Tensioner started failing....

[Petrucci914]

Does it ever end!?Turned my car on after work and I started hearing a "thud/fwap" sound.....as if a fan was hitting something, or like it was a diesel.Opened the hood and looked around the belt and saw that the tensioner was jiggling and the rubber area was pulsating. After driving it for about 20 minutes it went away and hasn't popped up again.I started calling places for a cost and they want to charge $150 for a tensioner, when I can get one online for $80. My question is.....can I order the part and schedule an appt, or is this something I have to do real quick in order to prevent myself from getting screwed?

[kevera]

I had this problem in the beginning of the summer.I paid the $150 for a yota one.I changed mine myself,wasn't too hard.It's not a rush thing,as long as you can stand the noise.Now you can try this as sometimes it gets rid of the noise,get a 19mm socket and put the tensioner through 3 full strokes back and forth.This sometimes quiets down a noisy tensioner and gets the air out of the hydraulic shock.

[Petrucci914]

I was told that it could break at any moment and my belt would fall off and I'd be screwed. Is this true? I can deal with the noise for a decent amount of time. I'd prefer to get a good deal on a nice tensioner and get it done by the mechanic I prefer, then to rush into it when I don't need to.

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by Petrucci914 »I was told that it could break at any moment and my belt would fall off and I'd be screwed. Is this true? I can deal with the noise for a decent amount of time. I'd prefer to get a good deal on a nice tensioner and get it done by the mechanic I prefer, then to rush into it when I don't need to.I let mine go for a year - rattling - before I had it replaced under warranty. My new one is a year old and has started rattling again...dammit! Mine looked normal, it just rattled. But if your's looks like it is falling apart then replace it asap. Does your tensioner have a plastic cover over the rubber? or is the rubber exposed?

[Petrucci914]

The rubber is exposed. When it is rattling (only does it after the car has been sitting for a few hours) I see the tensioner moving up and down a bit, and the rubber/hydraulic piece is compressing in and out a bit. This all goes away after about 5 minutes of driving when it's up to operating temperature.

[BlueCrush]

You have the old version then. The new one has a plastic cover over the rubber shock. I would get it replaced as soon as you are able to, and not put it off.

[Petrucci914]

Gosh diddly darn it!

[Petrucci914]

But is it true that it can break and cause the belt to fall off? I want to do it as soon as possible, but I also want to get the best deal on price and labor.

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by Petrucci914 »But is it true that it can break and cause the belt to fall off? I want to do it as soon as possible, but I also want to get the best deal on price and labor.I thought I read a long time ago that someone had theirs break - I don't remember if it was on GenVibe, MO, 9thGen, or NewCelica.....that is the only one I have heard about though.

[engineertwin2]

It's not guaranteed to fall off, but if you've ever swapped a belt out yourself, you know that it will be much more likely for it to fall off.Likely, you'll run into the problem on startup. In that case, either way you should be "stranded" somewhere safe. If the tensioner does fail but the belt doesn't fall off, I'd consider replacing the belt whenever you replace the tensioner.It's basically a 50/50 call. See if you can't find one at a junkyard...

[kevera]

The only way it would fall out is if all the fluid is out of the hydraulic shock,now is yours leaking real bad.I wish they only sold the shock,it would take like 5 minutes to change.

[BlueCrush]

I thought you could buy it separately....?EDIT: Hmmm.......I guess not.

[Petrucci914]

Quote, originally posted by kevera »The only way it would fall out is if all the fluid is out of the hydraulic shock,now is yours leaking real bad.I wish they only sold the shock,it would take like 5 minutes to change.I didn't see any leaking, but I didn't take a close look. It was just clicking and shaking, and the shock was compressing/decompressing a bit.

[kevera]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »I thought you could buy it separately....?I'll have to look into that.I have my old tensioner,and if I can get a shock,I'll be ready for round 2. Are they Yota ones???**Edit**nevermind

[Petrucci914]

http://www.rockauto.com/catalo...11659

[kevera]

I was looking at that.90 bucks man,that's a good price,I should have bought mine there.

[Petrucci914]

That's what I want to do.....but I want to make sure I have enough time to order it, get it here, and get the labor done on it before it explodes into a mushroom cloud......

[Petrucci914]

Had it looked at. Guy said I wouldn't be stranded anywhere or anything. He's letting me order it and have him install it, since he couldn't come near the price I found. He was a bit concerned about my belt, so I'll be getting a replacement for that.Supercharger owners: Do NOT use the GatorCrap belts!

[kevera]

Quote, originally posted by Petrucci914 »Supercharger owners: Do NOT use the GatorCrap belts!I got 800 miles out of my Gatorback, it got destroyed on the way down to the Epic meet.Dayco FTW!!!!!

[BlueCrush]

Why does the Gatorback fail on engines with the S/C?

[kevera]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »Why does the Gatorback fail on engines with the S/C?I don't thinks it's all of us.For me it was the grooving on the belt.When I first put it on,it's tracked beautifully,but right when I got down to TN I heard this "thump...thump...thump.I thought my water pump went,but when I looked the stupid belt was tracking towards the back and jumping over the s/c pulley.After I swapped my old one back on,sure enough all the grooves were toasted.Needless to say,there will be no more gatorback's in my future.

[Petrucci914]

Fixed!The new Tensioner looked pretty close to the old one, but there is one major difference. The tensioners have 2 arms.......one has the hydraulic and spring components, and the other has the pulley. With the old one you could move those arms both ways completely. With the new one there is a stopper that prevents the hydraulic arm from falling back. My old one was leaking.I had them replace the belt, but it still looks like it chokes up a bit just like the Gatorback, so who knows.