Belt tensioner??

[JeepJeepster]

Not been hanging around too much lately. Typically I'd be answering this question but the time has come to replace my belt tensioner. Napa acted like they couldn't get one and I couldn't find one on their website but they have the pulley that's on the tensioner. So the question is, is rock auto the only place to buy the gates tensioner and is it the best tensioner? Why not replace just the pulley?

Otherwise I'm going with a napa EPDM belt.

 

[tjkj2002]

Gates or Dayco tensioner's are good,better then OEM by far.Stay away from the gaterback(GoodYear) tensioners as they suck.And yes replace the whole tensioner.

Napa's EPDM belt is made by Gates so it's one of the best belts on the market,right up there with the OEM EPDM belts.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Still quick as ever. Where can you get the gates tensioner? Rock auto only has the dayco.

I've read some kj's use a 3" pulley and some use a 3.5" pulley. If I get one for a 2004 am I good to go or?? They still try to give me a ****** filter for a 45rfe on my 2004 kj so I don't know if its one of those deals.

 

[tjkj2002]

http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts...content=YN&utm_campaign=PartsGeek+Google+Base

I can't say about the different pulley sizes,never had a issue or ever ask which one was needed.

 

[LibertyTC]

Any guess as to mileage when these on average start to go & should be replaced?
100,000 miles ? or earlier.
Would 80,000 miles be a good time to do tensioner/idler and belt to be on safe side?

 

[JeepJeepster]

Mines got 61k on mine and its rough. I've taken the belt off a couple of times to check it. As much as I hear about these going bad and the fact that it can leave you stranded, I'm replacing it and keeping the old as a spare.

So far:
-Napa only has the pulleys
-Oreillys has the pulleys and needs the vin to check for the tensioner. Got to call them back.
-advance has the dayco for $55.
-autozone has their duralast tensioner for $55
-Wish I could find the gates locally but its not looking good

 

[tommudd]

Any guess as to mileage when these on average start to go & should be replaced?
100,000 miles ? or earlier.
Would 80,000 miles be a good time to do tensioner/idler and belt to be on safe side?

Mine went at about 80,000 if I remember right
Thankfully like most everything else I had one ready to go laying on the shelf when it started making noise
I have another one waiting which I'll more than likely install in the next couple of weeks. ( I'm at 156,000 now)
One of the other guys here in Ohio his went at 170,000 or so, no warning just driving down the road so its better to be proactive and replace it I think

 

[MikeDoyle89]

Reply

Any guess as to mileage when these on average start to go & should be replaced?
100,000 miles ? or earlier.
Would 80,000 miles be a good time to do tensioner/idler and belt to be on safe side?

I personally had the idler snap on my while driving, 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport, 45,000 miles. $65 for a new one at Advanced Auto, replaced the belt while i was at it

 

[JeepJeepster]

Mine went at about 80,000 if I remember right
Thankfully like most everything else I had one ready to go laying on the shelf when it started making noise
I have another one waiting which I'll more than likely install in the next couple of weeks. ( I'm at 156,000 now)
One of the other guys here in Ohio his went at 170,000 or so, no warning just driving down the road so its better to be proactive and replace it I think

What brand do you use tommudd?

 

[JeepJeepster]

Picked up the dayco tensioner from advance and it had the 3.5" pulley and my jeep has the 3" pulley. That was the only tensioner advance had so advance is a no go.

Also picked up a micro-v belt at napa and I'm pretty sure it matched up. I put it up next to the old one and it looked like it was the same size but I was in a hurry. Put the old one back on till I get the new tensioner that fits. Not sure what tensioner to get at this point, I'm not ordering one till I know how to figure out if it has the correct pulley. Surprised this isn't already known since these go bad so often...

 

[JeepJeepster]

..

 

[JeepinJarhead03]

i'd try it, the bigger pully is just on a different side

should be fine, don't think there's a clearance issue in that area

 

[JeepJeepster]

The bigger pulley isn't on a different side. Two pulleys are the same and the other is bigger. Its pretty close to the crank pulley.

 

[JeepinJarhead03]

well tbh will take about 10 mins to find out if itll go on and have proper range of motion and clearance?

 

[tjkj2002]

The Dayco tensioner will work with zero issues.I ran one for 30k with zero problems,switched to a Gates tensioner when I changed my belt and it had the bigger pulley also and it still works with zero issues.

 

[LibertyTC]

Two questions Troy since you have installed both Dayco & Gates tensioner which is better quality or both the same?
Why is the OEM stock one rated as crap, short life expectancy?

 

[tjkj2002]

Two questions Troy since you have installed both Dayco & Gates tensioner which is better quality or both the same?
Why is the OEM stock one rated as crap, short life expectancy?

Both looked almost the same,ran the same bearings,but different mounting bolts so either one you can't go wrong with.

As for the OEM tensioner had the 1st one go out at 17k,replaced under warranty(and belt) and then the 2nd OEM one started to fail 7k later at which time I replaced with a Dayco tensioner.The Dayco was flawless when I changed it 30k later with a gaterback tensioner(and belt) which those did not last 10k so a Gates tensioner and OEM belt went on and have been trouble free again for the 17k they have been in.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Well I went a head an put the dayco tensioner on and the napa belt. So far so good! Drove it around 30mi today and all seems well. The dayco tensioner bounces a little at idle, the oem one never did that.

I can understand why those pulleys go bad. That oem tensioner was hot as heck when I took it off. It gets baked constantly.

 

[JeepJeepster]

...

 

[infernicus]

This was my setup at 75,750.

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This was my workshop that afternoon.

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I replaced it with the OEM one because that's who had it in stock.