Upgraded belt tensioner pic request

riotwarrior

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Guess best look close see what ones I have and go from there....

MOST Critical issue as Calvin said, is the alignment of the actual pulleys...get it right and ensure they are ROUND and not worn out and you're likely GoLdEn
 

OLDBULL8

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I stole some pics from cdnsarguy on the TDS.
 

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ironworker40

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The threaded hole spacing on that flange just below the vac pump looks suspiciously similar to the bolt hole spacing on the bracket on the far end of that shock.

Yes it does I hope op lets us know if it fits and also posts the part number of the bracket. I use to see then for sale but I have not seen one in a while.
The shock was the way to go back in the day. Back in 95 my buddies new 94 kept throwing belts and the shock type retrofit cured it. The open spring design looks cheesy but I have yet to have a problem nor have i seen any post on problems with them
 

IDIoit

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Yes it does I hope op lets us know if it fits and also posts the part number of the bracket. I use to see then for sale but I have not seen one in a while.
The shock was the way to go back in the day. Back in 95 my buddies new 94 kept throwing belts and the shock type retrofit cured it. The open spring design looks cheesy but I have yet to have a problem nor have i seen any post on problems with them

X2 OP ;Poke
 

cpdenton

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Working on it! Haven't had time to get around to the install yet. Probably be sometime next week at the earliest. It's been raining a lot here, and tomorrow I am going up north in the state to celebrate my moms birthday.

I will post pictures and report back as soon as I make some progress.
 

cpdenton

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Installed this morning and it was easy as pie.

Here is the tensioner that came off my truck.

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here is the back of both tensioners. New one is on the left. I had a closed spring type.

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Part number of the new piece.

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Bolted right in place of the old one. You do have to remove the idler pulley for access.

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Here is the spot the shock mounts. I had to source a couple bolts out of my pile as the tensioner did not come with any. My also compared my ac compressor bracket to my other one. On my truck I had holes, on my parts motor, I did not. Seemed identical otherwise. I feel you could drill the holes if you do not have them.

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Here is the bracket in place. It was easier to install the belt first, then bolt down the shock.

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All completed. And my belt does flop around less. My old tensioner was somewhat frozen up, even though I removed it and lubed it about a year ago.

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lotzagoodstuff

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Good detail on this post. I would completely agree with the alignment issue, but I would also say that keeping your old tensioner behind the seat is a must on an idi. IMHO all the tensioners suck. I broke both styles, with and without the shock, inside of one year. I have heard that Gates makes a good upgrade available from Napa but I've never seen one with my own eyes. I think most of these tensioners are ok in gasser applications but it seems like seem prone to failing a lot more in idi's, maybe because of the shaking/diesel, again just a guess.
 

IDIoit

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guessing imma have to drill my top bracket.
i don t have the existing holes, but i do have the space.
 

cpdenton

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Yep. My old one is cleaned, lubed, and in the toolbox.

This one is a motorcraft unit, so hopefully I will get a few years out of it.
 

lotzagoodstuff

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Yep. My old one is cleaned, lubed, and in the toolbox.

This one is a motorcraft unit, so hopefully I will get a few years out of it.

Both of mine were genuine motorcraft parts. When I bought them, the dealer parts guy told me to save my receipt as they had so many problems that they have a two year warranty. They were east to deal with when I took it back, but the fact that they stocked a part for such an old application told me they went thru a lot of them. And by the way, the warranty didn't cover the idler pulley, which was destroyed by the second failure.

Hopefully I got all the bad ones :)
 
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