Belt Tensioner?
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 77
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From: San Antonio Texas
Belt Tensioner?
I have started to get a little squeaking here and there on my 97' with 65,000 miles. I went by a parts store and he told me my tensioner is going. He pushed on it and it could move about a 1/4". Is he right? If so, is it expensive to fix?
MONARTOR
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 250,144
Likes: 146
From: What I know, is dwarfed by what I pretend to know
Cruise-In 5-6-7-8 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
had mine replaced by the dealer at around the same mileage.. The whole deal was less than my deductable on the extended warranty.. think it was $85.00. You can do this by yourself..Get the parts from one of the forum dealers.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 24,921
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From: Knoxville, TN
CI 3-4-5-6-7-8 Veteran
St. Jude '03 thru '26
By "squeak", if you could describe it as a "chirp", then it could be the belt tensioner. It was VERY easy for me to watch someone change mine! 
(if you see me with a wrench in my hand you better hope I am not working on YOUR vette... 
...I'm a jinx).
However, I found out it wasn't the TOP tensioner that was "chirping", it was one of the lower ones. In any case, all tensioners changed out at close to 100k miles
(if you see me with a wrench in my hand you better hope I am not working on YOUR vette... ...I'm a jinx). However, I found out it wasn't the TOP tensioner that was "chirping", it was one of the lower ones. In any case, all tensioners changed out at close to 100k miles
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,024
Likes: 18
From: DFW Texas
Only if you can isolate that sound directly to the tensioner... otherwise just try new belt.
Mine had an on/off again sound like a bird chirp, then the instant I hit it with belt dressing it went away. Got new belt - problem solved.
Mine had an on/off again sound like a bird chirp, then the instant I hit it with belt dressing it went away. Got new belt - problem solved.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 756
Likes: 5
From: Griffin Ga.
Changed mine and a new belt in about 15 minutes. Very easy to do. Remove the belt , take out two bolts, replace new pulley and put on new belt. Stopped the chirping. I decided to replace both since I had to remove the belt anyway for a new one. Not sure which was making all the noise.I had 68 k miles.
