Tensioner Bolt Issues (Help ASAP!)

[RSVX]

OK, so I swapped out my Alternator, went to tighten the belt, and I noticed that the bolt was acting funny...

anyway, to make a long story short, I was tightening the belt, and the spacer appears to have moved down the shaft of the bolt, leaving the bolt head sticking out about a half of an inch...

help? pics to come if needed, but I think you get the idea.

[UberRoo]

I think the most common mistake when dealing with the alternator belt is forgetting to loosten the tensioner pulley bolt. This is the bolt that goes through the bearing of the tensioner pulley. It also acts as a lock to prevent the tensioner from moving. If you don't loosten it, you stand a good chance of goobering things up pretty good.

The tensioning screw on my 94 was all galled up and bent when I bought it. The entire bracket is broken and missing on my 92 because the previous owner didn't know to loosten the locking bolt on the tensioner puller.

It sounds to me like this describes the problem you are having.

I spent a great deal of effort repairing the tensioner on my 94. When I was done, I lubricated the tensioner screw with some extra-heavy grease. This made a big difference. Before, the whole assembly was always stiff. Now, the assembly moves very freely. ...unless the tensioner pulley bolt is tightened. :)

[RSVX]

I did in fact loosen the tensioner pulley... this is where my problem stems from.

when I went to tighten it, the bolt moved, not the assembly, and with that, the little spacer that is on the other side of the groove(bolt guide) has moved down the shank of the bolt all the way to the start of the threads(at the top of the bolt near the head), so it would appear that the bolt needs to be replaced, unless someone here knows how to fix it!!

Help?!?

[benebob]

Chris, your car is toast. Better throw it away.:D :D :D Seriously, I've had the same thing when I bought nearly all of my Subies with that set up. Only way I could come up with to fix it was by replacing the bolt and the weird tension thingie. Good thing is they aren't that expensive. Oh yeah, if you need to drive it you can use a pry bar to tension the belt and then have someone tighten the pully bolt as you hold it. It'll hold for quite a while. Drove my XT like that for nearly 5 months w/o needing to retighten.

[immortal_suby]

Is the part of the bolt with the ring on it set in the tensioner assembly?
A pic would help alot - I think it sounds like the ring part has popped out of the assembly bracket and tightening the bolt just moves the whole bolt?

[RSVX]

Originally posted by immortal_suby
Is the part of the bolt with the ring on it set in the tensioner assembly?
A pic would help alot - I think it sounds like the ring part has popped out of the assembly bracket and tightening the bolt just moves the whole bolt?


EXACTLY.

:D

Im researching the possibility of a new one, but I am not sure of the procedure to replace it, hopefully its not too difficult!!

[immortal_suby]

Cant you just pop it back in place?

[RSVX]

well, I am guessing that the ring is what holds the pressure of the tensioning assembly, so that it will move, rather than the bolt just backing out.

sooo the bolt is only a few dollars, I am going to order one and try to swap it out...

anyone know the process of changing that bolt? Like, can you change it without disassembling the whole front end of the car?

[UberRoo]

Originally posted by RSVX
I did in fact loosen the tensioner pulley... this is where my problem stems from.The bolt you are referring to is not the tensioner pulley bolt. The bolt you see is the tensioner adjustment screw. Yes, you do need to adjust that, but only after the tensioner pulley is loose. Don't mess with this until the other bolt is loose. It's easy to goober up. Just don't let the adjuster screw get bent.

The pulley itself has a bolt going through the center of the bearing it spins on. There is a nut on the end of it which will loosen the bolt. It's down on the face of the pulley. See the attachment.

The 'washer' thing on the adjustment screw is just to coax the tensioner assembly to move if it's a little sticky. It will usually move without the washer, but I suppose if it was rusty... The reason the washer is being pushed down is because the tensioner assembly is stuck - because the pulley bolt is still tight.

[RSVX]

Originally posted by UberRoo
Yes, you do need to adjust that, but only after the tensioner pulley is loose. Don't mess with this until the other bolt is loose. It's easy to goober up. Just don't let the adjuster screw get bent.

That is not in the steps in the how to folder for the alternator swap out...

this should be updated, as I followed that, and here-in lies my problem.

so... when I get the new "adjustment bolt" is, I should first loosen the bolt that holds the pulley.

Great! once I get that bolt in, I should be good to go then.

Thanks for all of your help.


Note to the moderators... the how-to's on the alternator should either be updated, or removed. Thanks.

[Earthworm]

Originally posted by RSVX
That is not in the steps in the how to folder for the alternator swap out...Step 3.

[UberRoo]

Having the washer slide down the adjuster screw doesn't affect anything. Bending the screw however, means instant death. If it's just the washer you're worried about, don't bother. When tightening, the adjuster screw's head does tend to come off it's seat, but when things are moving freely you don't have to turn it very hard to get the belt tight, and the head doesn't tend to creep off the seat.

In other words: Don't replace the screw unless it's bent or doesn't turn freely.