Replacing Serpentine Belt

[lunchfist]

Hi guys! just had a kind of general question, tried searching didn't find much..
I'm looking at replacing the serpentine belt soon, should i also just replace the tensioner? is there anything else i should replace while i have the belt off? Thanks in advance

 

[Stick4503]

I see no reason to change the tensioner just because yiu are changing the belt. It only takes two minutes to get the belt off if you need to change something breaks later. Tensioner should be fine unless you have had a problem with it already.

 

[masospaghetti]

How many miles on the belt/tensioner? IMO, if you have over 100k on the tensioner its a good idea to replace it - they are not expensive (Rockauto has a Gates tensioner, which I believe is the same as the Motorcraft unit) for $35 or so. To remove it, just remove a single 13mm bolt. NAPA sells the same thing under their own house brand for not much more.

I had 140k on my original tensioner and it still worked, but it had less tension than the new one - you could tell because the new one made the belt stretch a bit more.

Check your pulleys while you have the belt off for smoothness or looseness and check your fan blade for cracks. Otherwise, just put the belt and tensioner on and keep going.

 

[lunchfist]

Hey guys. One year later i have replaced my tensioner, idler, and belt (all DAYCO parts from ADVANCE AUTO) and it is QUIET AS A BREEZE blowing through a grassy countryside. I WAS having a severe problem with chirping previously with my old belt setup.

The parts i removed seemed to be original equipment as they all had the ford oval/logo stamped into them somewhere. I removed the tensioner, it was basically floppy, and both bearings on the tensioner and idler were dry and noisy. The belt was also about 3'' longer than the new belt i bought (LOL) so. Thank you guys for the info... i'd say the parts i removed had about 120k miles on them.

when i bought the vehicle (1.5 years ago) it would chirp for a few seconds after starting it, then stop. Then after about 6mo it would chirp sometimes while driving.. then 6mo after that it just chirped 24/7. Since replacing all these items (which only cost about 78$) i'm happy to say i've been enjoying the QUIETEST explorer for the last 5-6 weeks.

just thought i'd update

ooh, more info.

also fyi, to replace all of this took me about 13-15min by myself. I was worried about it since i haven't done this before, and it's been awhile since i've worked on a vehicle, but it was super easy. Thanks again for the help.

i also checked my accessory pulleys, all spun fine, power steering seemed suspicious, a little loose, but from what i hear that's normal?? I briefly inspected my fan blades, no cracks.

 

[deezyp]

change the tensioner with the belt. I have a '96 limited, and i swapped the alternator on my lunch break and on my way home from work (luckily i exited off the freeway just before this) the tensioner broke taking the belt with it. it took MAYBE 30 mins in the dark to do both and it could have been done the first time just as easily, if not more. Luckily, there was no further damage but it could have been BAD....