V6 serpentine belt tensioner question

F

freeflight

New member
Hi there,

There is a da...da...da sound besides normal engine idling noise for my 04 4Runner V6. It seems coming from the belt area, can't tell if it is the water pump or the serpentine belt tensioner. I will find a shop to replace the slowly leaking water pump and serpentine belt. Should I also replace the belt tensioner? Is there a way to tell if the belt tensioner is bad?

The belt seems to run okay to me, no visible slip or vibration. On my old accord the belt tensioner has a marking that you can match to a marking on the housing to tell if it is bad. Is there such a thing for the 4Runner?

The OEM belt tensioner is $150. :wtf: I don't want to replace it unless needed. If I do I might go after market, can someone recommend a high quality one?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
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Yeah release the belt off the tensioner and spin it.
Does it spin or does it come to an immediate stop, when it spins (if it does) look to see if theres a slight wobble or makes any sounds like a gritty dirty bearing sound.

it may not even be the tensioner it more likely would be 1 of the three Idler pulleys. Couple weeks ago I just replaced all three of mine along with the Drive Belt my tensioner was fine but I did clean it up and made it fresh again.
 
remove the drive belt and check all the pulleys, alternator pulley, power steering pulley, tensioner pulley and look for an unusual rotation.
 
You also want to observe the tensioner while the engine is running if possible. You should see very little movement of the arm while the engine is running - maybe 1/4" of movement at the mounting point (not the pulley end). When the spring goes out, the tensioner arm will move a lot more, and often the sound you hear is the arm hitting the stop (the limit of travel in either direction).
 
Oneluv13T4R said:
Yeah release the belt off the tensioner and spin it.
Does it spin or does it come to an immediate stop, when it spins (if it does) look to see if theres a slight wobble or makes any sounds like a gritty dirty bearing sound.

it may not even be the tensioner it more likely would be 1 of the three Idler pulleys. Couple weeks ago I just replaced all three of mine along with the Drive Belt my tensioner was fine but I did clean it up and made it fresh again.
Click to expand...

Great, I will do the test. Can you please explain how to clean and refresh the tensioner?
 
radlynx said:
remove the drive belt and check all the pulleys, alternator pulley, power steering pulley, tensioner pulley and look for an unusual rotation.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I will give it a try. The V6 belt system is between the engine and fan, not as accessible as a transverse mounted I4.

I am a little disappointed with the quality of the car right now. It has only 73.5K miles, but I have replaced rear door lock, hood structs. Now the water pump, and two front shocks are leaking...
 
fullboogie said:
You also want to observe the tensioner while the engine is running if possible. You should see very little movement of the arm while the engine is running - maybe 1/4" of movement at the mounting point (not the pulley end). When the spring goes out, the tensioner arm will move a lot more, and often the sound you hear is the arm hitting the stop (the limit of travel in either direction).
Click to expand...

This may be it. I will take a close look at the tensioner when engine is running.
 
it's a 2004 model and at 11 years old, you should expect a component to fail at some point. just replace it and wait for the next part to fail. :) the point is, it's one reliable car. enjoy it man!

freeflight said:
Thanks. I will give it a try. The V6 belt system is between the engine and fan, not as accessible as a transverse mounted I4.

I am a little disappointed with the quality of the car right now. It has only 73.5K miles, but I have replaced rear door lock, hood structs. Now the water pump, and two front shocks are leaking...
Click to expand...
 
radlynx said:
it's a 2004 model and at 11 years old, you should expect a component to fail at some point. just replace it and wait for the next part to fail. :) the point is, it's one reliable car. enjoy it man!
Click to expand...

I would say it is a good car but I was expecting more from Toyota...My old accord has 192K miles and didn't need water pump or shocks yet. Knocking on the wood. :)

Any suggestion for a good aftermarket belt tensioner?

Thanks.
 
fullboogie said:
Rockauto if they carry it.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Found three carried by RockAuto. It would be nice to know which one to buy, which one to avoid...

ACDELCO 38411, $67.79
GATES 38411 DriveAlign Premium OE Automatic Belt Tensioner, $68.79
DAYCO 89371 {#89371FN} Import Line Designed for Foreign Nameplate Vehicles, $70.79
 
I tested the tensioner with a wrench, it moves smoothly. Somehow the da...da... sound is gone.
I uploaded two videos of the tensioner when the car is running, does it looks okay?


 
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