kaotikid

Hey guys!
So I changed out my serpentine belt today. After installing the new one, I noticed the tensioner "moves a little," in a back and forth motion.
I removed the new belt and measured it along with the old one and it measures up fine. I re-installed the new belt and drove it around, and everything seems to work fine...

I dont know if the tensioner always moves a little, and i never noticed it??
Also I took it to a shop and they told me everything looks fine, and that the tensioner is a moving-tensioner. Is that true??

Please help me. Im going out of town in a few days and I get paranoid about these things. THANKS!!

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

I don't remember my stock tensioner moving one little bit "back and forth". It should be pretty solid and only move side-to-side the way the spring action allows it to move.

Get a Katech tensioner and be done with all the problems of the factory tensioner.


.

kaotikid

Well... maybe is going side-to-side and not back and forth...? I dont know..
I heard Katech tensioners works great but I leaving in a few days so I cant get it yet.

Has anybody else notice this about their tensioners?

hitmanws6

iTrader: (20)

mine did that and i ignored it, then it started squeaking. got a new one for 40 bucks, works great. so if you want to you can milk it but it will squeak

shaun

well its spring loaded so if your standing faceing the front of the car it will move left to right a little just keep an eye on it and give it a little gas from the tb and see what it does.
if its moving tword you or away fron you then no it shouldent do that.
they do have them at most parts stores so if your worried about it just get a new one.

fleetmgr

A little movement in the tensioner as the belt travels around it is normal. If you see if move any front to back, that's bad.

Just as bad, if you don't see any movement at all with the engine running. No movement at all equals a bad tensioner.

kaotikid

Its not squeaking, so I dont think squeaking is the problem.
Its more of what Shaun is saying. The tensioner moves from left to right and vise versa. So I guess thats normal...

BTW there's 3 indicator points/dials on the tensioner. Which one is it suppose to be at- stock?
Does anyone have pictures?

Thanks for all your help guys!!!

kaotikid

Its not mine, but here's a picture of the tensioners indicator points/dials I'm talking about..
Which setting is it suppose to be on, stock?

thanks!

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

When its a new belt it should be indicating where it is in that picture, as the belt gets older it'll slowly go towards the other end.

For your info:

The stock belt tensioner is a piece of garbage. Its a horrible design and directly breaks belts prematurely. By having a tensioner that can move (bounce)...it kills your belt by stretching it. The constant bouncing of the tensioner wears it out by stretching it. Then it will start coming off when you wack the throttle.

The fixed tensioners like the Katech stops that bouncing and stops killing/stretching the belt. Stretches cause cracks and then they break.

I have a belt on my engine (Katech tensioner) right now that is going on 6 years old, its still perfect. Serpentine belts can last up to 10 years, maybe more.


.

xRelapse13

iTrader: (21)

I'm with him^^
I got a katech tensioner a year ago and that fixed all the belt problems i had and its been perfect since.