has anyone changed the Tensioner on their LS?

rickztahone

rickztahone

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so i purchased the tensioner and belt from Max at 5 star Ford a few weeks back. i took my car to the mechanic to drop of my car and parts. he calls me about half an hour later and tells me the tensioner part is wrong. i go over there and he shows me that the pulley on the tensioner is too small compared to the one that i had on there already (OEM i presume). also, the bolt is shorter and thicker and does not fit at all seeing as it is a different thread size. i figured Max had sent me the wrong part. Max is out on saturday, but i talk to another worker and i tell him the part number (4L8Z-6B209-AA). He assures me that that is the part and i try to explain that the part is not correct. so then i go to the local Ford dealer and ask them to give me the correct part, of course they offer me the exact same one! it just doesn't fit and i'm at a loss as to what to do. i had to paid this mechanic $120 to remove and re-install my old tensioner! and i still have to pay him another $120 for the next go around if i even get my hands on the right one.

my questions is, What the hell is going on? why do they have this part for the 2001 LS V8 if it obviously doesn't fit. if i'm telling them that it doesn't fit why do they feel the need to tell me that that is the part. it's like trying to put a square block in a circular hole. i'll talk to max tomorrow but i'm sure he'll just tell me that that is the correct part and i will have to ship back to get credit. meanwhile i'm going to be SOL finding a replacement one.

btw, this is just dealing with the tensioner. i got the 2 other pulley's from that same dealer and it turns out that one isn't even the right one. just because it shows up in the system as being the part doesn't mean it's going to fit.

what do i do? i have an old tensioner and the old belt and i'm out $120 lol.
 
A picture of the old one and the new one side by side would help. Sometimes the new part does look like the old one, but still works correctly. Other times, the parts list is wrong. If the old pulley had shoulders and the new one doesn't, then the new one should still be correct. I assume that there was more to it than that. Of course, having the wrong bolt points to that too. I'd ask to look at the 2000 tensioner and the 2002 tensioner. I've had more than one car that had half its parts from the prior or post model year.
 
Same thing happened to me... turns out that Ford has superceeded all the years to the latest part. You can use it - just use the original bolts and there is enough tension to pick up the slack. Save yourself the money - it's a 15min DIYer job.
 
Lincoln Jealous said:
of course quik would say something like that haha
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you should get the green angel eyes!

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joegr said:
A picture of the old one and the new one side by side would help. Sometimes the new part does look like the old one, but still works correctly. Other times, the parts list is wrong. If the old pulley had shoulders and the new one doesn't, then the new one should still be correct. I assume that there was more to it than that. Of course, having the wrong bolt points to that too. I'd ask to look at the 2000 tensioner and the 2002 tensioner. I've had more than one car that had half its parts from the prior or post model year.
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i would have taken a side by side but the old part was already installed when i thought about it.

Quik LS said:
Same thing happened to me... turns out that Ford has superceeded all the years to the latest part. You can use it - just use the original bolts and there is enough tension to pick up the slack. Save yourself the money - it's a 15min DIYer job.
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thank you very much quick. i did consider this but seeing as the pulley is a lot smaller i figured it might not be the right part anyway. so, with the diameter of the pulley being smaller, doesn't this affect the slack that the belt has? this was my only concern when the mechanic told me he could do that. i didn't want to agree to change out a part and it turns out that i can't return the part once that doesn't pan out. also, i got the idler pulley and i'm not sure if the other is also called the idler pulley but i also got both of those from the dealer and it turns out that the bottom one, the one with the flange does fit but the top one, which is suppose to be smooth, isn't the same. do you know if this part was also superceeded? the part i got had like to "walls" or flange like pieces instead of the flange. wtf?
 
I was pleasantly surprised to find that when I needed a new tensioner for the former wife's Marauder, my FLAPS had it in stock. It may be worth it to just check what the local auto parts store has available if Ford is cramming a part that will barely cut it due to reduced pulley diameter.
 
rickztahone said:
i would have taken a side by side but the old part was already installed when i thought about it.



thank you very much quick. i did consider this but seeing as the pulley is a lot smaller i figured it might not be the right part anyway. so, with the diameter of the pulley being smaller, doesn't this affect the slack that the belt has? this was my only concern when the mechanic told me he could do that. i didn't want to agree to change out a part and it turns out that i can't return the part once that doesn't pan out. also, i got the idler pulley and i'm not sure if the other is also called the idler pulley but i also got both of those from the dealer and it turns out that the bottom one, the one with the flange does fit but the top one, which is suppose to be smooth, isn't the same. do you know if this part was also superceeded? the part i got had like to "walls" or flange like pieces instead of the flange. wtf?
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The smaller diameter pulley should work just fine. The tensioner arm will move enough to adjust for the size change. Ribs on the idler should be okay if the ribbed side of the belt is against the pulley.
 
+1, the diameter shouldn't matter all that much, the belt just needs something decent to turn around. The spring on the tensioner arm provides the tension.
 
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