Expert: Sean Halliday - 8/28/2006

Question
On my astro the tensioner pully is all the way to the left.  It does move to the right when I move it but when the motor is on it stays all the way over to the left.  There is a squeaking in the pully that subsides once it runs for a bit.  I was going to replace the whole assembly but I cannot find in my book how to do it.  I was wondering if you could give me some insight on this.  Thank you.

Answer
Offhand i believe there is a bolt up the middle of the pulley but im not too familiar with this car.It may have a complete assembly which means you have to remove the belt and look for any bolts holding the tensioner to the engine,usually 2 or 3,sometimes the bolt is a torx right in the middle of the pulley.This requires a special socket ..if in doubt your parts store will have the replacement and you can see how its fitted or simply ask the guy in the store but these are really not difficult to fit.As for the squeek ,most pulleys do squeek some but if youre thinking its worn out then replace it.All tensioners are spring loaded as to take up the tension automatically on the belt so it will stay all the way either left or right depending on the vehicle.