How long does a belt tensioner last?

[CToney]

I was going to change my belt and was checking out my tensioner. It had a little play in it. I changed it with a dayco unit $169. The stocker is a dayco with a cummins p/n. I had to change one on my brother's '93 before. It was wore so bad it killed the bearings in the alternator. The voltage really fluctuated bad. The belt ran all over the place. I didn't want this one to do the same thing. There has to be close to 200,000 miles on the truck. The truck has a hydralic pump on the engine so I need a decent belt and tensioner. The fan has no clutch anymore so it roars all the time. I am going to try and figure out how to install a clutch of some sort.

 

[bigdaddydieseldan]

Sounds like to me it lasted quite a while I believe you got your moneys worth out of that tensioner I surely wouldn't complain thats a heck of a lot of miles

 

[JLEONARD]

The new one won't last nearly as long. Every manufacturer is under corp pressure to make things cheaper.

This is a fact of life.

I work for a company who works to that goal.

I don't like it but thats what the facts is.

cheers.

Jay

 

[Greenleaf]

About 40/45 thousand miles. That is like 4 to 5 years in a school bus. About ten to twelve years for my truck

 

[R C Cola]

Tensioner wear

I do about 100k/year and mine usually go about 150-200k then no doubt that they need replaced. Better luck with cummins brand so far.

 

[dpuckett]

Tensioners must have really gone up in the last 4 months- I paid <$90 for mine.



DP

 

[Jgolden]

On mine when I went to replace the tensioner it was clear the previous owner had replaced the belt with a belt that was too short. The tensioner never had a chance to work. How he got it on I'll never know but my only chance was to cut it. After I got past the "what am I doing wrong here?" stage.

Measured against a stock Cummins belt it was pretty short.

I know this isn't part of your question, but belt size, legnth and width seems to be variable between manuf even for the "same" application.

 

[CToney]

I purchased a Dayco tensioner. Same as original except it has a 1/2" drive instead of 3/8". Original still works ok but had a little wobble in it. Hard on alternator and water pump I imagine.

 

[3grumpy]

belt tensioner

When you buy a boonie box from Geno's garage it comes with a tensioner bearing. Whats involved with changing the bearing only and how ofter do you do it. And is it worth the effort? Do i change the bearing or the whole tensioner?

Thanks Chuck

 

[Greenleaf]

The bearing only?????



That's sorta wierd as the bushing (Nylon) and the spring wear out/break apart so why on Earth take it off/apart only to reinstall with the same worn parts save for the bearing... ... ... ... ... . inquired minds gotta know. .



Sound real silly to me not to mention the waste of time. I have never ever had a bad bearing on the entire fleet of buses (27) The springs break OR the nylon wears out and thus the pulley rides to the south at a tilt.



I know Auto Zone has the dayco same as the Cummins but it's only what I remember reading here on the forum. I never bought one from Auto Zone. They are reported as 65. 00

 

[dpuckett]

AutoZone doesnt carry Dayco. It's in the computer, but it cant be ordered. BTDT.



DP

 

[tugboatphil]

The newer Dayco I have also has the 1/2" drive, which is great for using the breaker bar. Your price sounds really high. Advance Auto Parts carries them around here for about $85-$90. Try looking online, you can do a lot better.

 

[CToney]

North of the 49th things tend to get a lot pricier. We pay a lot more for most everything. I believe the extra $ is to put the french on the package. I have changed just the pulley before as it was wore through. The nylon bushing was wore a bit I just don't like getting new alternators.