Belt Tensioner Squeel

Are you sure it's the tensioner that's squealing, and not the idler pulley?

It's the pulley that is on the tensioner that's squealing. When I sprayed some lube at the pulley mounting bolt the noise abated for a short time.

If that is the case then I would return the tensioner and claim it to be defective or better yet, bring the vehicle to the dealer where you bought the tensioner and show them. Most dealers that I have dealt with are pretty good about that and will get you another one because that squeal is not normal. BTW, how old is that belt?

I went 'round and 'round with this problem once. Returned the tensioner only to find the problem persisted... returned the new belt too; problem persisted.

I bought a gatorback belt and I've never had a noise out of it sense. Try another brand of belt if the tensioner swap doesn't fix your problem. The goodyear gatorback works well for me; it's what I get when I replace the belts on my vehicles now.

I bought the replacement parts at a local parts store. The replacement of the belt wasn't recorded in the repair log that I keep (oops!). By visual inspection it shows no real wear. I'll see about switching to a Gatorback soon.

I do have to go back to the following that I posted before. The noise isn't consistent, as it comes and goes.

"It's the pulley that is on the tensioner that's squealing. When I sprayed some lube at the pulley mounting bolt the noise abated for a short time."

Ken

First, thanks to all of those who replied.

There's a special washer that goes between the bolt and the pulley. This washer was bent in so that it was touching on the outer race of the bearing, causing a squealling noise. I could tell it was touching by the witness marks left on the back of the washer. I put the bolt through the washer and positioned it on a vise so that it would bend the washer where the witness marks were when I hit the bolt head with a hammer.

There was still a small squeal that went away when I sprayed silicone spray on the back of the belt and I saw the surfaces on the idler and water pump pulleys clean up to bright and shiney (both driven by the back of the belt). I then sprayed chlorinated brake cleaner on the belt and pulleys to clean the silicone off. After letting it set so the brake cleaner could evaporate I replaced the belt with a new Gatorback.

Best Wishes to all,

Ken

"Witness marks" - That's engineer talk. "Hit the bolt head with a hammer" - That's mechanic talk. Which one are you?

Actually, I'm nothing but a good old country boy. I worked in some production machining factories and picked up a bit of terminology. I do what it takes to do what I have to do.

My friends and I were doing some pretty crazy stuff with vehicles when we were a lot younger than we are now. I learned how to see the possibilities of what might or might not get you back home if things weren't going so well. I don't take being stranded very well, either. Perseverance or maybe sheer force of will can get you through a lot.

Nowadays, I baby-sit adults in a prison.

Ken