Had my f350 in for an oil change (got 8 changes for $80 on a promotion and couldn't pass it up).

The shop mentioned that my idler pully needed to be replaced. Having replaced the tensioner a year earlier I told them to go ahead. Yesterday, two weeks later, I had some belt noise. After investigation, I discovered that the tensioner alignment stud (cheap pot metal) had broken off. When I contacted the shop they said that the part is poorly designed and they wouldn't take responsibility for the problem.

I'm not convinced, so I thought I would ask around. It doesn't seem likely that the alignment stud would break off during normal use. Anybody ever experience this? It is easy to understand how this stud could be broken off when relieving the tension to reinstall the serpentine belt. I broke my old tensioner this way, which is why this one was only a year old. I suspect that the alignment hub may have broken off during installation and that the installation bolt held the tension until it finally vibrated loose yesterday.

Am I getting a line of BULL from the shop? Need input before discussing with the shop again today. My truck was built in Canada in Feb '93. Motor code is M. Apparently this is a half year run on the tensioner so nobody makes an aftermarket tensioner for this year. OEM part is $200. Ouch! .....

 

Give us some info as to where you are located USA or Canada that price is out to lunch. Does your tensioner have a shock absorber on it, was the alignment stud just a rounded point protrusion about 3/8" long.

 

Thanks for the help. I'm in Roseburg, Oregon 97470. I have a spare vehicle so if it takes a while to ship, thats OK. The mechanic said he located an OEM part that he would give me at his cost, $160. The tensioner does have the shock absorber and the alignment stud is as you described.

dave.

 

The tensioner I am looking for has torx head retaining bolt. This may help with identification.

dave

 

They all have the T50 torx head bolt for engine attachment and a left hand threaded bolt on the tensioner pulley bolt.

Hello anybody there..............you stated!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"""The shop mentioned that my idler pully needed to be replaced. Having replaced the tensioner a year earlier I told them to go ahead. Yesterday, two weeks later, I had some belt noise. After investigation, I discovered that the tensioner alignment stud (cheap pot metal) had broken off. When I contacted the shop they said that the part is poorly designed and they wouldn't take responsibility for the problem. """

The real and correct answer ........
Sounds like the clown who did the job did not know it was a left hand thread and twisted off the pot metal alignment pin trying to get the pulley loose........

 

Not an uncommon occurance...when someone unfamiliar with the tensioner setup does the job. It shouldnt matter what the garage says about the part being no good. If it is OEM and they got it from a dealer, then they should be able to get you a new one. Sounds to me like you are getting ripped off!

 

The shop didn't purchase the tensioner, they simply removed it to tighten a loose bolt on the shock. I requested they fix the loose bolt since they were going to have the S-belt off to replace the idler pully (not the tensioner pully). I purchased the tensioner and installed it myself last september.

 

I had the first one tensioner explode (the wheel portion). I replaced it. Year later, the stud broke off. I stayed home from work and drilled out the stud and put a new tensioner in. (Maybe just a bolt replacement is needed?) I purposely didn't torque it super tight in case that somehow contributed. 2 weeks later, new one breaks the stud off too. This time it happened at work and living 40 miles away I decided to have a local shop take a wack at it. They will rip me for something like $425 parts+service. I have asked that this be warrantied work/part. If they finish up and take back their word to warranty of 90 days, I will have a strong word or two with the owner. I can't believe this tensioner. This is the fourth one having owned this '93 F350 for just 14 months.

 

I think you have possibly the wrong belt size causing a lot of flapping or it's too short and adding strain. I use a 112 inch belt but I do not have the shock tensioner.

 

You are being ripped off. I run a shop. I agree that the mechanic didn't realize it was left handed thread and broke the stud. Further, if I am working on something I will NEVER blame my screw up on 'it is an inferior part'.

Your best bet is to contact the corporate of the shop in question. If it is a chain this is definately the way to go. Write a letter to the corporate. Be courteous. Explain the situation and your feeling about it. The biggest mistake people make is to write a letter that is rude. A polite letter will get action from a corporate. If there is no corporate, your sort of stuck dealing with the people at the shop, however, do find out if there is an owner that is not there and contact them.

 

I put the two tensioners on that had studs break. I never turned the bolt in the wrong direction or torqued them really excessively in any direction. I agree I'm getting ripped because worse case scenario it is a 2-3 hr job and they want to bill for 4 hrs @90. That is what they want to charge and if I dont like it, I have to go somewhere else (but the truck is immobile and there are no other garages within 3 miles)

My only alternative is to have it towed home and do it myself. The tow bill would be $480.

The belts were purchased for this specific vehicle, however they seemed "kind of small" and that seemed to strain the tensioner too much. Guess after this I'll go to a Ford dealership and ask for a belt, then compare the size. If it is bigger, that makes sense.

Interesting sidenote: this shop doesn't want to replace the tensioner and/or bolt with any part and warranty it. They talked to a Ford-guru -- so they say -- and as a result, want to order a replacement bolt from the only Ford dealership that will sell it to them. It is being overnighted from TN to CA.

A belt and a bolt...these seem like pretty simple items. Hard to believe how badly this is turning out, when its not even a complex prob.

 

gotoa - If your tensioner setup is the same as mine, your only choice for a replacement tensioner is from the FORD Dealer and their tensioner will come with a new retaining bolt. I replaced mine at work in a about a half hour. If they have more than their minimum shop fee for labor. Just do the repair yourself, in the shops driveway if need be. If you remove the top alternator bolts and then install the S belt, it makes this job much easier. Before I learned this tip, I had to use a cheater bar to release the tensioners tension in order to slip the belt over the pully.

The shop I was dealing with marks up parts 15% over what my cost would be. I don't really have a problem with this markup on Parts as long as it covers the shop providing a warranty on the part and labor. If they won't provide a warranty, ask them to give you parts at their discounted cost.


My cost for an OEM tensioner was $220 from the dealer. Shop passed along their 25% discount so I got the part for $165. The S belts are about $40 if you need one.

 

thanks for the tips. exactly where are you buying these parts?

 

I purchased the 93 Ford F350 5.8L truck with about 100k miles on it. I since put about 30k on it. The tensioner that was on it was a cheap aftermarket part. The fact that it had been replaced and significantly worn by 100k miles is somewhat telling. The plastic pulley ring "exploded" at about 115k miles.

About a year after the exploding pulley, the the tensioner snapped at the bracket attachment bolt. Unlike the bolt inside the pulley spool, it is not threaded backwards and there is little danger of turning it the wrong way. It has a star shaped head which is referred to as a "Torx" head. It requires a "Torx" wrench.

To repair, it is necessary to remove the bracket and get it in a vise to drill out the broken stud. Removing the bracket involves partial or full removal of things like the alternator and air pump. It is time consuming; allow three hours for the total time to remove and reinstall parts.

About one week later, the replacement broke. This time I was far from home. A shop close to my work thought they could order the bolt by itself. The Ford dealership (Theodore Robin, Costa Mesa, CA) was confident they were doing the repair shop a favor sending just the bolt. The shop was also confident. All of this confidence was misplaced. (fyi The Ford diagrams for this pulley are amazingly unclear .. about 3 bolts are shown and none of the head types are shown).

It is NOT readily apparent which bolt part number, if any, would apply. In my case, the parts counterman became confused, and ultimately went into the back room and came back with an entirely new tensioner. The invoice here is about $66. I am taking this unusual bolt to a local hardware store to see if they can match it's design in a grade 8. It has a thick, unthreaded upper section and a lower threaded section that is very modest in diameter (contributing to break-off).

The tensioner can be bought currently at Autozone with p/n Dayco 305236. For some strange reason, Kragen carries a different p/n though it is still a Dayco part: 89236. Outside the dealership it's cheaper in every sense: $50. An online parts seller called Rock Auto may even sell it for less (if you want an emergency backup). The pulley itself may or may not be plastic. The pulley itself is sometimes interchangeable with the idler pulley just above: if you are removing a bad tensioner pulley and the pulley itself is fine but the idler pulley above looks tired, then swap pulleys before throwing away the old tensioner assembly.

With Dayco you may find several problems. There are many manufacturing inconsistencies. One is the bolt size differed in one tensioner (it was slightly smaller in the non-threaded area). Dayco also tried to cut corners by inserting one "normal" bolt sleeve with the external shoulder, and another one (facing the engine) pressed in with no shoulder. Dayco is inconsistent on whether they use plastic or metal for the pulleys. The Ford tensioner is always metal.

Here's another interesting contribution to premature failure: I took in my aftermarket belts and compared the length very carefully to the dealerships version. So the belt was never a culprit as it was exactly the right length. The Dayco tensioner that broke in one week did have an anomaly: the coil spring typically is wound outside the tensioner attachment "stop", however in this case it had somehow been squeezed under the stop, and appeared slightly strained from the get-go. There were no wear marks to suggest the part had been used and returned. It appeared to be a manufacturing "feature" which, in hindsight, may have contributed to the short lifespan.

 

this is no normal tensioner look it up ford part #F4TZ6B209C I was just quoted at $249.38 it does look like anything I have ever seen on any gas job....
Napa , Auto zone and Advanced Auto Parts does have it don't have it (nothing comes up in the computers on a cross refence).