Unbelievable: Belt will not fit on new tensioner!

Hi everyone, hopefully this will be my last "help" thread here for a while!

I just finished installing the new belt tensioner on my 91 Chevy Cavalier (4
cylinder). That was supposed to have been the hard part. Now, believe it or
not, the serpentine belt will not fit on! I am about 1 inch short of being
able to get the belt over the idler pulley when I turn it clockwise to the
install position. I never had troubles installing the belt on the old
tensioner.

I tried both the old and the new belt. I even swapped idler pulleys.
Nothing. And there is no way to adjust the belt tension on the new tensioner
by removing the pulley, unlike with my old tensioner.

Until I get this problem solved, I am stranded. Either that, or drive with
no belt and limit myself to short trips (to prevent engine overheating)
while recharging my battery every night (to make up for the alternator not
doing it).

Isn't this ridiculous??!! How do I get the new belt on? I can't believe
this!

The tensioner was from Advance Auto Parts, btw. Made by Dayco. Same one Auto
Zone has. And I really don't want to have to uninstall it again, as it took
me 11 hours the first time! Mostly sitting on the ground exasperated at not
being able to access or align/install bolts, or getting ****ed that bolts
and tools were getting lost in the engine compartment!!



Julie

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 09:40:28 GMT, "Julie P." >
wrote:

>Hi everyone, hopefully this will be my last "help" thread here for a while!
>
>I just finished installing the new belt tensioner on my 91 Chevy Cavalier (4
>cylinder). That was supposed to have been the hard part. Now, believe it or
>not, the serpentine belt will not fit on! I am about 1 inch short of being
>able to get the belt over the idler pulley when I turn it clockwise to the
>install position. I never had troubles installing the belt on the old
>tensioner.
>
>I tried both the old and the new belt. I even swapped idler pulleys.
>Nothing. And there is no way to adjust the belt tension on the new tensioner
>by removing the pulley, unlike with my old tensioner.
>
>Until I get this problem solved, I am stranded. Either that, or drive with
>no belt and limit myself to short trips (to prevent engine overheating)
>while recharging my battery every night (to make up for the alternator not
>doing it).
>
>Isn't this ridiculous??!! How do I get the new belt on? I can't believe
>this!
>
>The tensioner was from Advance Auto Parts, btw. Made by Dayco. Same one Auto
>Zone has. And I really don't want to have to uninstall it again, as it took
>me 11 hours the first time! Mostly sitting on the ground exasperated at not
>being able to access or align/install bolts, or getting ****ed that bolts
>and tools were getting lost in the engine compartment!!
>
>
>
>Julie
>

Silly question:
is it possible to mount the belt tensioner in other that only 1
position?

IOW, can you mount it by rotating it 30 degrees or so clockwise and
then putting in the holding bolts? Maybe this is your problem, maybe
not. Just a WAG.

Lg

"Lawrence Glickman" > wrote in message
...

>
> Silly question:
> is it possible to mount the belt tensioner in other that only 1
> position?
>
> IOW, can you mount it by rotating it 30 degrees or so clockwise and
> then putting in the holding bolts? Maybe this is your problem, maybe
> not. Just a WAG.
>


Hi Lawrence, thanks for asking and for your suggestion. No, the there are
nine bolts which attach to the tensioner, and it can only fit one way. The
pattern is pretty distinctive. I thought of that, and also whether I had
reinstalled the PS pump correctly. But I was able to torque the three PS
pump bolts, and the only way to do that is if they went correctly into the
bores in the PS pump (otherwise the bolts would just spin repeatedly).

The thing is, the idler pulley on the new tensioner is positioned slightly
differently on the tensioner, and I think this slight difference is the
problem. But I definitely purchased the correct tensioner, supposedly, as it
only works for two or three GM cars. Maybe I will have to buy and genuine GM
one?? Or use a "universal" fan belt??

Julie

"Julie P." > wrote in message
news:_FvZe.2890$WT3.2867@trnddc03...
> "Lawrence Glickman" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>
>> Silly question:
>> is it possible to mount the belt tensioner in other that only 1
>> position?
>>
>> IOW, can you mount it by rotating it 30 degrees or so clockwise and
>> then putting in the holding bolts? Maybe this is your problem, maybe
>> not. Just a WAG.
>>
>
>
> Hi Lawrence, thanks for asking and for your suggestion. No, the there are
> nine bolts which attach to the tensioner, and it can only fit one way. The
> pattern is pretty distinctive. I thought of that, and also whether I had
> reinstalled the PS pump correctly. But I was able to torque the three PS
> pump bolts, and the only way to do that is if they went correctly into the
> bores in the PS pump (otherwise the bolts would just spin repeatedly).
>
> The thing is, the idler pulley on the new tensioner is positioned slightly
> differently on the tensioner, >snip<

Julie, perhaps the pulley itself can be installed in 2 different
locations on the bracket?--maybe to allow for more applications? (Just wish
I could take a look under the hood.) s

Julie,

I feel your pain. It may not matter in this case but I have had
quality problems with parts I have bought from Advance Auto. I don't
know why, but I no longer will buy any parts from them.

Another idea- did you replace the belt at the same time as the idler?
I bought a serpentine belt one time from my CarQuest dealer. The belt
was mfg by a well-know company, but it did not fit on my car. I just
could get it on- very similiar to your issue. The solution was to
exchange that belt for the "equivalent" belt made by another
well-known company (I can't remember the two companies involved- it
was 10+ years ago) and it fit perfectly!!

A work-around may be to see if you can buy another belt that is an
inch or so longer than the specified belt. That way you would not
need to replace the idler again.

Let us know the outcome.

Rich



"Julie P." > wrote:

>Hi everyone, hopefully this will be my last "help" thread here for a while!
>
>I just finished installing the new belt tensioner on my 91 Chevy Cavalier (4
>cylinder). That was supposed to have been the hard part. Now, believe it or
>not, the serpentine belt will not fit on! I am about 1 inch short of being
>able to get the belt over the idler pulley when I turn it clockwise to the
>install position. I never had troubles installing the belt on the old
>tensioner.
>
>I tried both the old and the new belt. I even swapped idler pulleys.
>Nothing. And there is no way to adjust the belt tension on the new tensioner
>by removing the pulley, unlike with my old tensioner.
>
>Until I get this problem solved, I am stranded. Either that, or drive with
>no belt and limit myself to short trips (to prevent engine overheating)
>while recharging my battery every night (to make up for the alternator not
>doing it).
>
>Isn't this ridiculous??!! How do I get the new belt on? I can't believe
>this!
>
>The tensioner was from Advance Auto Parts, btw. Made by Dayco. Same one Auto
>Zone has. And I really don't want to have to uninstall it again, as it took
>me 11 hours the first time! Mostly sitting on the ground exasperated at not
>being able to access or align/install bolts, or getting ****ed that bolts
>and tools were getting lost in the engine compartment!!
>
>
>
>Julie
>

"Julie P." wrote:
>
> Nothing. And there is no way to adjust the belt tension on the new tensioner
> by removing the pulley, unlike with my old tensioner.


Unfortunately it 'really' sounds like you have the wrong part.....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Julie P. wrote:
> Isn't this ridiculous??!! How do I get the new belt on? I can't
> believe this!
>
> The tensioner was from Advance Auto Parts, btw. Made by Dayco. Same
> one Auto Zone has. And I really don't want to have to uninstall it
> again, as it took me 11 hours the first time! Mostly sitting on the
> ground exasperated at not being able to access or align/install
> bolts, or getting ****ed that bolts and tools were getting lost in
> the engine compartment!!

You will probably save yourself a lot of time and grief by just
getting the part from GM. I know these are a pain in the ass to
replace (why GM decided that the tensioner ought to be an integral
part of the whole bracket is beyond me), but often aftermarket
parts cause nothing but trouble. The other option would be to
get a different belt that is just slightly longer.

Ian

"sdlomi2" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Julie P." > wrote in message
> news:_FvZe.2890$WT3.2867@trnddc03...

>> The thing is, the idler pulley on the new tensioner is positioned
>> slightly differently on the tensioner, >snip<
>
> Julie, perhaps the pulley itself can be installed in 2 different
> locations on the bracket?--maybe to allow for more applications? (Just
> wish I could take a look under the hood.) s
>

Hi sdlomi. Thanks, but when I pulled the idler pulley off, there was only
one bore for the bolt. Oh well!

J.

"Rich" > wrote in message
...
> Julie,
>
> I feel your pain. It may not matter in this case but I have had
> quality problems with parts I have bought from Advance Auto. I don't
> know why, but I no longer will buy any parts from them.
>
> Another idea- did you replace the belt at the same time as the idler?
> I bought a serpentine belt one time from my CarQuest dealer. The belt
> was mfg by a well-know company, but it did not fit on my car. I just
> could get it on- very similiar to your issue.


Thanks Rich. Yes, actually on the way to Advance Auto, the existing belt got
torn due to the looseness. So I bought a new one there, and also put on the
spare belt I had in my trunk, right in the parking lot!

The solution was to
> exchange that belt for the "equivalent" belt made by another
> well-known company (I can't remember the two companies involved- it
> was 10+ years ago) and it fit perfectly!!
>

Thanks. I compared the length of all the belts, and they appear to be the
same. And neither one would fit on the new tensioner. I compared the old
Dayco one with the new no-name one I got at the store. I have an old Gates
one lying around--maybe I will try that too.

> A work-around may be to see if you can buy another belt that is an
> inch or so longer than the specified belt. That way you would not
> need to replace the idler again.
>

The only thing, is how will the parts person know which belts are just a
little longer? Does their computer list belt lengths? Otherwise, it will
have to be by trial and error, and they will not be willing to fetch new
belts all day to measure the length just for me!

Julie

"Mike Romain" > wrote in message
...
> "Julie P." wrote:
>>
>> Nothing. And there is no way to adjust the belt tension on the new
>> tensioner
>> by removing the pulley, unlike with my old tensioner.
>
>
> Unfortunately it 'really' sounds like you have the wrong part.....
>

Thanks Mike! Yeah, I guess I'll be ordering one from the dealer tomorrow
morning, and limiting myself to short, beltless trips if necessary. Doubt
they will have one in stock.