Tensioner Question

Well, we do have some concerns...

The tensioner "could" be bent.... this is true - it couild be bent.... But, without some simple checking, we are left with "could be" rather than "is" or "isn't".

Your friend said it "could" be bent and he looked at it.... We can't look at it and you are asking for a guarrantee....

By all means, check it once a week to see if something is going on... If you don't mind being stranded alongside the road without an accessory belt at an inconvenient time, this could save some coin.

For anything else, you could find a decent shop with adequate techs (hard to do in this brave new world) that have the where-with-all to actually make good recommendations based on viable testing.

FWIW... I have no problem with stating that I am 100% sure that your friend could be right or wrong....

Well it's just that he said the belt near the tensioner does not line of perfect like the other ones. It's slightly off.

I guess that I will have him replace it to be on the safe side or have someone else look at it.

Do you think that it could be the water pump?

Could a bad water pump shred the serpentien belt?

When I lifted the hood I noticed some coolent that was he sprayed up from the belt slapping around or something.

The coolent was up near the coolent box itself but on the outside and about a 1/4 cup of fluid.

The best way to check for a water pump concern is to use a small mirror to look at the weep hole in the housing. Sometimes removing the belt and chcecking for paly in the pump shaft can be necessary (don't forget to give it a spin to check for noise or roughness.. ). While the belt is off is an ideal time to check the tensioner, any idlers and the accessories for smooth turning and such.

Too many techs don't take the time for a proper diagnosis and this can lead to either a repeat repair or the frustration of repeat phone calls to get authorization for "missed" requirements (sometimes I have to wonder if the "missed" part is intentional or not - once they have your car apart, you're pretty well trapped).

Without the opportunity to actually assess the concern in person, everything becomes a list of "could be's"... which doesn't offer much in the way of direction.

For those things that could shred a belt.... bent sheaves, debris in the sheaves, cheap belts, misaligned pulleys, loose accessories or idlers, a bent or worn tensioner... anything that can affect the tracking of the belt, in other words... All one can do is take a hard look at the system.