GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

2003 (base model) Vibe belt tensioner asembly. Napa wants about $150., another discount place wants about $50., another wants about $75. for it built by "Gates". Hoping to cure the noise that happens when shifting into (a/t) gear with a cold motor. I,ll keep you guys posted.

you do get what you pay for...... look at warranty, cost to install unless you do it yourself, if its rebuilt, new, used etc.

Did you try checking with Toyota? If Toyota has one for the same price as the Napa one, I'd get the Toyota one.North is right, you do get what you pay for... the cheaper ones will have cheaper bearings ect... they will crap out on you sooner too.

i always liked "Gates" belts. most likely i,ll get the one built by "Gates".

Quote, originally posted by Kamikaze »Did you try checking with Toyota? If Toyota has one for the same price as the Napa one, I'd get the Toyota one.North is right, you do get what you pay for... the cheaper ones will have cheaper bearings ect... they will crap out on you sooner too.Since the one that needs to be replaced has the fabled Toyota reliability, he might be better off taking a chance with a different brand a number of belt tensioner problems reported here at genvibe, seems to be a growing reliabilty issue for Vibers

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »Since the one that needs to be replaced has the fabled Toyota reliability, he might be better off taking a chance with a different brand a number of belt tensioner problems reported here at genvibe, seems to be a growing reliabilty issue for Vibers1+I would stay away from the Toyota one,when I change mine,which will be soon,I will buy an aftermarket one.

sorry guys, I didn't know we were having issues with the toyota one.. I'm sure this will become a problem in the future for me too..

I have a Auto Zone $50.00 tensioner on the car. It is a peace of crap.. There is only a spring inside the shock so it rattles like crazy at idle. This is the second one so its a crappy design. I am going to go with the one from Toyota which is hydraulic. Dominic

Quote, originally posted by vibe Freak »I have a Auto Zone $50.00 tensioner on the car. It is a peace of crap.. There is only a spring inside the shock so it rattles like crazy at idle. This is the second one so its a crappy design. I am going to go with the one from Toyota which is hydraulic. Dominicgreat info vibe freak, but sorry about getting the crap one :/ but now we know

So what the heck are the signs of a bad tensioner? I wanna know when/if it happens.

It will sound like marbles rattling in a plastic cup with your hand over the top, at idle. It will come and go. I noticed mine most while in park after I got home from somewhere. It will become more frequent as get louder as time goes on. Mine was replace under warranty by my dealer with an oem one. Nice and quiet now!!

LOL, Joat - fabled Toyota reliability. This does seem to be a common failure... Personally, I wouldn't put a Toyota one on as much as you see folks here have them crap out. Trying something different may be a good idea.

I have made it thus far on the stock tensioner with no sound. I know some say you should change it with the belt as a service item, but I did not. Just installed the Goodyear Gatorback (so it would be more like a NASCAR, hahaha), and it has been deathly quiet since I dumped the OEM belt. So far the only part I have had fail outright on my car is the Fresh/Recirculate Damper Actuation Servo Assembly (something like that), that was at 84,000. Not too shabby I figure.

i know the tensioner is a issue...but i dont know how wide spread it is..... im at 54k or so with no issues.... did the newer vibes (05+) have more of the issue?

Thats a good question, because they switched engine configuration or something. Real hazy as to what happened in 05'. Do not ask why..