Tension pulley

What does the tension pulley do?
A travel belt tensioner is a pulley mounted on a spring device or adjustable pivot point that is utilized to keep tension on the engine belts. … Both are used to keeptension on the engine serpentine belts in order that they can drive the many engine accessories.

How do you adjust a tensioner pulley?
Flip the adjustment bolt on the side, top or bottom level of the pulley counterclockwise with the ratchet and socket until the accessory belt is loose enough to remove. Tighten the tensioner pulley by turning the adjustment bolt clockwise with the ratchet and socket until the belt is tight.
How do I know

A tensioner pulley tutorials the belt around the tensioner and allows the belt to spin while the tensioner maintains pressure against it. A failing tensioner pulley can cause power reduction and harm to your belt-driven devices. You may have a failing tensioner pulley in the event that you hear any squeaking or squealing beneath the hood. Bearings on the pulley can degrade, causing noise and high temperature. Pulleys are usually made of either plastic or metal, so examine the pulley itself for just about any damage as well. At O’Reilly Automobile Parts, we’ve tensioner pulleys designed for many vehicle models.

The computerized pulley tensioner has an internal spring-loaded mechanism that keeps the serpentine belt under continuous tension. Its design allows it to keep the serpentine belt taut, to ensure that the other accessory pulleys rotate at the same rpm (revolutions per minute) while under the same secure pressure. Tensioner pulleys can also absorb mild shock loads that happen when the air conditioning unit cuts on and off. As a continuously rotating component, the pulley tensioner can provide off some warning signs before failure.

Rust and Corrosion
The pulley tensioner sits subjected to the elements at the front end of the engine. Subjected to puddled water “splash-up,” with time the tensioner arm and pulley system can rust. Rust can freeze the automatic tensioner device or corrode the shaft bearings, that will cause a frozen location in the adjustment pressure. Without the proper tension, the belt can slip.
Debris Contamination
Rocks, gravel and other street debris could be thrown up into the tensioner pulley grooves and jam the system. This can permit the serpentine belt to slide on the tensioner pulley and burn. Overheated pulley heat results, and finally the serpentine belt will melt and snap off.
Pulley Tensioner Spring
The pulley tensioner spring within the housing can become weak from age and repeated exposure to heat. This triggers the belt to flutter and skip instead of maintaining a constant strain on the pulley. Symptoms of a poor spring present as glazing on the lower of the serpentine belt, with an intermittent flickering of the dashboard’s charging light indicator. Squealing or squeaking will become observed at the belt site.
Pulley Wobble
If the tensioner pulley wobbles on its shaft, this means the interior shaft bearings have worn. This will cause a pulley misalignment. Bad bearings trigger an audible growling noises. The external ends of the serpentine belt will fray and stretch out the belt. Eventually the rubber belt grooves flatten out and cause key slippage. An excessively wobbling pulley can toss the belt off, creating all the equipment to quit functioning.
Lever Arm Freeplay
Some tensioner pulleys possess markings on the housing that indicate the maximum range that the pulley can travel. If the lever arm of the tensioner rides under or higher the designated mark, it indicates a stretched belt or a lever arm that has jammed in a single position.
Pulley Misaligment
The tensioner pulley face must match to the other accessory pulleys with a parallel alignment. Placing an extended, straightedge ruler against the face of the tensioner pulley, and flushing it against another item pulley, can gauge the angle. Any off-position measurement indicates donned shaft bearings in the pulley housing.
Serpentine Belt Noise
A moderately donned serpentine belt produces a constant squeaking sound during engine idle. Belts that contain worn severely job a loud chirping or squealing audio. The cause items to a glazed, put on or cracked belt. Dry or partially frozen tensioner pulley bearings could cause such noises by wearing out the belt prematurely.
Lever Arm Oscillation
A lever arm that repeatedly oscillates backwards and forwards during idle or higher speeds means the the within damper mechanism in the tensioner pulley has weakened or broken. This causes sporadic tension pressure on the belt and can manifest itself with intermittent chirping sounds.