I've managed to isolate a noise in the engine compartment of my '01 TL and am pretty confident it is the bearing in the pulley of the alternator belt tensioner. New part in hand, I tried to remove the tensioner assembly.....would not come out. It would turn where it fits into the engine but would not come out. Looking for some ideas on this, the shop manual says remove 3 bolts and then remove the assembly, not happening. I'll try this again if someone has an idea.

Mike

 

Is it the 3 bolts that won't come out....or is it that the tensioner won't break free from the block after the mounting bolts are all removed ?

If it's tight bolts, perhaps a thread locker was previously applied, spray with WD40 and apply more pressure using a 6pt socket . If it's just the tensioner assembly being stubborn, try oiling behind it and gently prying.

 

Bolts came out fine, WD40 sprayed between the tensioner and the block. Pried, tapped with a block of wood, cursed at it, said please. This thing will not come away from the block.

 

um..what kind of noise did it make? because I'm experiencing some rattling noise on my 08 TL, figured it'd be accessory belt tensioner.

 

Kevin: Tensioner noise (mine was a rattle, others had grinding) is worse when AC is on. You can pop your hood and look right down to the tensioner (below the altenator) and hear the rattle get worse when the AC is turned on.

Wes: As for why the tensioner won't come off the block--You removed all THREE bolts including the one in the center of the tensioner? Others have forgotten about that small bolt before!

 

Dude I had the same problem. I had my engine out, and wanted to replace the tensioner. With all the space in the world, I couldn't get that thing out. I ended up just replacing the pulley.

I really think the manual is missing something, because I pulled those three bolts and it didn't budge.

 

So if ya already got the new "auto-tensioner assembly"....check out the rear of it's mounting flange and look things over. It may be that the tensioner requires the preload to be removed by moving the pulley ccw ? There are range reference marks/pointer on the assembly. If with-in the marks, tensioner should be still good.

As Karanx7 just said, most times the pulley's bearing are what actually goes bad with the assembly. The pulley's retaining bolt has "LH threads"....so use caution when removing the pulley.

 

^^^What he said. Between the locating pin and the belt tension, some of them are really difficult. That is if you haven't already done that. If you've got whirring, or grinding, it's usually just the pulley. If it rattles, clatters, sounds "wobbly", it's probably the tensioner pivot.

 

Are you talking about the accessories (A/C) tensioner? If yes, there are two bolts on the unit, and one in the middle of the pulley wheel. that middle bolt is reverse thread. I replaced it while doing the TB, but you will have problem removing the middle bolt as there is not enough clearance. I replaced just wheel, not the whole unit.