hey guys so on my 92 bronco 5.8l i was driving it and started to notice a squeak that would come and go i didnt think much of it...maybe mud or water from those times that i gotta have a little bit of fun. but anyways it started getting worse and worse so i popped the hood and my belt was really really loose and from what i have heard there is no way of tightening the belt so i was wondering could it be the belt is bad or could i have a bad pulley or...yea no i have no clue what so ever. so any help yall could give me would be awesome.

 

i have the same problem on my 78 bronco, check to see that you do not have rust on pullies, also that the tensioner is tight, also which belt is it? not sure on your year belt set up but I have 3 belts and my waterpump/powersteering belt keeps streching

 

i just have the single belt that goes through all of the pulleys and pumps and what have you...all so complicated for me. haha. i couldnt find anyway of tightening the tensioner.

 

His '92 has a serpentine belt... there is only one. It drives everything. The tensioner is your primary concern since it is the ONLY method for maintaining tension on the belt. There is a gauge cast into the arm and a pointer on the bracket that shows the acceptable range that the arm on the tensioner should ride to maintain sufficient belt tension when the belt is in place. If the marks on the arm do not fall within the gauge marks on the bracket with the belt installed, the belt has stretched too much and should be replaced. When/if you replace the belt, make certain that the tensioner still snaps all the way back to its unloaded position when you remove the belt. To "loosen" the tensioner and remove the belt, you will need to put a socket and driver on the bolt that holds the tensioner pulley (NOT THE BOLT THAT HOLDS THE TENSIONER ARM TO THE BRACKET) and rotate the tensioner arm up and out of the way so the belt can be slid off the pulley. (Don't worry about the pulley bolt coming loose; its right-hand threaded and won't loosen this way). Is should require some effort and when the belt is removed the tensioner arm should snap back LOWER that it was with the belt in place. The arm, while requiring effort to move, should move freely with the internal spring pressure being the only thing limiting its travel. If the tensioner does not snap back fully with the belt removed or there is no resistance when you pull it up to remove the belt, the tensioner should be replaced as well.

 

so do you think it is the belt that is stretched out? because the tensioner is very very tight and strong and goes back to the same place. thanks by the way guys

 

Have a look at the gauge that is cast into the arm and bracket. There is a pointer on either the arm or the bracket (I can't recall which side is which) that corresponds to a another PAIR of pointers on the arm or the bracket. the one mark should fall between the other two when the belt is installed. If the mark does not fall between the other two, the belt has stretched too far and should be replaced. Wish I had a photo of the reference marks I'm talking about. Anybody got any pics of this? I'm not at home right now so I can't even take any.

 

my tensioner would stick around the spot it rested on the belt, it would tighten, but a small bump would cause it to rest in a slightly looser position. Meaning, if I pushed down on the tensioner I could get the belt a tad tighter, it wouldn't return to the same spot, but it would always let up eventually and cause chirps. If yours isn't doing that, your tensioner is probably fine.. mine went 200k+ miles before it go to this point, and honestly, a little bit of oil in the center spring section would probably have fixed it.

Even a worn tensioner will feel pretty tight though.

Start with the belt, replace it, if it's still loose then it's the tensioner.

 

i just replaced the belt and it seems to have worked out pretty swell. thanks guys! I may be back with a few follow up questions