply installing a new drive belt? From what I've read thus far, it's my understanding that the air-bleed procedure is only necessary when a new tensioner bracket (with new hydraulic piston and 2 pullys) is installed.

Second question: Can just the tensioner pulley be replaced without having to buy the entire tensioner bracket? My internet searchs thus far have revealed that the tensioner pulley can't be purchased (and installed) by itself. The purchase of the $80+ bracket must be purchased to get a new tensioner pulley. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

About me: 2007 Ody Touring

[Jester747]

So, anybody get past the two week mark with this issue? I did my TB a couple of weeks ago (new accessory belt and Dayco tensioner too, all from Rockauto) and sure enough, the tensioner bolt snapped today. :-(
Would over or under-torquing be worse in this scenario? (My torque wrench is just a harbor freight one, so dunno how sensitive this problem is to exact torques)
I do know that I did NOT do the bleed procedure, but wow, such a hefty bolt sheared off like that for that reason??...
Anyhow, should I be replacing the tensioner again? The new tensioner was installed with the new bolt that came with it, but I've got the old bolt in my toolbox.
I'm thinking of just oiling and installing the old one again, verifying torque with a different wrench, and bleeding.

Any suggestions?

[Jester747]

UPDATE: Well, I just got done with re-installing the tensioner. Here are my notes:

1- The old original bolt which I just reused has that yellowed high-grade treatment, the new one, while marked as high grade was just the plain steel color. Don't know if this matters really, but figured I'd mention it.
2- The new bolt that came with the Dayco tensioner, had a verrrry clean shear break. Only a nib about as big as 1/4 of a grain of rice was left on the edge of the stem.
3- Thankfully, the stem that was left in the block came out fairly easily since it had about 1/4 inch still protruding which I was able to grab with some compact vise-grips.
4- I used two torque wrenches... my budget HF 3/8 drive clicker and an old 1/2" drive beam-style. Both confirmed the torque at 54-ft-lb this time, and 16-lb for the lower bolt. I might have, but I really think I didn't use the TW last time.
5- Made sure to apply oil as shown in the attachment posted early in this thread, I definitely did not do this for the prior bolt.
6- Trimmed a piece off of the lower timing belt cover as mentioned in a post I found elsewhere (pic attached below). I don't see this interfering from where I could tell, but hey, I really want to make sure this doesn't happen again, and with so many people experiencing this and not finding a definitive resolution (at least none posted anywhere) I just hope any one of these or the combination could wind up being the winner.
7- When applying force to the tensioner to install the belt, make sure your parking brake is applied. It takes quite a bit of oomph (Slowly!) to get the tensioner back to where the belt will fit, and not having the brakes applied will steal half your strength from you as your first efforts are spent rolling the van to load the tranny. Since it's done slowly it's easy to miss how foolish I was being! :-)

HTH!



Gave it a test drive and it's silent as ever. Very steady travel along the pulleys. Looks and sounds great.
Let's see!

[Paul Neumann]

Thanks Jester747 for keeping everyone updated on your story/issue. I hope this time is the charm for you! Please keep us updated.

I'm glad to hear your Dayco Tensioner bracket appears to be of good quality (except maybe for the main, long bolt). I just purchased one and will be installing it very soon into my '07 Ody.

[cnn]

Interesting,

So the root cause of this is defective bolt, is that correct?

[Paul Neumann]

Jester747, still going strong? No breaks? Hopefully no news means good news.