[keithmtx]

Recently, I visited a Firestone for the balancing of my tires. (95 odyssey van) They said I also needed to replace the belt. 2 Weeks later I was stranded amid high traffic in Houston when the belt popped off. Dash lighted up like a Christmas tree, battery light on, power steering failed, air conditioner failed, eventually car died. I took it to a nearby firestone by wrecker where they told me the belt was off and the tension bolt was "sheared." The cost to repair was close to $700. I ask if the belt loss and sheared bolt were not a result of a mistake of the original belt change 2 weeks earlier. They said it could not be. Are they correct? should i seek arbitration?

Keith

 

[HeavyDuty]

We're talking about the *accessory belt* here, right? Not the *timing* belt? If so, read on. If the timing belt broke, the engine would have died immediately.

You'll probably get more responses from the 1st generation (1995-1998 vans) forum here;

1995 -1998 Odyssey

But, just typing out loud, the tensioner on your H (or F?) series engines in your van are manually adjusted belt tensioners. You adjust the tension on the *accessory* belts by loosening the tensioner pulley bolt (the one that goes through the center of the pulley) *then* adjust the tension with the tensioner bolt. (The bolt at a 90 degree angle to the pulley bolt), then once adjusted, you tighten the pulley bolt and you're done.

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. I can't wrap my head around a $700 repair bill for that kind of failure, though.