how do i tighten the belt?
TECH Veteran
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,117
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From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Originally Posted by goodrich969
ive had like 3 ppl tell me to tighten it up.. ive never heard of a katech tensioner
Its a great replacement piece:
http://www.katechengines.com/street_...etail.php?id=1
TECH Veteran
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,117
Likes: 0
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Originally Posted by goodrich969
cant i just get a stock replacement form a GM dealer, wouldnt that stop the noise
Unless you know for certain its the tensioner thats squealing, yes, you can just go buy a new one.
Take the serpintine off and spin the other stuff with your hand to see if you hear a squeaker. If not, than take the compressor belt off and put the serpintine back on, start it up and listen to rule out the A/C compressor and its 2 pulleys.
.
Last edited by Quickin; Apr 9, 2006 at 06:14 PM.
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Originally Posted by Quickin
Don't just go buy a tensioner thinking that the noise is coming from. I bought two pulleys and found out it was my compressor.
I did the exact same thing. 
my idler pulley was squealing/chirping for a while. immediately thought it was the belt till i listened really close- sprayed it with silicone grease/spray for a quick fix and bought another idler soon thereafter. the idler pulley could be hanging up, like the bearings are worn and it doesn't spin freely. that would cause the belt to slip over it and squeel.
if not you probably need a new belt/tensioner.
if not you probably need a new belt/tensioner.
"yuh just ned to tiorghten teh belt on dat dar tree-fidy"
Got many people like this around?
Tell them we have an automatic belt tensioner, that'll get them thinking! I agree with removing the main belt and trying to isolate the problem. There is also another belt for the a/c compressor down there. That belt runs over another idler, another spring tensioner, and the bastardly a/c compressor. If it is doing it, you remove the main belt and it stops, you knock out the a/c system as a source of problems, and vice-versa.
Sometimes belts get so old, the tensioner can't keep it tight enough to not squeal.
Funny story - After my cam install, i went to HPE and pulled it into the shop for tuning. Everyone was telling me how nice it sounded (dumped duals, cammin ***** w/ no tune lol). They were having a GTO dynoday, so there were alot of people there too. Not 3 minutes after some guy told me how good it sounded, the belt area started SCREAMING! I thought i was due to just a new belt, new pully, or something, but later i tracked it down to the idler pulley. The bolt holding it on was about 2 turns away from falling off. Kinda scary considering i had to drive 2 hours to get to HPE.
I tightened it up and it was good to go. 
Got many people like this around?
Tell them we have an automatic belt tensioner, that'll get them thinking! I agree with removing the main belt and trying to isolate the problem. There is also another belt for the a/c compressor down there. That belt runs over another idler, another spring tensioner, and the bastardly a/c compressor. If it is doing it, you remove the main belt and it stops, you knock out the a/c system as a source of problems, and vice-versa.
Sometimes belts get so old, the tensioner can't keep it tight enough to not squeal.
Funny story - After my cam install, i went to HPE and pulled it into the shop for tuning. Everyone was telling me how nice it sounded (dumped duals, cammin ***** w/ no tune lol). They were having a GTO dynoday, so there were alot of people there too. Not 3 minutes after some guy told me how good it sounded, the belt area started SCREAMING! I thought i was due to just a new belt, new pully, or something, but later i tracked it down to the idler pulley. The bolt holding it on was about 2 turns away from falling off. Kinda scary considering i had to drive 2 hours to get to HPE.
I tightened it up and it was good to go. 
Originally Posted by goodrich969
cant i just get a stock replacement form a GM dealer, wouldnt that stop the noise
