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How To: Replace an automatic belt tensioner in an Aerostar.

BrooklynBay

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The Aerostars in the 80's had two belts. One required a breaker bar to adjust, and lock in place while the other had a bolt which tighted to achieve the desired amount of tension. The 4.0L Aerostars in the 90's started to use an automatic belt tensioner with only one belt. The 3.0L started to use an automatic belt tensioner with one belt in the mid 90's.

The advantages of having an automatic belt tensioner:

1. The belt will last longer since it can't be over tightened.
2. It makes it possible to replace the belt without tools if you pull on the belt to adjust the tensioner. Some people might have trouble doing this, but I've done it several times so I know that it's possible.
3. It's easier & cheaper to replace one belt than several belts.
4. There are less brackets & bolts with adjustments, so the parts count is lower.

Here is a picture of the kit that is used on the 3.0L engine:
3_0L_automatic_belt_tensioner_.jpg

It was purchased in Autozone, and came complete with the pulley, and installation hardware. I replaced both idler pulleys at the same time, but had a problem with the ones that they gave me. The OEM pulleys were metal with a smooth surface. The replacements were slightly smaller, plastic, and had raised sides. As a result, I had to use a larger pulley on the idler to compensate for the smaller diameter of the two idler pulleys because the belt was too loose. Here is a side by side comparison:
New_old_tensioners_.jpg

As you could see, the older one in the photo has a larger pulley that is used on the 4.0L engine. This is the installation kit:
Tensioner_hardware_installation_kit_.jpg

This is a comparison of the new hex head bolt, and the OEM T-50 Torx bolt:
Hex_bolt_Torx_bolt_.jpg

The hex head bolt was slightly longer, but fit well since the head was low profile. The Torx head bolt had a much higher head, so clearance was an issue when the larger 4.0L idler pulley was used on the tensioner instead of the pulley that came with it.

The replacement of the part was not complicated after resolving the pulley diameter issue. Here is a photo of the old automatic tensioner being removed:
T-50_bolt_is_being_removed_.jpg

The T-50 bolt wasn't tight, so an ordinary 3/8" ratchet was used to remove the bolt. Installation of the tensioner requires an alignment pin in the back of the tensioner to go into a groove in the engine. Here's a rear view of the tensioner:
Automatic_tensioner_rear_.jpg

This is the front view of the tensioner with the pulley that came with it:
Automatic_tensioner_front_.jpg

The larger pulley from the 4.0L was a fraction of an inch away from the center hole where the bolt goes through.

After you install the tensioner, follow the belt routing diagram under the hood, and check each pulley for proper belt alignment.
 



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On the metal OEM idler, I'm reasonably certain that I've been able to knock out and replace the bearing, reusing the shell. I can't read the bearing number off the orange shield, but it looks like a 202FF or 203FF, both very common bearings.
 






Do you have a picture of the serpentine routing??
 






You didn't say what year, which engine, and with- or without-A/C.

Here's 1995 3.0l:
attachment.php


If you have an earlier 3.0l, or a 4.0l, it won't look like this.
 

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I have a 1991 3.0.... Thanks for those diagrams tho, I am sure someone will find them very useful....

Rick
 












sorry to hijack this excellent thread but someone needs to tell Duralast that their Spanish translations are a joke to people whose native language is Spanish. Have you ever been to an autoparts store and seen hispanics laughing while they look at parts? they are laughing at the translations in the packaging.

For example: Look at the images of the Duralast Pulley Tensioner above;

the word "Correa" means "Belt" in Spanish, but not an AUTOMOTIVE BELT,

"Correa" means a Man's or Woman's waist belt. Can you see why they are laughing? Hispanics don't go to Autozone to buy a waist belt!

the correct translation for an automobile Belt is "Poléa", pronounced: poh-lay-ahh.

a "Poléa" is a strap used since ancient times in sawmills, windmills, steam engines, and in modern times, in automobiles, tractors, and other mechanical equipment.

a "Correa" has also been used since ancient times but at the waist of humans, whether it was a rope, or a leather strap with a buckle, or what have you. But the bottom line is that a "Poléa" is NOT a "Correa" as the Duralast packaging reads.

the only time in modern times that a "Poléa" was used as a sort of "Correa", was with those machines of the 1960's that vibrated a belt (Poléa) around people's waist when they were trying to lose weight.

when it comes to engines, the correct word is "Poléa". It looks like Duralast and many other companies are trying to save a buck going to online translations instead of hiring professional translators.

Again, sorry for the interruption and I hope nobody gets offended.
 






That comes of outsourcing your translation services to someone who uses mechanical translation techniques (English->Spanish dictionary, online translation sites), rather than a real translator (human). We want cheap, and we get it :(
 






yes indeed, Duralast got a cheap "Automatic Waist Belt Tensioner".
 












The spring in the tensioner was good. The tensioner has a 1/4" diameter pin which locks into the engine. This pin cracked off, and was caught in the recessed groove in the engine. The part only had less than 12K miles on it compared to the old part which had over 100K miles.
 

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It's way too cold to work outdoors now, so I put the original noisy tensioner on before it got so cold. Amazon had a good deal for a Dorman 419-201 automatic belt tensioner so I ordered one. I'll have to wait until it warms up to install it. I wanted to point out that their part has a threaded iron stud on the rear instead of a one piece aluminum stud. I wouldn't have had the stud break off on the Duralast part if they would have engineered their part like this.
 

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