How does an automotive serpentine belt tensioner work?
Step 1 – A serpentine belt tensioner is designed to hold a prescribed amount of tension to ensure the proper operation of the serpentine belt, the tensioner is comprised of a housing, spring, idler pulley w/bearing, pivot and mounting bolts.
How do you reinstall a serpentine belt on a pulley?
Belt Installation Reverse the procedure to reinstall the serpentine belt on the pulley system auto tensioner. Be careful to get the belt on the the other pulleys and aligned properly on all parts of the complicated routing, then apply the tool to allow the belt to be slipped onto the tensioner pulley.
When to replace serpentine belt tensioner — Ricks free?
A good belt tensioner will dampen the power pulses so much that the tensioner pulley arm barely moves. As the dampener wears the pulses cause the belt to flutter and that can be seen on the pulley arm. A belt tensioner pulley arm should not move more than 1/32”.
What does it mean when your serpentine belt is loose?
A loose serpentine belt will often produce an audible squeal in the engine bay. This is often the first sign of a loosening serpentine belt and may mean the belt is either too loose or is overly worn. However, a squealing belt may also be a sign that one of the accessories it drives is beginning to fail.
How do you remove tension from a serpentine belt?
Note: It is a very heavy spring tension, and pivoting the tensioner is often not possible with a short handled tool. Hold the tension from the belt, and slip the belt off the auto tensioner pulley to remove the belt and pulley system. Slowly release the tension to avoid damage or injury, and then remove the tool from the belt auto tensioner.
A good belt tensioner will dampen the power pulses so much that the tensioner pulley arm barely moves. As the dampener wears the pulses cause the belt to flutter and that can be seen on the pulley arm. A belt tensioner pulley arm should not move more than 1/32”.
Is there a difference in length between serpentine belts?
Tensioner was fine when I’d switch back to the old belt, slipped on the new belt. From what I remember there was a 3/4″ difference in length between both belts based on the MFG listed measurements, both belts listed for this application specifically. A new tensioner solved the problem.
Do you change the bearings on a serpentine belt?
Yep, do it, the tensioner looses tension and the idler looses grease. If you’re inclined you can repack the bearings with wheel bearing grease as long as they’re not damaged yet. replace all the pullies when the belt is changed. replace all the pullies when the belt is changed.
Where does the name serpentine belt come from?
Manufacturers design serpentine belts to drive accessories on the engine. For instance, a serpentine belt often drives the air conditioner compressor, alternator and power steering pump. The name serpentine comes from the way the belt snakes around the engine. The serpentine belt wraps around a pulley connected to the crankshaft.
When do you know you need to replace your belt tensioner?
If you notice that there is resistance, roughness, or noise every time you turn the pulley, then there’s a chance that the problem is in the pulley bearings. You might think of replacing only the pulley bearings in this case. Mechanics will tell you to replace the entire belt tensioner system.
What causes a serpentine belt pulley to fail?
A failure of the serpentine belt tensioner-pulley. Wear in the bearing can also cause the pulley to move out of alignment. This will produce chirping a noise and wear to the belt. The easiest way to isolate a failing pulley bearing is to remove the serpentine belt and rotate the pulley by hand.
Where is the serpentine belt tensioner located on a car?
This is a pulley that is either mounted to an adjustable pivot point or a spring mechanism. If you open up the hood of your car, you’ll see that the serpentine belt is on the front of your engine. It is the long one. The pulley itself is found on the outside of the belt, which is how it adds tension or pressure.
What do you need to know about a belt tensioner?
The belt tensioner’s first job is to maintain the proper tension on the serpentine belt. That’s easy enough, you just build a tensioning device with a strong enough spring to keep the belt at the correct tension. The tensioner also has to compensate for belt wear and stretch.
Why does my belt tensioner make a squealing sound?
This is especially the case when starting the engine first thing in the morning. Since the tensioner is not able to maintain the correct tension on the belts, it produces a squealing or squeaking sound. This is most evident on the drive belts.
How can I tell if my belt tensioner is rusting?
This water test will identify both tension and misalignment problems. Inspect the automatic tensioner spring case for signs of brown colored powder. That’s a sign the spring is rusting. Next, check for a tensioner idler roller that’s not sitting perfectly square with the tensioner arm.