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Doing some maint tomorrow on my 96 5.8. Belt is going to get replaced....should I change out the tensioner while I'm at it? It's original and doesn't look so great...while I'm at it, what about an air pump bypass? Don't they have a tendency to freeze up and cause problems? Any advice is certainly welcome!
Bearings in the idler wheel on the tensioner are prone to drying out so it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the bearing or the whole wheel, Ford won't sell you the wheel alone however they want you to buy the whole tensioner assembly, but it's pretty easy to get the bearing out of the wheel and an SKF replacement isn't a lot of money.
As for bypassing the air pump, depends where your tensioner is located. If it's in the center at the top of the motor it is possible but if it's down on the side it's not, if you remove the air pump you have to replace it with an idler pulley or the belt won't stay on the other pulleys.
To add to Paul's reply. ...there are numerous belt routing schemes on this vintage truck. You should be able to eliminate the air pump but the belt lengths widely vary. Use a string to determine which one you need. I highly recommend a new Ford tensioner assembly. The aftermarket versions tend to be weak.
Yes, I'm going to throw in a Ford ***'y along with the new belt. It has 225k on it so it owes me nothing! The belt itself has well over 100k on it and still looks fresh-no cracks, etc but I don't like taking chances on things like this! Thanks again for all the advice.
Your 96 has an air pump? On mine there's an idler pulley where the pump would normally be and the belt routing schematic does not show an air pump there.
Just double checking here with the numbers guys...I found Ford P/N F5TZ6B209D for the tensioner.....can anyone confirm this? My truck is a 96 f250 >8600 4x4 auto. Thanks!
Your 96 has an air pump? On mine there's an idler pulley where the pump would normally be and the belt routing schematic does not show an air pump there.
That is a really good question, I missed the year. OBD-II trucks typically do not have air pumps. Heavier duty F250/350 w/OBD-I still do.
I imagine you have the same belt routing as I do. With pulley up top and tensioner on passenger side. I deleted my smog pump and am running part no K060938 master pro belt from orielly's the box said 94.5 on it so I believe that is the OD of the belt. Either way I have been running this set up and have not had issues....yet.
Mine is a 302 (5.0) and the routing looks pretty much the same as Kris, with the thermactor (smog pump) removed. Keep the old belt in the truck, you never know when it will become handy in a pinch.
Yep. When I replaced my engine a few months back I snatched the smog pump off and jus grabbed a shorter belt. Worked out fine. Wrote the part # in the Haynes though, don't remember what it was.
Should have replaced the idler though, 2k miles later and I heard a sqeaking under there Saturday... Bet that's what it is.
02-01-2015, 12:04 PM
