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Non c-clamp method Posted by Ari [Email] ![]() ![]() In Reply to: 93 9000 belt tensioner fully extended...oops!!, Smeter, Tue, 7 Dec 2004 19:00:47 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I no longer use the tool to hold the tensioner 'closed' to replace the belt. What I do is put the belt on the various pulleys, except for the idler pulley (the one without a rim). Of course, you've put the serpentine belt on the tensioner pulley already and assembled it.
Slip the coolant reseviour out of the way - there is a little clip underneath to release it, and it pulls out sideways. Lift the power steering reservoir up and out of the way, also. Now, stick a socket on the tensioner pulley bolt, and a nice, big breaker bar, coming from above the engine, down. Arrange it so that the bar is as close to the front of the car as possible, to give you the longest throw. Now, with constant, SLOW pressure push the bar towards the back of the car, turning the bolt on the tensioner pulley counter-clockwise. If it wasn't tightened down, it will now - if it tightens up a bit, you may need to reset the bar back towards the front of the car.
Don't put the breaker bar fast - just slow, constant pressure. This will compress the spring in the tensioner. You do it slowly so that the damper in the tensioner doesn't kick in. Literally it may take 30 seconds to compress the tensioner, but once compressed, it doesn't take much effort to keep it compressed. Hold the bar with one hand, and with a free hand, slip the belt up over the idler pulley, and release.
This is how I take the belt on and off - compress the tensioner, and slip the belt off the idler pulley; installation is the reverese of removal. Once I learned (through this BB) that slow and steady wins the race when compressing the tensioner, it turned from a panic with a big spring to a non-event.
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