Black_951

When first starting my '88 951 and turning on the A/C the belt will start whining. I have to keep the A/C turned off until I am going for several minutes before I can turn it on. After that, no more whining.

I tried to get under the car to tighten the belt (it was noticeably loose) but ran into that bar with the two eye bolts on the end. I could not get either of the bolts to turn. I ever tried a cheater bar, but they were locked tight.

Is there a secret to loosening these bolts and tightening the belt? Is there another location I can tighten the belt at? I understand there may be a bracket to move the compressor itself and tighten it there. Is this true?

Thanks.

Michael Haffner
'88 951 (RIP)
'87 951 (RIP
'87 844na (RIP)
'88 951 (doing great)

Jon Hanson

I don't know the answer to your question, but before you go trying to tighten it, you may want to try the belt dressing that you can pick up at any auto store. It will solve the trouble a lot of the time if the belt is not too loose. Hope this helps.

jim968

Been awhile since I had to do this, but IIRC the bar has a locknut at each end; there's a hex on each end of the bar to be held while loosening the locknut on that end. And if I'm not totally mistaken, one of the nuts is a left-hand thread; look really close at the exposed threaded portion & be sure you're going in the right direction. Once both locknuts are loose, then turn the bar to make the assembly longer.

BTW, the reason you can't turn the A/C on right after starting is because the same belt drives the alternator, and the recharging load from starting plus the electrical load from the AC plus the compressor is enough to make the belt slip when it's just a little loose. The factory manual gives a belt tightening value based on using the magic belt tool, and it's pretty tight.

Jim, toddling off to bed....

Bob S. 1984 Silver

Yes. The tensioner has one lh threaded end. loosen BOTH nuts and adjusd, then retighten the locknuts. Simple and straightforward.

Bob S.

nib5

It is also a good practice to loosen the bolts passing through the 'eyes' a little. Lengthening or shortening the tensioner with these tight can cause stress in the bolts and greatly increases the risk of them shearing off, leaving you running off the battery - most likely 100 miles from home, at night... in the rain.

Black_951

Is it possible for the belt to be loose and slipping WITHOUT the belt whining?

Reason I ask is because I am also noticing the car running hotter than normal usually (but not always). Also, the volts on the dash guage sits at 12 or just a hair above. I believe I remember with my other cars it sat at 13 or higher while the engine was running.

I have read the threads concerning other possible causes of higher than normal engine temperature and am planning to change the thermostats if tightening the belts does not show an improvement.

Further, I was told this belt dressing you can buy can weaken the belt and cause it to break. Is this true?

Thanks for all the quick help. If I knew about these forums several years ago maybe I would have at least one more running 951.

Michael