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This is what mine looks like (2000 vert). I put a short bubble level on it, it's pretty close to level. If yours is tilted much I would investigate why.
Those tensioners are known to go bad. You can put a wrench on it, apply pressure clockwise to give the belt some slack, then pull the belt off the water pump pulley and let the tensioner go back to the rest position. Looks like the bearing might have some wear on it. Try turning it by hand, can you wobble it or does it feel crunchy?
These last two show the gap on the back side. Hard to tell for sure but your gap looks bigger to me, as if your tensioner bearing is worn.
Last edited by Dads2kconvertible; Sep 2, 2023 at 04:30 PM.
This is what mine looks like (2000 vert). I put a short bubble level on it, it's pretty close to level. If yours is tilted much I would investigate why.
Those tensioners are known to go bad. You can put a wrench on it, apply pressure clockwise to give the belt some slack, then pull the belt off the water pump pulley and let the tensioner go back to the rest position. Looks like the bearing might have some wear on it. Try turning it by hand, can you wobble it or does it feel crunchy?
These last two show the gap on the back side. Hard to tell for sure but your gap looks bigger to me, as if your tensioner bearing is worn.
Thanks so much for taking the time.....based on these pics, it does look like it's "off"/tilted a little....I'll put a level on it and see, but even the lines, based on yours, is way off. I really appreciate you taking the time.....I'm nervous to pull the belt and have something just not go back or completely break off. It's running right now, better to drive it to a scheduled diagnostic appointment and they can repair it once it's off.
Last edited by Kenneth Allen; Sep 3, 2023 at 06:36 PM.
Reason: no need to repost those pics already in the original response
Correct serp belt but I also think it might be the tensioner. I just replaced all my pulleys and tensioners. Easy peezy. Cheers!!!
Thanks.....easy peezy for some....not sure if it's easy peezy for me! I'm working on doing more and more of my own repairs....not there yet, but I do enjoy tinkering!
Thanks.....easy peezy for some....not sure if it's easy peezy for me! I'm working on doing more and more of my own repairs....not there yet, but I do enjoy tinkering!
Tinkering with, washing, and waxing these cars is at least half the fun of owning them. It's great you enjoy the tinkering, because it's hard to be proficient at anything if you don't truly enjoy it. Doing your own repairs will drastically reduce the cost of this hobby, which isn't cheap even if you do your own repairs. I'd wager that someone who does their own repairs can probably own a C6 or C7 for about the same costs as buying a C5, but having all repairs on the C5 professionally done. My opinion.......
Tinkering with, washing, and waxing these cars is at least half the fun of owning them. It's great you enjoy the tinkering, because it's hard to be proficient at anything if you don't truly enjoy it. Doing your own repairs will drastically reduce the cost of this hobby, which isn't cheap even if you do your own repairs. I'd wager that someone who does their own repairs can probably own a C6 or C7 for about the same costs as buying a C5, but having all repairs on the C5 professionally done. My opinion.......
Sage words, as always, Grinder…
I’ve put in at least $7k for repairs that were beyond my proficiency or safety range. And this was on a 27,000 mile car when I bought it. At the time of my purchase, that amount of money would have put me in C6 LS3 territory. Oh, and that’s not counting the money in heads/cam/tune I’m investing for LS3 power levels. All that said, I still love my car!
Tinkering with, washing, and waxing these cars is at least half the fun of owning them. It's great you enjoy the tinkering, because it's hard to be proficient at anything if you don't truly enjoy it. Doing your own repairs will drastically reduce the cost of this hobby, which isn't cheap even if you do your own repairs. I'd wager that someone who does their own repairs can probably own a C6 or C7 for about the same costs as buying a C5, but having all repairs on the C5 professionally done. My opinion.......
100% agree that half (I might even say more than half since I don't have many opportunities to drive - meaning I don't have a commute, I live in Maine so it sits for many months in the winter, etc.) of my vette hobby fun is tinkering and cleaning it. Over the years I've bene building up my tool collection and I get a lot of info on repairs here in this forum, plus on youtube. It was years before I felt confident enough to do my own oil changes and today, I refuse to let anyone else but me change the oil in any of my vehicles, let along my vettes.
I was able to do, what I would call a major repair on my C3 restomod this past month.....I had to replace the alternator (long story) and the serpentine belt (and battery). A year or two ago, I would have hauled the vette to a specialty shop over an hour away and paid them probably 1500-2000 to do what my son (he's 12 and helped me - special memories) and I did in a few hours total over the course of a week or so while we waited for the alternator to come in. Works perfect and OOOHHH what a feeling that was when we started her up and took her for a "spirited" test drive!
I’ve put in at least $7k for repairs that were beyond my proficiency or safety range. And this was on a 27,000 mile car when I bought it. At the time of my purchase, that amount of money would have put me in C6 LS3 territory. Oh, and that’s not counting the money in heads/cam/tune I’m investing for LS3 power levels. All that said, I still love my car!
I guess it depends....every car is different....I had a C5 that I drove for a few years and the only money I put into it was maybe a couple hundred dollars in oil and filters. I drove that thing everywhere I had the opportunity. It had 30k miles on it. My second C5, again, other than oil changes, I haven't had to do anything with....I've watched videos on the harmonic balancer replacement and that is definitely way beyond what I think I'm capable of doing. You have to pull off wheels, linkage up front, etc.....seems like a big job for sure. I bet I could replace the tensioner and all the pulleys, but I think I'll leave the potential balancer to a shop this time around. And this C5 has 50k miles on it. Drove it from Detroit, MI to Maine with no issues.....fun trip.
Yes your tension pulley needs replacement. The line tells you when to fix it. Rockauto.com
What "line" are you talking about?? If you're talking about the 3 lines behind the tensioner, and the "pointer" that's part of the tensioner, that hasn't got anything to do about when the tensioner should be replaced. It's there to gauge how much the Serpentine belt has stretched/worn, and is indicative of when the belt needs replacing....
I guess it depends....every car is different....I had a C5 that I drove for a few years and the only money I put into it was maybe a couple hundred dollars in oil and filters. I drove that thing everywhere I had the opportunity. It had 30k miles on it. My second C5, again, other than oil changes, I haven't had to do anything with....I've watched videos on the harmonic balancer replacement and that is definitely way beyond what I think I'm capable of doing. You have to pull off wheels, linkage up front, etc.....seems like a big job for sure. I bet I could replace the tensioner and all the pulleys, but I think I'll leave the potential balancer to a shop this time around. And this C5 has 50k miles on it. Drove it from Detroit, MI to Maine with no issues.....fun trip.
Low mileage cars can have problems due to not being driven. Don't be afraid of wrenching on a C5, I've owned C5s, C4, and a few 60s/early70s Chevies. The C5 really isn't that bad to wrench on. The balancer seems daunting but if you can have a friend help with the rack isn't bad and no, I'm not a mechanic.
What "line" are you talking about?? If you're talking about the 3 lines behind the tensioner, and the "pointer" that's part of the tensioner, that hasn't got anything to do about when the tensioner should be replaced. It's there to gauge how much the Serpentine belt has stretched/worn, and is indicative of when the belt needs replacing....
Traditionally, the markings on a tensioner are to visually inspect for belt wear. Usually there is a minimum and maximum mark that the opposing line should reside. If it is outside of this range, it can indicate the following:
1) Belt is too small
2) Tensioner has relaxed
3) Belt has stretched or is damaged.
Last edited by Got uid0; Sep 12, 2023 at 01:41 AM.
Is this broken or need to be fixed?
