alzeal

Hi all, after breaking my 3rd tensioner bolt (I followed service bullentine to the T), I decided to get rid of it and opt for a manual tensioner approach. Some fabrication, used parts from an alternator bracket kit from Amazon, and fabricated the rest. Basically I just have the alternator pivoting and added a stabilizing bracket to the bottom. For the belt I used a shorter one of course 7PK1720. I've been running it for a few hundred miles now, no issues. You'll need to manually tighten from time to time but don't need to worry about that stupid tensioner anymore.



Top alternator adjustment

Bottom alternator bracket

emich

Interesting approach. What's the size of the bearing bolt on the tensioner? T50? Here is another way.

alzeal

Hey there I think so, from my recollection it comes with a bolt. The bolt though on the stabilizer bracket I had to use my own though, can't be super sure to be honest as I just found a bolt that would fit in my bucket of bolts lol. Anyway I've have a couple thousand miles already and no issues so far.

emich

I am wondering if a normal bearing would be a better option instead of this stupid tensioner.

alzeal

You'd still need a way to tighten the belt, hence using the alternator to pivot and tighten it. You could also probably fabricate a mount for the old school bearing on a tensioner bolt.