I just changed out my belt, everything went smooth (I think). My question... Is the tensioner supposed to "spring" back? After I moved the tensioner with my wrench to get the old belt off, it stayed in the position I moved it to and did not spring back tight.

This may be fine... I put the new belt on and pulled the tensioner back to it's original position. It seems the tensioner is held in place by friction, which is fine, I just thought it was spring loaded.

Any insight out there? Did I do it right? The engine seems to be running great and is a lot quieter which is great.

Thanks

Matt

 

The belt tensioner should spring back against the belt to keep pressure on it, how curroded is the tensioner ? could very well be that it either needs to be greased or replaced because you dont want to have that go out on you in the middle of no where.

but to answer your question, yes it should spring back on it's own you shouldnt have had to move it back to it's orginal positon

 

Crap. Not what I wanted to hear. Any advice on how to lube it? or should I just replace it?

 

Here's a pic of mine for an index, just incase you got something backwards.
couldnt get a great pic with the found shroud there but it might give you something to look at

Edit: Just use some WD40 and soak it down, just try not to get ne on the belt it self.

 

you could use your wrench and pull it back a little bit to tighten, and see if it loosesn when you start it

 

I had to buy a new one when i got my truck, the whole unit costs around 60-70 dollars.

 

I would remove the tension again by putting a socket on the tensioner pulley bolt and turning clockwise. You should be able to release the tension enough to lift the belt off the alternator pulley and then release the tensioner. Get the belt away from the tensioner and then work the tensioner and spring with the socket wrench as your leverage. You should feel a pretty good amount of spring force on the tensioner. If you do not feel it wanting to spring back after working back and forth, there is something wrong with the spring. It is either seized, rusted, or broken. You could try applying some oil down in the spring, but keep the oil away from the belt and the pulley.

 

IMO dont even mess with it, just buy a new one. Much cheaper in the long run. You know it will fail in the middle of no where.

 

Tensioner's are not something you fix with Grease or WD40. It's a $30 part. Just replace it.

 

Yes actually you CAN, if theres nothing wrong with it to begin with. Sometimes they simply just get packed full of crap and just need to be broken loose. I dont see the sense in spending money to fix something if it's not broken, but as i added earlier if it is broken then buy a new one.