I finally got around to doing this job. I'm a driveway mechanic, so what I am about to offer is not for the experts who already know how to do automobile repair.

The Job:

1) Do everything from below the car (like the Service Manual says), not from above (like some YouTubers say).

2) Install the new belt around the pulley that is smooth (no grooves) last.

The Commentary:

1) Everything that you need to see is obstructed and you will not be able to see it.

2) Everything that you need to reach is obstructed and you will not be able to reach it.

3) Everything that you need to put a wrench on is obstructed and you will not be able to put a wrench on it.

4) Good luck.

 

I see that we have the same DIY style and luck.
I'm going to be replacing my tensioner pulley (the tensioner seems fine) and drive belt as soon as I place an order for the parts, so I will take this advice to heart. I like to add an additional challenge by waiting for the absolutely coldest day of winter to work on the car...

 

I thought my old tensioner was doing fine, too, but when I got the new one in place, its resting position (no belt installed) was more extended. Or so it seemed to me. As far as spinning the pulley and listening to the bearings for noise, I didn't know what I was listening for. The old one seemed quiet enough to me, but I'm not an expert.

I certainly recommend doing the job on the coldest day, at night, with the wrong prescription glass on. Why do things the easy way?

 

You're probably right and I should do a more in-depth examination of the tensioner before going further. The service manual outlines some diagnostic tests after removing the tensioner from the car, but it's tough to do that when I am also extremely lazy. My defense is that the tensioner doesn't jump around when the car is ldling, which is one of the more basic diagnostics of a bad tensioner according to the service manual.

I do have a pulley noise and as best as I can tell it's coming from the tensioner pulley. Thus, I am at least doing that along with a new serpentine belt.

My interrogation of the car started a week or two ago when someone else asked questions about the serpentine belt, which made me realize that I had not changed mine (in about 25K miles of ownership). My brother owned the car from 2012 to 2020, but when I looked back through his maintenance spreadsheet (we're a spreadsheet family) he hadn't changed it either. So, it's definitely time for a 2010 Fit with 128K miles.

Did you buy official Honda parts? I'm not sure if I can justify paying $75-100+ for a simple pulley when I have a good suspicion that there are only a few pulley manufacturers (i.e., the RockAuto pulley is probably way better than 1/5th as good as the Honda pulley).

I forgot about doing my maintenance work in the middle of the night. Luckily this time of year the middle of the night starts around 5 PM so at least I won't have to stay up past my bedtime.

 

After seeing this comment, part of me wants to see how quickly I can snag and replace the auto belt tensioner on my rust belt GE8 project... Another part of me doesn't want to deal with rusty fasteners this evening. haha

Even with my discount at work, that darn pulley (with the bearing installed of course) is around $107 bucks before tax. I promptly snagged a Litens tensioner with a Gates drive belt and still came out ahead of what I would have paid for a pulley alone.

 

I only use OEM parts. I'm the psycho on this forum.

​​​​​​​I understand your point of view.

 

Modern serpentine belts are made of EPDM and often do not show cracks when when worn. Instead there is a plastic gauge that meadures depth of grooves fir wear. Rule of thumb is about every 100K or less. I checked actual length of OEM vs Rock Auto offerings and they vary. The only one that matched identically was the Bondo brand (also the cheapest!) FYI Bondo makes a lot of OEM belts.
Will be doing mine this week at 140K...

Did the new belt (Bondo from Rock Auto) & bought a serpentine belt tool as well (although the kit did not have the needed 19mm).
crowfoot!) . FYI - the Bondo belt was the only one that matched OEM length exactly. I also left in sun for a while to possibly expand it a bit.
With the tool taking all tension off from the top I secured it to a bolt sticking up with a cable tie.
removed tire and belt access panel and was able to fish belt around all grooved pulleys and was able to fairly easily push on to non grooved pulley. One issue was the belt around the alternator kept slipping off when sliding belt around lower pulleys - my wife helped by holding it in place. Also, use care on those darn access panel fasteners - easy to break. Hope this helps!

 

A small amount of length variation is not an issue as the tensioner can account for that.

 

Thanks! I saved that.