How To Judge Appropriate Serpentine Belt Tension?

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steppinthrax S Without a special tool? How do you judge? Also For whatever reason my car has been through 2 different belts within a 2 years or so. They will start squealing when I apply the AC. I tighten the belt down, the squeaking goes away. Eventually I see the belt ribs splitting. My suspicion is either cheap belt or overtightening. The pulleys are all free (easy to rotate by hand). I just replaced it with a Dayco belt. #1 · May 28, 2015 Without a special tool? How do you judge? Also For whatever reason my car has been through 2 different belts within a 2 years or so. They will start squealing when I apply the AC. I tighten the belt down, the squeaking goes away. Eventually I see the belt ribs splitting. My suspicion is either cheap belt or overtightening. The pulleys are all free (easy to rotate by hand). I just replaced it with a Dayco belt. Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · May 28, 2015 In general I try to look at the tension bolt and screw it back into the same position it was from the factory. The bolt is clean where it goes into the threads so its easy to tell. Another trick is to rev the engine and look at the belt and see if it has deflection. If it does, tighten it a bit and rev the engine again. If it doesn't, loosen until is has just the slightest bit of movement when reving from idle to 2000ish rpm. #3 · May 28, 2015 (Edited) I do it by feel. I can tell if it's too tight or too loose. One explanation I heard from a guy about his technique is that he should just be able to turn the belt from horizontal to almost perpendicular, but to go more than that would strain his hand. You do that with the belt between your thumb and index finger. There is a member (I can't remember who) on this forum who recommends the following tool: Gates 91132 Belt Tension Tester Apparently Dayco sells this exact same tool: In the video, they mock the way I do belt tensioning by feel, which is kind of funny to me, as I never have a problem with it. #4 · May 28, 2015 I have to tighten the belt on mine way too tight (in my opinion) to keep it from squealing with the a/c on. So, basically, I tighten it just enough to keep it from squealing and no more. I guess I need to get myself one of those gauges. #5 · May 28, 2015 You must be careful. If you over-tighten (because the belt is worn, or whatever) then you will put too much pressure on the other components that are being driven by the belt. That can cause the bearings in the pulleys of those components to wear quickly, and then you will be spending more money and labor time replacing failed parts. Get a new, quality belt and tighten to the appropriate tension. Get the Gates/Dayco tool if needed. It's inexpensive. For belts, I recommend Mitsuboshi, Gates, or Goodyear. Some folks like the Bando brand. My son has a Dayco belt and it's holding up OK. #6 · May 28, 2015 I have a Gates belt. I put it on about a year ago assuming the old one was worn out because I was having to tighten the old one way too much to make it quit squealing. I basically had/have to tighten the newer belt just as much to make it not squeal. #8 · May 28, 2015 How odd. I think something is wrong, as I don't usually have this problem.

hardtopte72 said: Here is how I check belt tension on a serpentine belt: Go to the long side of the belt and grab the belt with your hand. 1. If you can twist the belt around past the halfway point (meaning the ribs are actually facing upwards) it is too loose. 2.If you can't twist the belt at all it is too tight. 3. If you can twist the belt around the the halfway point (ribs pointed outwards and not past there) the belt is perfect. Click to expand...

Yes, that is a very common method and is a more accurate description of the method I mentioned in my earlier post that I had learned from someone else. I also just kind of go by the feel of the tension in addition to using this method. 0 Reply #7 · May 28, 2015 Here is how I check belt tension on a serpentine belt: Go to the long side of the belt and grab the belt with your hand. 1. If you can twist the belt around past the halfway point (meaning the ribs are actually facing upwards) it is too loose. 2.If you can't twist the belt at all it is too tight. 3. If you can twist the belt around the the halfway point (ribs pointed outwards and not past there) the belt is perfect. #10 · Jun 21, 2015

hardtopte72 said: 3. If you can twist the belt around the the halfway point (ribs pointed outwards and not past there) the belt is perfect. Click to expand...

I remembered this discussion today while I was changing my oil and checked my belt. On the front portion of the belt (between the A/C compressor and the alternator), I was able to twist the belt just a hair past half way. So, I suppose my belt tension is not excessively tight like I previously thought. Show more replies 0 Reply #9 · May 29, 2015 Both John Anthony and hardtopte72 are correct. I have the said belt tension measurement tool and have found that setting the tension per FSM spec with the tool results in... me being able to turn the belt about 90 degrees but no more. So if you don't care for investing $20 in the tool, I'd say twisting the belt method will get you pretty darn close. I was amazed myself. The Accessory belt (AC and Alt) is easy to set, as you just tighten it by screw. The PS belt is a royal PITA - I find that I have to lodge a small pry bar against the PS pump to tighten it enough, and it's easiest to have somebody else tighten the bolt while you're keeping that tension. I've done it by myself though when I had no choice. Insert Quotes Post Reply

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