View Full Version : aux belt tensioner
i'v had to do an alternator on my williams the other day so i changed the belt aswell but when it was all together i couldnt tension the belt.
the tensioner just doesn't seem to hold the tension, it will get to a certain level of tension an then sort of loosen off and go back on it's self.
i'v managed to get it tight enough to use by using a pry bar to push the tensioner out, whats the most likely cause of this, the tensioner it self or the bracket it sits on?
has any 1 got any pictures of the tensioner or bracket fitted to engine so i can see what i'm looking for when i strip the tensioner off tomorrow after work.
all help will be appreciated :D
MatBrown
25-05-2011, 21:51
Normally the teeth have sheared off the bracket.
Bracket?? is that the big part with the power steering pump bolted to, been looking on dialogys and from what i can see there are no teeth on the main bracket. have you got any pics of the teeth??
is there any other way i can tension the belt, like making a bracket an fixing to alternator to pull the belt tighter?
take the tensioner off completely by removing the hex nut out. there you will see what Matt means by the teeth being broken and therefore the tensioner moving out of position. Unless of course you forgot to tighten the hex bolt in the first place cause if memory serves me correctly this does keep the tensioner from moving.
take the tensioner off completely by removing the hex nut out. there you will see what Matt means by the teeth being broken and therefore the tensioner moving out of position. Unless of course you forgot to tighten the hex bolt in the first place cause if memory serves me correctly this does keep the tensioner from moving.
yea thats what the plan is tomorrow when i finish work to strip tensioner completely off and see whats going on.
yea i tightend the hex bolt up :wink:
is it posiible that the tensioner is not sat on the teeth properly I.E. sat at a very slight angle, causing it to slip off the teeth??
I doubt it mate.
At the back of the tensioner you will find teeth as such. The bracket it grips onto also has teeth. Which one needs replacing you'll discover tomorrow, but very likely the bracket. You should have no difficulty sourcing parts.
bracket is expensive from reno though. over £100 iirc last time i priced 1 up, which was a good few years ago now. could always elongate the hole in the little black bracket on the end of the mani to take up a bit of slack by letting the alternator move forwards from the top a bit ;)
I doubt it mate.
At the back of the tensioner you will find teeth as such. The bracket it grips onto also has teeth. Which one needs replacing you'll discover tomorrow, but very likely the bracket. You should have no difficulty sourcing parts.
just wat i wanted to hear :cry: any idea if its possible to change bracket in situ, or how hard its likely to be to change??
do you reckon its possible to make a bracket for the alternator to pull the belt out abit and just use the tensioner for a slight bit of tension??
bracket is expensive from reno though. over £100 iirc last time i priced 1 up, which was a good few years ago now. could always elongate the hole in the little black bracket on the end of the mani to take up a bit of slack by letting the alternator move forwards from the top a bit ;)
that's definatly not wat i wanted to hear.
yea i'v been thinking bout trying to adjust alternator out abit to take up abit of tension on the belt.
when i start the car from cold if i turn the wheel to full lock you can see and hear the belt jumping on the power steering pulley but once its been running for a couple of minutes it stops doing it, i checked the tension on the belt aswell and it hasn't slackened off and doesn't seem to loose either. :?
go for full renault 19 16v setup , parts are easy to source
and there is no ghey tensioner as such .
Superior car ,Superior design iirc !! :wink:
go for full renault 19 16v setup , parts are easy to source
and there is no ghey tensioner as such .
Superior car ,Superior design iirc !! :wink:
Nah think I'll just get rid of the car instead, get something abit newer.
could always elongate the hole in the little black bracket on the end of the mani to take up a bit of slack by letting the alternator move forwards from the top a bit ;)
That would work.
I was thinking he could go for a slightly longer/shorter belt as the teeth that are missing on the adjuster are very likely 1 or 2 in the one spot?
You did the right thing by tightening the tensioner then doing alternator up.
I replaced my entire bracket and pulley with one from Mat Brown. had it powdercoated as well before I fitted it BUT if you powdercoat it, please note that the bracket acts partially as an earth for the alternator. I fitted a secondary earth, because when we mapped it with the bonnet off at Emerald, we had sparks coming off the alternator bracket. Probably not relevant to you though.
go for full renault 19 16v setup , parts are easy to source
and there is no ghey tensioner as such .
Superior car ,Superior design iirc !! :wink:
Nah think I'll just get rid of the car instead, get something abit newer.
Nonsense! There's an easy way around this, I do it all the time.
Follow these steps:
Loosen the tensioner and loosen the alternator, make sure you push it towards the block to slacken the belt as much as possible.
Move the tensioner to where you believe it should sit, where it would be providing enough tension on the belt. Secure the hex nut to hold the tensioner in place. The belt should now have tightened slightly around the alternator but will still be loose.
With the drivers side headlight removed, place this object between the back of the alternator and the bracket (so as you insert the object, it pushes the alternator forwards and tightens the belt. If you have a wedge shaped object, this is ideal as you can keep hammering the 'wedge' in until the alternator is far enough out for you to get the 13mm bolt in. Once the bolt is in and secure, you can remove the 'wedge' object. Your belt will now be tensioned.
Easy as that. I've never used the tensioner because of the issues everyone experiences, and personally I find this method far easier.
Be careful that you don't damage the metal PAS pipe behind the alternator also.
Removing this bracket to replace with an alternative is not difficult, once the radiator is out the way and the alternator is removed you can see what else needs to be removed to get the bracket off. You can leave the PAS pump attached to it when you remove it.
Hope this helps.
go for full renault 19 16v setup , parts are easy to source
and there is no ghey tensioner as such .
Superior car ,Superior design iirc !! :wink:
Nah think I'll just get rid of the car instead, get something abit newer.
Nonsense! There's an easy way around this, I do it all the time.
Follow these steps:
Loosen the tensioner and loosen the alternator, make sure you push it towards the block to slacken the belt as much as possible.
Move the tensioner to where you believe it should sit, where it would be providing enough tension on the belt. Secure the hex nut to hold the tensioner in place. The belt should now have tightened slightly around the alternator but will still be loose.
With the drivers side headlight removed, place this object between the back of the alternator and the bracket (so as you insert the object, it pushes the alternator forwards and tightens the belt. If you have a wedge shaped object, this is ideal as you can keep hammering the 'wedge' in until the alternator is far enough out for you to get the 13mm bolt in. Once the bolt is in and secure, you can remove the 'wedge' object. Your belt will now be tensioned.
Easy as that. I've never used the tensioner because of the issues everyone experiences, and personally I find this method far easier.
Be careful that you don't damage the metal PAS pipe behind the alternator also.
Removing this bracket to replace with an alternative is not difficult, once the radiator is out the way and the alternator is removed you can see what else needs to be removed to get the bracket off. You can leave the PAS pump attached to it when you remove it.
Hope this helps.
that is a bloody brilliant idea mate, i shall do this on saturday, couldn't work on it tonite as no 1 else was staying on in work, but i'll have all morning on saturday to sort it so i shall let u kno how i get on an thanks again for the info. :D
Thats another one saved from the claws of that horrible man Mat Brown then !!!
Nice one Kiz 8) :P
There is just one thing I disagree with by using the alternator as a tensioner..the risk of fookin up the bearings on the tensioner pulley (by over-tightening) are far greater..You've been warned!
Easy to avoid, just use some common sense and make sure the belt isn't too tight before you run the engine.
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