When the belt tensioner pully starts to go out, does it may a ticking clicking noise? It just started.

 

maybe the bearings in the pulley. the tension of the arm is held by a coil spring. it only moves when: you are removing or installing a belt, or, you have one of the driven pulleys out of true (the latter is very rare).

but the true source of theclicking could be deceptive. u sure its the belt tensioner?

 

just replaced mine, gets really noisy, like a rattling sound, or can even get up to a squeal. really easy to replace, i replaced entire tensioner- about $65

 

maybe. idler pulley and water pump can also, but should not, make clicking noises. if you are very CAREFUL you can use a pipe as a stethoscope to pin down where the noise it. CAREFUL is the key word, watch belt, fan, and other moving parts.

 

I THINK it is the tensioner. It's a rattle kind of noise. I thought it was odd for a pulley. I was expecting a whine or squeal but it doesn't do that. I put the tip of a screwdriver on the center bolt and can feel clicking through it. Also, it moves slightly with the engine at idle. (in the direction of taking the belt off) Which seems very odd to me too. I would think just sitting at idle it wouldn't be moving back and forth like that.
To replace it, is there a bolt under the pulley once the belt is off and it rotates to the right?

 

slight movement back and forth is normal because the spring tensioner is constantly fighting the belt pressure. noise is not normal. according to haynes manual there are two marks on the outboard side of the two pieces. when its tensioned up new and tight, the marks are 'out of alignment' in one direction. as the spring wears the marks will approach each other, and when they 'reach alignment', the spring is worn out. ? hard to explain w/o looking at the picture, doens't matter if its rattling.

there is one nut on the backside that holds it to a small bracket. that nut is a little hard to reach. after changing mine and removing the coil, i read somewhere that its easier to remove the small bracket that the tensioner is attached to. i also read that in removing the coil like i did, it was easier to remove a similar coil bracket rather than fuss with the little bitty coil bolts. look for these 2 tips. i bought a replacement at autozone for about $65 or so.

 

I see the marks. How far out of alignment is correct? Mine is about 1/8 - 1/16 out of alignment. Is new something around 1/4 - 1/2"? Thank you!

 

How tight should that pulley be bolted into place?

 

Had a squeel and couldn't figure it out til I grabbed a can of WD40 and started spraying. First pulley I tried was the tensioner and quieted right down. First I bought just the pulley for $20 and replaced that hand tight. It spins right (righty tighty) so just hand torque it. But mine was still squeeling so tried a new tensioner and cured it. Could just be the pulley bearing or could be the spring is worn out. (I've still got the barely used replacement pulley if you want to try it, PM me) Replacing the tensioner assy is a piece of cake. Don't remove the coil (the screws will strip) Under the coil is the bolts that hold the bracket on. Take one out and loosen the other one and it will swing down away from the coil. Then you can just remove the tensioner bolt (only one) and reassemble. Once you look at you'll see what I mean.

 

Ramman, how far apart are the markings on your new one? Mine are not aligned but I don't know how far out of alignment they are supposed to be new.