tsarang

Hi Guys,

There was screeching noise coming from the serpentine belt. I took it to several mecahnics all they could suggest was to change the belt. Finally I changed it cost $85, still the noise wouldnt go.

Then Again the same mechanics now recommended changeing the belt tenioner at a charge of $120 and overall they wanted me to leave the car int he night and come back in the morning. I felt suspicious and decided to do it myself. (I had read that if you can unscrew and screw five bolts, it should be as stright forward as that)

I got the required replace ment part and started by

a) releiving the tension on the belt
b) removing the bolts attached

still i am unable to pull the unit of the engine. also while trying to remomove the tesioner unit, the pulley loosened up to the point that it wobbles and detaches so when i get the belt back on, it slips out.

I am in dire straights now cannot replace the part and i cannot take it to a mechanic either.

PLEASE HELP. any advice from you gurus out there to get me out of this mess will be appreciated.

THANKS and GOD BLESS.

tsarang

Anybody experienced with the tensioner replacement please help. Regard's -- Tan.

hyperopt

Not sure what you meant exactly with the above statement, but as long as the tensioner pulley does not rest on the belt and the tensioner unit's bolts/nuts are removed, the unit should come off. Try prying the unit off carefully. Sometimes I look at the layout of the new detached unit to get clues for how to remove the old unit.

tsarang

Hi 'Hyperopt', thank's for your kind reply.

I can find only three screws to remove although i see four holes on the actual part.

I referred to the lexus manuals and all of them say remove one large nut and the other two screws to unfasten the tensioner assembly. but this is just not happening. the fourth hole has to be there for some reason.

i think that the fourth screw is attached from the engine and is shared by the alternator and the tensioner. the tensioner slides first then on the same screw the alternator slides. But this is only a guess i cannot get this theory verified. I do not want to try plying the unit unless i get this straigtened out.

so i am asking all the experts out there, who have done this to give me some idea. before I try removing the alternator and other stuff and make a total mess.

regarding the pulley on the tensioner, it was loose in the first place when i tried to yank it back and forth to relive the tension, the nut gave away and the rotating pulley came right off the assembly. i saw a lot of metal around the pulley after a closer examination the ceramic material on which the pulley was hoisted, had crack's in it and was chipped at the edges. this was the problem why it was screeching so badly and thank god i found it. Just imagine this thing going south while driving!!!!!.

tsarang

Hi Guys, Appreciate if anyone can tell me what I am doing wrong, or If I have the right approach,

a) remove alternator
b) remove tensioner

thank u all.

tsarang

Hi Guys, still cant get it fixed, car is off road for a week now, Please help.

blkstealthpaid4

I tried changing my serpentine belt on my 90 ls and which I had never done before.I didn't even need to take out the bigger bolt that holds the rotating pulley on the tensioner.I either stripped the bolt or the thread in which the bolt goes into.I was stuck and did not know what to do.My friend and I got a hammer and hammered the bolt inside so that the pulley wouldn't wabble.I think you stripped the bolt and the wheel is wabbling.

tsarang

OK Guys, this thing was getting on my nerves, I finally called in a Mechanic from cricket's 24hour auto service and guess what,

the alternator had to be removed as well as the plug casing and a couple of different stuff, just to get to the fourth screw, didnt have to ply the part off, the tensioner assembly just slid out comfortably. he got the new part replaced, took him almost two hours to do the whole stuff, final bill $100(labour)+$35(house call).

The mechanic was good( worked with lexus and Benz before) and knew his stuff else he says it would have taken some time for the inexperienced guys just to figure his way around the LS engine. I hope this info is of some help to anybody with the same problem and wanna try to DO-IT-YOURSELF.

Guess this is not for the extremely inexperienced like me. but hey, trying is a start!!!!. being crazy about my LS, i am going to try some more whenever I can and after having figured out things a lil bit better, I will be Sticking some repair pictures/advice myself. Cheer's to that thought.

THANKS A LOT FOR ALL THE HELP AND ADVICE. I LOVE THIS FORUM.