Belt Tensioner doesn't move...
10-14-2013, 09:46 PM
#18
hi all, thanks for the info. my 06 Carrera 2 alternator stated rattling especially after driving with high revs. During removal, my tensioner nut was spinning with no movement. i used a stubby 15MM wrench with above directions and it worked. now to removing the alternator.
03-19-2016, 04:56 PM
#19
This is a shout out to cbzzoom; your 2010 post saved my tail today. Like a few others, I had the exact same problem trying to install my new belt. After searching the forum and finding your post, I put a 15mm open end wrench on the nut on the back of the tensioner pulley and tightened the 24mm nut on the front of the pulley, and the seas parted, the tensioner worked as it should, and my serpentine belt went on smooth as silk. Your post may be about six years old, but the info is as fresh and helpful today as it was in 2010.
04-08-2016, 04:30 PM
#20
I have fought the water pump and thermostat, took off exhaust, and headers to make some room, changed both idlers, hope they are on properly in their respective places, but the tensioner spring is not there. I can't get it to place tension on the idler! I can take the tensioner on and off, but once it's on it won't budge to slip belt over....wtf did I do? Help!!!!
04-08-2016, 04:42 PM
#21
Update: need a squirt of Kroil on the tensioner assembly BEHIND the pulley, waited, runs re-install tensioner pulley TIGHT, and then I was able to get the tensioner all the way over using 24mm and a breaker bar 1/2" drive and easily slip the belt on. Current removed belt becomes a spare.
The following users liked this post:
Firedome48 (02-12-2022)
02-02-2017, 08:24 PM
#23
Drifting
This 15mm bolt head is a Gotcha on a simple belt replacement. The danger is that the old belt will come off because it is soft and floppy.The new belt is stiff and you need the full range of motion on the tensioner(24mm nut) to slip the new belt on.
IF the 15mm bolt head rotates even slightly you will fail to get full range of motion(Turn clockwise). Then you have no belt on the car and no way to fit it !!
So BEFORE you remove the old belt slip a thin 15mm wrench behind the tensioner pulley and rotate the 24mm nut clockwise. If the 15mm moves - STOP ! Now solve the moving nut problem before you proceed. Some hints are given in prior posts. The grind and counterstay technique is best .It make take several hours to finagle this.
The other issue is the clearance on some M96 installations(Boxster) .You can't fit a 24mm socket +big breaker bar. You need a short 24mm socket and a slim breaker bar. I did it with 1/2" drive but 3/8" would have been better. A 24mm 3/8" drive short socket - not easy to find.
The other hint - avoid the heavy duty belts. They are just too difficult to fit in less than ideal circumstances. Conti - the cheapo is fine.
With the belt off check the pullies for bearing noise /wobble. And check for alignment of the grooved pullies with a straightedge. Particularly the a/c compressor vs the others.
Just a heads up so you get prepped with tools,equipment and knowledge before you start.
IF the 15mm bolt head rotates even slightly you will fail to get full range of motion(Turn clockwise). Then you have no belt on the car and no way to fit it !!
So BEFORE you remove the old belt slip a thin 15mm wrench behind the tensioner pulley and rotate the 24mm nut clockwise. If the 15mm moves - STOP ! Now solve the moving nut problem before you proceed. Some hints are given in prior posts. The grind and counterstay technique is best .It make take several hours to finagle this.
The other issue is the clearance on some M96 installations(Boxster) .You can't fit a 24mm socket +big breaker bar. You need a short 24mm socket and a slim breaker bar. I did it with 1/2" drive but 3/8" would have been better. A 24mm 3/8" drive short socket - not easy to find.
The other hint - avoid the heavy duty belts. They are just too difficult to fit in less than ideal circumstances. Conti - the cheapo is fine.
With the belt off check the pullies for bearing noise /wobble. And check for alignment of the grooved pullies with a straightedge. Particularly the a/c compressor vs the others.
Just a heads up so you get prepped with tools,equipment and knowledge before you start.
02-04-2017, 08:22 AM
#24
If you need a thin 15 mm wrench and you are in a hurry, try a bicycle shop. Bike wrenches are supper thin, and typically they are metric.
Last edited by ronvanr; 02-04-2017 at 11:16 AM. Reason: typo
03-16-2018, 02:32 PM
#25
Three Wheelin'
Bumping this back up. My 997.1 only has 14K miles, I'm going through some of the DIY maintenance and bringing it up to date. The service records that were given to me were only the 4 oil changes at Newport Beach Porsche.
When I took off the airbox off to replace the air filter the previous week, I inspected the belt and it looked in decent shape; no cracks, no frays, missing ribs for a 14K mile car. I even put the 24mm socket and moved the tensioner pulley.
I figured, this would be my next thing to update and bought a new belt. Now, I'm running into the same problem members faced with the tensioner pulley nut slipping instead of the pulley shifting to relieve tension off the belts.
1)The engine is cold
2)24mm w/a breaker bar
3)When I turn the pulley nut clockwise at a minimum 20 degrees, the nut slips so I back off
4)I have a medium size 15mm wrench for the nut behind the pulley and it's tight. I'm not sure what torque spec it is at.
5)Should I hold the 15mm wrench inside and torque the pulley nut to 44 ft/lbs then try it again?
When I took off the airbox off to replace the air filter the previous week, I inspected the belt and it looked in decent shape; no cracks, no frays, missing ribs for a 14K mile car. I even put the 24mm socket and moved the tensioner pulley.
I figured, this would be my next thing to update and bought a new belt. Now, I'm running into the same problem members faced with the tensioner pulley nut slipping instead of the pulley shifting to relieve tension off the belts.
1)The engine is cold
2)24mm w/a breaker bar
3)When I turn the pulley nut clockwise at a minimum 20 degrees, the nut slips so I back off
4)I have a medium size 15mm wrench for the nut behind the pulley and it's tight. I'm not sure what torque spec it is at.
5)Should I hold the 15mm wrench inside and torque the pulley nut to 44 ft/lbs then try it again?
03-19-2018, 02:24 AM
#26
Went through this situation before. The new tensioner pulley bolt comes with a significant amount red tread locker. Did not end up using the new bolt. Impossible to take the bolt out without a lot of work. Remove the pulley and clean the old bolt well when still attached to the bracket. Place new red tread locker on both sides of the bolt and reassemble the tensioner pulley. Wait until it sets over night. This will stop the bolt from slipping. The cause of the slippage is the factory red tread locker has failed due to age. Very simple fix only if you know that the new bolt comes with red thread locker.
03-19-2018, 02:54 AM
#27
The 15mm wrench is not correct. The correct size is 16mm. Not easy to loosen the bolt as it spins. Use a piece of wood to wedged in a safe location so the wench will lock in as the 24mm is used to loosen and remove.
03-19-2018, 01:29 PM
#28
Three Wheelin'
Went through this situation before. The new tensioner pulley bolt comes with a significant amount red tread locker. Did not end up using the new bolt. Impossible to take the bolt out without a lot of work. Remove the pulley and clean the old bolt well when still attached to the bracket. Place new red tread locker on both sides of the bolt and reassemble the tensioner pulley. Wait until it sets over night. This will stop the bolt from slipping. The cause of the slippage is the factory red tread locker has failed due to age. Very simple fix only if you know that the new bolt comes with red thread locker.
Could I hold the 16mm bolt and clockwise torque the 24mm nut to 44 ft/lbs? Before I bought a belt, I removed the air box to replace the air filter a couple weekends ago. At that time, I was able to rotate the tensioner pulley with a 24mm socket and breaker bar. The entire pulley rotated, the belt loosened up but I didn't slip it off. The belt and Mobilube PTX arrived so the following weekend, I was going to change the belt and then thats when the nut started slipping.
The manual says 6yrs or 60K miles. It only has 15K miles but is well over 6 yrs.
-Arnold
03-19-2018, 05:03 PM
#29
To take the belt off, this would take two people, one to create slack with the16mm wrench and 24mm socket and breaker bar and the other to pry off the belt with a screw driver from the pulley attached to the alternator. Be careful when the belt comes off as the spring uncoiling is very fast with a considerable amount of torque. The reason the old bolt was used is that there is not sufficient room to extract the bolt from the tensioner lever without significant disassembly of other parts.
Repaired this ridiculous issue a few months back and went to my shop today to test that it was functioning. The fix is still relevant.
Repaired this ridiculous issue a few months back and went to my shop today to test that it was functioning. The fix is still relevant.
03-19-2018, 06:11 PM
#30
Three Wheelin'
To take the belt off, this would take two people, one to create slack with the16mm wrench and 24mm socket and breaker bar and the other to pry off the belt with a screw driver from the pulley attached to the alternator. Be careful when the belt comes off as the spring uncoiling is very fast with a considerable amount of torque. The reason the old bolt was used is that there is not sufficient room to extract the bolt from the tensioner lever without significant disassembly of other parts.
Repaired this ridiculous issue a few months back and went to my shop today to test that it was functioning. The fix is still relevant.
Repaired this ridiculous issue a few months back and went to my shop today to test that it was functioning. The fix is still relevant.
So you wedged it from the alternator pulley (#2)? Doesn't the alternator pulley have a lip which would require you leverage the screw driver above the lip? I wonder if the upper idler pulley #3 would be easier to slip off? It sounds like I have the same problem as you. I must have broke the thread lock when I originally de-tensioned it. That's when the belt should have been removed and new pulley/threadlock installed.
