I just replaced my accessory belt today and upgraded the Aston idler pulley to the twin ribbed idler. My belt was chirping recently so decided to go ahead and just replace it. Stuart at Velocity suppplied the pieces for the maintenance and it is a pretty straightforward process. If anyone is considering doing this, I did a forum search several different ways and found no tutorial, but I thought listing a few hints might be helpful to anyone wishing to do this themselves. The under tray does not need to come off, this can be done pretty easily from the top. Once you remove the front trim cover over the radiator, remove the throttle body Y pipe after disconnecting the quick disconnect PCV pipes on the right side of the pipe and undo the clips that hold the air filter hoses to the Y pipe. I removed the bracket that supports the upper cross member(4 T35 torx screws attach it to the chassis). ONce you remove the Y pipe inlet, there is enough room to get a 3/8" socket to de-tension the whole belt. Take a picture of the belt routing if you don't have a workshop manual or belt routing diagram. Clockwise tenstion will release the belt tension enough to slip the belt off the tensioner(the tensioner is directly below the throttle body). Once you slip the belt off, use a 15mm socket to just remove the tensioner to get it out of the way for now. Once the belt is removed, I cleaned up the front of the engine of grease and dust. I next removed the lower right side idler and reinstalled the new one. Next I routed the new belt through the pulleys. This proved to be the most time consuming part of the project as I have fat hands and arms so it was tough to get to the alternator pulley at the lower left side of the engine behind the Oil tank. Once I routed the belt, I slid the tensioner back into position and started the bolt back into the block. There is a clocking position and two pins on the rear of the spring loaded tensioner that keeps it positioned properly once tight. I slid the belt onto the tensioner pulley, then aligned the pins by rotating the tensioner clockwise to give me enough space for the belt to slide back on. I torqued the tensioner and idler to 33lb ft torque as specified by the workshop manual. Reinstall all of the piping and clamps and ensure the belt is lined up properly with the ribbing in the pulleys. Took me about 2 hours total with a coffee break and 10 minutes to walk the puppy. Sorry there are no pictures, but I was cold in the garage and just wanted to post up that it's a pretty simple task that an average mechanic can do easily and save yourself a few hundred bucks I am sure! The parts were less than $100 total!
Art

 

Great writeup. You Sir, are a much braver man than I. Well done.

 

Thank you! There is no Aston Martin specialist local to me, and the one shop that will work on the car is over an hours drive. I had the job completed before I would have made it home from dropping the car off there to get this job done! It really is a simple job, but I have been an avid "tinkerer" for 20+ years on all sorts of cars and diesel trucks! Thanks for the Kudos.
Art

 

ArtB, Summer 2013 had the same chirping from my FEAD (front end accessory drive), but intermittently. Resolved it short term with splashes of water to the belt, but never "fixed" the problem.

Chirp never returned during our short 2014 drive season, just over 3000 miles for me.

Very unusual...self healing. Don't usually experience self healing of mechanical distress. When that shrill squawk returns I will use your write up. Nicely done!

 

agree great write up/ and brave man but as the man says he has been tinkering for 20 years, i found a you tube vid of a guy doing a vantage, but he did it from under.

 

Thanks guys! The belt started chirping shortly after I removed the intake manifold and reinstalled it after powdercoating it. I am sure some coolant got on it, however, the accessory belt has been on my "to do list" for a while but since it was working fine and showed no signs of wear or damage previous to this, other projects got done before. Several manufacturers suggest belt replacement if they get coolant on them. I tried belt conditioner, but it only worked for a short time, like 2 or 3 minutes, then the squeal would return. The single most effective tip I learned while performing this, was once you release the belt tension with the tensioner, just remove it so you have room to fish the new belt in place. This made things much easier. One of the great things I have found on these cars is the joy I get from tackling these projects. I am nervous with this car since it is my first "exotic" of any significance so even with 20+ years of experience with all sorts of cars, I don't want to make any mistakes here. I am very competent mechanically. Have built 30+ FD3S RX7's, several 90's 300ZX Twin Turbos(including engines) and have done many timing belt's on Lotus Esprit's both 4 Pot cars and V8's. Interestingly enough, I have the Aston Martin manual but it leaves much to be desired in details on almost every job required. Pictures are vague and at odd angles up close so sometimes just getting oriented in the manual to what you are working on, can be confusing!

 

Great stuff, thanks! Can you explain how the twin-ribbed idler is different than the original?

Zvez, can you add this to your FAQ?

 

I've bloodied a knuckle or two on FDs myself



I did an auto-to-manual transmission swap with a buddy on his 300ZX TT, along with upgraded intercoolers, downpipes, etc etc. I'll NEVER touch another one of those again. Worst car ever to work on!

 

Haha! Yeah, assuming the FD position in the engine bay! They are really an easy car to work on once you have been through all of the systems in the car numerous times! And yes, the 300ZXTT is a very difficult car to work on! Lots of challenges, but also a very under rated and devalued car. With a $20K USD investment you can havce a 750HP + car that looks very modern and is fun to drive! Alas, even though they are great, they are not sophisticated nor as awe inspiring as the Aston!

 

Telum01...is that your car!!! all panels off...wish you were my neighbor

 

Here is a picture of the original idler. There are no ribs at the front and rear of the idler to help keep the belt aligned on the pulley. I don't see how the belt could slip off since the pulley before it(the AC compressor) and the pulley after it(the Power steering pump) both have front and rear lips to keep the belt aligned. BUT, several manufacturers have done this sort of thing later on in product advancements. The new idler is the second picture. It's slightly different and Aston replaced it in 2009

 

Here is a picture of the routing of the belt, as well as the tensioner. Once you loosen the belt, remove this tenstioner to make room.

 

Awesome, thanks for the pics! I'll have to see which one is on mine. I'm assuming the old one.

How many miles are on your car and did anything prompt you to do the job? Sorry if you already said and I missed it.

Yep, tore the thing apart, then ported the engine and rebuilt it. Loved that car but it wasn't a keeper. I love working on weird stuff, I'm helping a buddy with a 1988 Mercedes 300TE wagon in a couple weeks lol

 

No worries mate, I replaced the belt since it was starting to chirp and would only get louder as revs went up. I did some searching and seems that Aston Martin superceded the old non ribbed idler in 2009 so while I was replacing the accessory belt, I went ahead and replaced the idler. The two components combined were less than $100 USD. My car has 57,300 miles on it, and the belt looks original and don't see any history in the service notes to it being replaced.