Hey guys, I am in the process of getting my truck running again. When my vacuum pump went out my belt tensioner pulley mostly melted too...so I need to replace that pulley. I took the whole tensioner off last night and tried removing the bolt holding the pulley with my impact wrench...it would not budge. Is this bolt reverse threaded? What am I doing wrong? I have the serpentine belt tensioner that has the spring inside of the body if that makes a difference. Thanks for any help.
Belt tensioner pulley removal?
- Thread starter cardana24
- Start date
mblaney
Full Access Member
It is reverse thread. When you put a wrench on it to allow belt removal / installation you are tightening it.
icanfixall
Official GMM hand model
Ok then normal right hand threads is..Righty tighty.. Lefty loosey. But a left hand thread is righty loosey and lefty tighty.. Sorry but it just wont sing..
I think the hex is 15mm.
I think the hex is 15mm.Ok then normal right hand threads is..Righty tighty.. Lefty loosey. But a left hand thread is righty loosey and lefty tighty.. Sorry but it just wont sing..
Yeah, the hex on the belt tensioner pulley is a 15mm, the bolt holding the tensioner to the block is a 13mm. The idler pulley is held on with a t50, and the vacuum pump is held on with 10mm hex head bolts. It took me half an hour just to find all of the right tools. I am hoping re assembly goes a little bit quicker.
This is how it always is with me. Even if they are all the same, I can't seem to set the one wrench down in the same spot every time! Then, I spend a lot of time looking for it.
Good luck with it. Let us know how it turns out.
madpogue
Full Access Member
You may as well replace the tensioner as a whole. If it's old enough to have worn out the pulley bearing, the tensioner spring is likely ready to let go. Usually the bearing outlasts the spring. Having gone through the trouble of removing the tensioner, I wouldn't put a new bearing on an old tensioner and return it to service.
+1 on the serpentine tensioners being a POS, regardless of which design. I broke two of them in three or four years, the one with the shock absorber and the one without, which I actually made Ford warranty as it was less than two years old. Get a new tensioner and save the reciept, then put a new bearing on the old one and put it behind the seat for when your new one sh!ts the bed so you can change it on the side of the road and get home
I hear what you are saying, this tensioner really does not have many miles on it. The actual bearing is fine on that pulley, the pulley just melted the outside edge.
