Can a belt tensioner be adjusted?

Not all types of drive belt systems can be adjusted. Cars equipped with an automatic belt tensioner adjust themselves over time and do not require adjustment. Tighten the tensioner pulley by turning the adjustment bolt clockwise with the ratchet and socket until the belt is tight.

How do I know if my pulley tensioner is bad?

1. Grinding or squeaking noise from the belts or tensioner. The most common symptom of a bad or failing drive belt tensioner is noise from the belts or tensioner. If the tensioner is loose the belts may squeak or squeal, especially when the engine is first started.

How serious is a bad belt tensioner?

Driving with a bad belt tensioner is unsafe since the tensioner is meant to guarantee ample tension that powers accessories. Wear on the belt tensioner will eventually cause the belt to slip, generate loud noise, and also create an unsafe level of heat along the accessory pulleys.

Can a tensioner pulley be adjusted?

There are two types of tensioner pulleys that provide the tension on an engine’s accessory belt or belts. The self-adjusting pulley is spring-loaded and provides its own tension. The other requires adjustment with a bolt that is located on the side, top or bottom of the pulley.

How do you tighten a belt tension?

How to Loosen a Belt Tensioner

1. Park the vehicle on level ground and open the hood.
2. Locate the belt tensioner on the front of the engine.
3. Rotate the pulley on the belt tensioner counterclockwise to relieve the tension of the belt with the proper sized socket and ratchet.

How long can you drive on a bad tensioner?

So, how long can you drive with a bad idler pulley? The safety recommendation is not to drive the car at all and take it to a mechanic immediately. You should be concerned if the vehicle makes squeaking or rattling noises. The car can still run for months or break after a few days.

Is it hard to replace a belt tensioner?

Serpentine belt replacement is easy because today’s automatic drive belt tensioners eliminate the need to loosen bolts or pry components into position for retensioning. Just rotate the tensioner, remove the old belt and install a new one.

What do you need to know about drive belt tensioners?

Average rating from 129,829 customers who received a Vehicle Engine Mechanical Inspection. A drive belt tensioner is a pulley mounted on a spring mechanism or adjustable pivot point that is used to keep tension on the engine belts. Spring tensioners are designed to tension automatically while the pivot design types can be adjusted manually.

What can a bad tensioner do to a car?

When the tensioner has an issue, it can affect the how the belts drive the pulleys which can affect the performance and functionality of the vehicle. Usually a bad or failing tensioner will produce a few symptoms that can alert the driver of a potential problem that should be serviced. 1. Grinding or squeaking noise from the belts or tensioner

What does a spring tensioner do on an engine?

Spring tensioners are designed to tension automatically while the pivot design types can be adjusted manually. Both are used to keep tension on the engine serpentine belts so that they can drive the various engine accessories.

Can a bad drive belt pulley cause wear?

If the drive belt tensioner pulley has any sort of issue it can cause unusual and accelerated wear on the belt. A bad pulley can cause fraying on the edges of the belt, and in severe cases can even cause it to break. 3. Belt-driven accessories fail Another symptom of bad or failing drive belt tensioner is failure of the belt driven accessories.

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.

Can a stretch belt be used on a serpentine belt?

But stretching the belt with the right tools is often the only way stretch belts can be installed. Stretch belts can take loads off of the main accessory belt drive, allow for better packaging and solve NVH problems that can occur with a longer serpentine belt.

How do you check the tension on a serpentine belt?

Use a ruler to check the belt’s tension. In many applications, the serpentine belt needs only to be reasonably tight. Because of this, a belt tension gauge is not necessary for most vehicles. Instead, use a ruler to measure the distance between the two furthest pulleys and find the midway point.

Do you have to stretch a stretch belt?

Stretching the belt may seem counter intuitive after everything you have been told about serpentine belts. But stretching the belt with the right tools is often the only way stretch belts can be installed.