SPE926

if a belt tensioner is bad how can you tell

will it not put enough tension on the belt or will it give too much

Blue Oval

it wont give enough tension. there should be about 1/2" of play in the belt when you try to push on it with it all set up

PRO50SC

Not enough tension, the bearing in it can go bad, or sometimes when the spring in it wears out it will **** sideways and not be in line w/ the other pulleys.

marx91

dont let it go to long if its bad, i've seen them seize up and trash the belt

luckythirteen13

i just replaced my tensioner because it went bad. i was having horrible belt slippage on my alt but the new tensioner fixed that

SPE926

for some reason my tensioner is too tight

i am using the belt i am supposed to be using any ideas why this would happen

luckythirteen13

how do you know its too tight?

SPE926

the little arrow is way past the range on the tensioner

Mustang95

yea can buy a ne won at 50resto.....think they were under 20$

Derf00

If the arrow is PAST the wear range, the tensioner is not bad, your belt is stretched or you may need a slightly shorter belt. A bad tensioner would either squeal like a stuck pig (the bearing) or the belt would be really loose (the spring would be busted). Have you stuck an 18mm wrench down there to see if there is tension?