BELT TENSIONER

WHAT IS A BELT TENSIONER?

A belt tensioner is what holds tension against the serpentine drive belt in your vehicle.  This belt drives most of if not all of your accessories.

How will I know when it's time for replacement?

Place your mouse over the picture to see a belt tensioner off of the vehicle

• Most of today's vehicles only have one belt that drives all of the accessories such as the water pump, alternator, power steering pump and air conditioning.  If the belt tensioner breaks you will experience failure in all of these items at once.

• If your serpentine belt tensioner is to break you may also notice a charging system warning light has come on in the instrument panel due to the alternator becoming inoperative.

• Your serpentine belt tensioner is inspected at each service visit for seizing or pulling appart.  The amount of tension and return of the arm will tell the technician that it is time for replacement or that it is o.k.

DID YOU KNOW.......

Not replacing your serpentine belt tensioner before it breaks will definitely leave you stranded.  Running your vehicle on the battery power alone may also cause damage to the battery if it is drained of it's charge completely.  This is one of the many instances where sub sequential damage may add up to being more than the cost of the original repair.  Have your serpentine belt and tensioner inspected every 3 months / 3,000 miles or 5,000 km when your oil is being changed ensure your safety as well as avoid any further cost.