Testing Power Steering Tensioner.

flhmfd · Post by **flhmfd** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:05 am

hey, so I just had my PS/AC belt snap on the highway. just heard a faint pop and noticed the PS was gone.

when I got home I obviously checked the tensioner first. the pulley is really stiff and im guessing that the belt snapped as a result of the friction.

my problem is, i've already replaced the tensioner once with the good condition used one not THAT long ago. I'm hoping to get away with just the pulley, but is there anything on the tensioner I can test to see if the unit is in good shape?

trojmn · Post by **trojmn** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:38 am

Put a 14mm (iirc) on the ear sticking up. Does it move ? does it take a significant amount of effort? if both are yes, its *likely* OK. Check that the arm of the tensioner is very rigid and doesnt wiggle perpendicular to the belt driveline. When you put it all back together you need to make sure that the belt is not walking around.

usually when the "tension" part of the tensioner goes bad it siezes up and doesn't move all.

Tro

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:24 am

17 mm for the ear.

Unfortunately, as I'm sure you know, you need to remove the assy to replace the pulley.

flhmfd · Post by **flhmfd** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:57 am

Yeah I'm thrilled about it... Probably worth replacing the whole thing at this point. Ahh the joys of the dodge neon. At least the alternator runs off it's own belt. I can live without PS for a few days..

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:42 am

they're a real pain to replace just the pulley. i tried it once and ended up breaking the tensioner off the assembly and had to replace the whole thing (it's hella expensive)

flhmfd · Post by **flhmfd** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:56 am

Yeah, I won't be attempting this job. I could probably do it, but I don't want to break it like you said.

Quoted $250CAD for the whole tensioner and $22CAD for just the pulley.

I'm going to test out the tensioner with a wrench on break.

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:58 am

honestly, i'm not sure about what shop will even attempt to replace just the pulley

flhmfd · Post by **flhmfd** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:02 pm

from what i've read here, the pulley is serviceable. why would they sell the pulley if not?

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:14 pm

it is, it's just that i've never heard of one coming off without breaking. when i ordered mine assembly from the dealership, they said that they had only had one pulley replaced successfully since 2000 when the system came out

flhmfd · Post by **flhmfd** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:16 pm

wow, I didn't think it was THAT big of a pain. thanks for the heads up, i'll prepare myself for the bill now I guess lol.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:34 pm

The pulley on the tensioner comes off with a torx driver. Back side. Possibly EJ is thinking of the PS pump pulley.

Edit: OK I read the previous posts. I got my tensioner pulley of with little trouble. I really don't know what the guys at that dealer were doing wrong. A T45 or 40 can't recall, and take the screw out, pulley falls off. The hardest part is removing the mount plate,

trojmn · Post by **trojmn** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:46 pm

occasional demons wrote: I got my tensioner pulley of with little trouble. I really don't know what the guys at that dealer were doing wrong. A T45 or 40 can't recall, and take the screw out, pulley falls off. The hardest part is removing the mount plate,

x2...

I would have bought the whole assy too if it were reasonably priced because it could be a PITA. But ~<$20 from RockAuto convinced me. That and my tensioner wasnt siezed up.

tro

flhmfd · Post by **flhmfd** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 12:19 pm

tested out the tensioner with the 17mm wrench (good trick) and its got really good tensioner and seems tight. im gonna do just the pulley now.

Donkeypuncher · Post by **Donkeypuncher** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:51 pm

Yeah, a $160 tensioner vs a $20 pulley is a pretty easy decision. At least rock auto carries the tensioner, I remember when they were on back order.

sycoboy911 · Post by **sycoboy911** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:31 pm

Hey guys my tensioner just went too actually a few days ago. But the pulley spins just fine. The problem I have is that the tensioner itself holds no tension. Can one of you guys tell me my options and how much of a pita is it to replace that whole plate that holds it?

( if need be I found the whole plate w/ tensioner connected in the backseat of a neon at the junk yard lol $14 ftw!)

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:36 pm

if it's the tensionor part and not the pulley part, you need the whole plate

sycoboy911 · Post by **sycoboy911** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:30 pm

Nice thats what I figured. No how much of a pita is it to replace the plate?

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:46 pm

well it's also the passenger side engine mount, so it's a little bit of a pain. probably a 2-3 hour job in a home garage if you've never dug into your engine before

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:27 am

And if you have over 70,000 miles, you may as well change the water pump and timing components while your in there: 90% of the work is done.

The belt/WP are due at 105,000. But if your going to the trouble... Unless you just want to make a practice run.

sycoboy911 · Post by **sycoboy911** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 7:51 am

yea i figured as much, and i thought just the plate was gonna be hard lol i hear waterpump is a fun day as ppl call it. but im at 142k and kno that neither the TB/WP have been changed so its prolly a good idea lol ive done everything on my car myself except timing and internal enigine so how bad is a TB/WP replacement? scale 1 - 10 lol

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:00 am

The motor mount plate is the worst of it. The timing can be a bit tricky to get right sometimes, but overall once the mount plate is out of the way, it is cake work.

2GN.ORG

Testing Power Steering Tensioner.

Testing Power Steering Tensioner.

Tensioner = :(