Well That Was Unexpected

[KELLY88]

I get off work yesterday afternoon and go to my truck to leave. I get in, turn the engine over and all the sudden I hear a very loud CLUNK! Freaks me out. I shut the engine off and go to find what the hell made that noise. Only took a couple seconds when on the ground underneath the engine there lies my serpentine belt tensioner pulley. It just snapped off when I turned the engine on. Sheared clean off from underneath the bolt that holds it down. The belt ended up being okay. I managed to get a ride from my dad and picked up a new pulley on the way home but had somewhere to be last night. Finally get back out to my truck at about 10:00, still sitting in the work parking lot. Almost get it all back together only to realize that I have no 3/8 breaker bar. Son of a bitch! I Forgot the most important tool of the whole job. After some improvising, a few more choice words, and 45 minutes of trial and error later and I managed to get a 3/8 ratchet on it then go inside our factory and found a piece of pipe to use as a cheater bar. Got the pulley snugged up and the belt routed and drove it home by about 11:00.

Anyone else have this thing just snap off when you start the motor up?

 

[jobar]

Yes, I was at friends house after a day of muddin. Started the truck up to pull it around back to wash all the mud off, and I heard something that sounded like a 2x4 snap in half. I looked out the window and my friend is yelling at me to shut the truck off. Long story short the pully snapped and took my belt with it.

 

[gotmudd]

had it it happen on a friends chevy 1500, it went up instead of down punched a nice 6x3 something hole through the hood told him it'd make a good hole for a new fresh air intake

 

[Ranger44]

I thought you were going to say it was a cat that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got caught up in the belt.....lol

 

[KELLY88]

I thought you were going to say it was a cat that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and got caught up in the belt.....lol

Hahaha. No but that would have made a much better story. I'm kind of waiting for it to happen on some of the older trucks since we're right next to a patch of trees that has a family of wild cats living in them. The wander through the parking lot sometimes. Sooner or later somebody is going to find one in their engine bay.

 

[AllanD]

Never have I been so happy that I personally carry a spare tensioner assembly
(with pulley)and a flanged idler pulley under the passenger side jumpseat along
with a new Dayco gold label belt. both inside a gallon ziploc bag

Feel good, the earlier ('90-93) tensioners USUALLY fail by having
the LEFT HAND pulley threads strip out of the tensioner.

I've actually had very few things "fail", mostly because very few problems suprise me.

I wouldn't call myself mechanically paranoid, except in the spares that
go with me on a long trip (I stop short of carrying pair of spare cyl heads
But I check things, often.

I trust NOTHING.

I EXPECT stuff to try to "Fall off"
and I'm ready at all times to bitch slap it back into submission.

you obviously haven't intimidated your truck into obedience yet.

I have tools and I know how to use them

AD

 

[PaleBlue90]

you obviously haven't intimidated your truck into obedience yet.AD

i think its the other way around for me, my truck has intimidated me into obedience

 

[AllanD]

well...

I was pretty certain that there were no bolts I hadn't [previously]
removed [and reinstalled] in my truck, but I was mistaken.

I have never had the bolt that retains the passenger side seatbelt reel
to the floor out of the truck.

AD

 

[KELLY88]

you obviously haven't intimidated your truck into obedience yet.

I have tools and I know how to use them

AD

No that's probably true. Then again I've owned my truck a total of 8 months so the time hasn't been there. In that time though I've only had 2 sensors go out on me and then this problem. Seems like a good record so far. I'd love to strip the truck down and rebuild it all back together but I have nowhere near the tools nor skill to do something like that. Maybe one day but definitely not yet.

 

[almostclueless]

Cheater bar???


I pull the tensioner with a standard length craftsman 15MM combination wrench.....




okay, it does hurt my hand a little.

 

[AllanD]

Cheater bar???


I pull the tensioner with a standard length craftsman 15MM combination wrench.....




okay, it does hurt my hand a little.

You are suffering from a need to be enlightened on
4.0 engine accessory trivia

YOUR tensioner is the '90-93 type with the tensioner at the top.
that pushes DOWN against the belt between the water pump
pulley and the alternator.

the '94-end 4.0's used a completely different alternator bracket
which has a fixed idler pulley a the top and the tensioner is down
on the side where suprisingly it's actually more accessable, provided you have a long 3/8" drive handle to retract it with.

anyway the later tensioner is a spring loaded arm with a ribbed
idler that pushes OUTWARDS against the belt between the alternator and the crank pulley.

this was done both to make the idler accessable
(by placing it outboard of the fan/shroud)
AND to prevent the longest unsupported section
of belt travel from an oscillation "flap" that would
eventually eat the alternator bearing.

His truck is a '97 so it has the LATE tensioner.

AD