bye bye belt

[stevej37]

Starting the Fit this morning at zero degrees..as soon as it fired up, I hear a 'snap'
Battery light on...can mean only one thing....serpentine belt kaput.

Didn't have a 'serpentine belt tool'...so I had to rig a substitute. I was doing the job by myself..so I didn't have any extra hands.
I ended up using a box end wrench with a 7" piece of wood to pry the tensioner back and hold it, while I threaded the belt on.
Had it most of way there but needed to turn the engine to get it seated all the way over.....which went easy with a socket on the flywheel and a long extension to a breaker bar.
There isn't much working room on that end of the Fit engine.

I have 235K miles on the car....not bad for the original belt.
Will be the last one for this car.

To pick-up the new belt...I had to take my Prelude out into the snow, sand, salt...twice.
Got lots of looks..."Wth are you doing driving that now?"

Anyone else have the belt give out when starting?

[cabmandone]

Yeah, I'd say you got your money out of that belt. I change mine at 100K just because I don't want to have what you had happen, happen.

[Dantilla]

I replace belts and hoses at 100k and keep the old belt as a spare.

My Jeep is about to hit 200k, time to replace them again.

[RWebb]

only 235,000 miles and it lets go - that's why Porsche rejected belts on the 911 motor and went with chain drive...

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by RWebb

only 235,000 miles and it lets go - that's why Porsche rejected belts on the 911 motor and went with chain drive...

Don't let your fan drive belt on the 3.2 know Porsche rejected belts! It'll hurt the pore thing's feelings.

[Bill Douglas]

I have 235K miles on the car....not bad for the original belt.

A fail. I hope Mr Honda and the boys don't read this, they'll be falling on their swords out of embarrassment.

Long live the Fit.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I thought this was a failed NYear's resolution diet failure thread. Glad your pants still "Fit," bad pun intended.

[stevej37]

About two years ago when it was approaching 200K miles...I figured I would replace the car soon. With that in mind...replacing stuff because it might break, doesn't seem as important.

The car has really served me well. Fun to drive, 40 mpg, and super reliable.

The serpentine belt on the Fit also drives the water pump. So, I knew that wherever it broke, would be where I would have to fix it. Luckily, it was in my driveway.

[Bill Douglas]

Good skills both Steve and Honda.

A mechanic friend pointed out a VW engine that had only done about 40,000 miles and the belt broke damaging the engine. He said look at the cam it's turning and look at the puny belt trying to turn it.

He went on to say he hadn't seen a Corolla belt break, and they look twice as big and strong.

[stevej37]

Just this last fall, I brought my Prelude into the dealer for the 75K timing belt replacement.
I had gone over the mileage and I was getting worried about the potential damage if it did break.
The Fit belt breaking is just an inconvenience...unless a person keeps driving with it broken.

When the mechanic finished changing the Prelude timing belt...he gave me the old one.
It looked brand new.

[craigster59]

I thought this would be a thread about suspenders....

[stevej37]

I'm guilty of not wearing a belt..a lot of the time.
But, I'm sure I'll never wear suspenders.

[Steve Carlton]

With 235,000 miles, you probably need new suspenders.

[stevej37]

^^^ Or new pockets....as in door pockets. The Michigan winter white salt roads are getting to the 11 year old thin body.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I have 235K miles on the car....not bad for the original belt.

A fail. I hope Mr Honda and the boys don't read this, they'll be falling on their swords out of embarrassment.

Long live the Fit.

Honda has a recall out for all the Fits owned in the northern states where salt or chemicals are applied to the road. I received my letter...but the parts aren't in yet.

They are replacing front axles because the paint isn't holding up under the rubber boots on the axle...causing the chance of them rusting and breaking.

Eleven year old car and they are going to replace both of mine and a free rental car is included. More than I would expect from a car company.

[SCadaddle]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Just this last fall, I brought my Prelude into the dealer for the 75K timing belt replacement.
I had gone over the mileage and I was getting worried about the potential damage if it did break.
The Fit belt breaking is just an inconvenience...unless a person keeps driving with it broken.

When the mechanic finished changing the Prelude timing belt...he gave me the old one.
It looked brand new.

Wow. I had to look up when the last of the Honda Prelude's were built. Wiki says 2001......

All the Subaru's I've owned over the last 25 years spec'd the timing belt replacement at 105K miles or 105 months. I've replaced more of them based on them running out of "time" vs. mileage. I'd say you were very fortunate on your Prelude!

[stevej37]

^^^ Mine is a 98...I am the original owner. And it's always been garaged.
It currently has 120k miles.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Eleven year old car and they are going to replace both of mine and a free rental car is included. More than I would expect from a car company.

A honourable car company.

AND fantastic cars!

[cabmandone]

The real question is, did you put the belt on starting from the left or the right?
How do you put your belt on?

[stevej37]

A pic from Nov. last year. It still looks good from this distance, but when you are closer you notice the brown rust on the door bottoms.