Lubricating Belt Tensioners?

[ShamelessTR]

So I'm a long time reader, first time poster here on w-body. What brings me to finally join is a question I have searched far and wide (Google...) for an answer to. Has anyone ever had any luck lubricating the oe coil style belt tensioners? I imagine getting anything inside the Dayco flat springs would be impossible, but it looks to me to have a little "service" window where, in travel, you can see most of the spring? If a noisy spring is your only problem is there really a need to replace a 100 Dollars worth of tensioners? What, if anything, have you used?

 

P.S. My vehicle is a 97 Pontiac GP GTP, with just north of 205k, she runs great, just starting to get a little noisy in her old age.

Edited May 9, 2014 by ShamelessTR

[Psych0matt]

I'm not sure if that's doable, but I just replaced mine (in my 92) for $27

[mfewtrail]

Try spraying it with some white lithium grease in an aerosol can.

[Schurkey]

So I'm a long time reader, first time poster here on w-body. What brings me to finally join is a question I have searched far and wide (Google...) for an answer to. Has anyone ever had any luck lubricating the oe coil style belt tensioners? I imagine getting anything inside the Dayco flat springs would be impossible, but it looks to me to have a little "service" window where, in travel, you can see most of the spring? If a noisy spring is your only problem is there really a need to replace a 100 Dollars worth of tensioners? What, if anything, have you used?

 

P.S. My vehicle is a 97 Pontiac GP GTP, with just north of 205k, she runs great, just starting to get a little noisy in her old age.

Which is noisy--the pulley or the tensioner arm?

 

Bearings should be sealed, and the pulley is likely to be replaceable separately anyway for less than thirty bucks. Not a thing you can do with the pulley except replace it, unless you feel the urge to pop the bearings out and put in new ones--which probably costs more than the replacement pulley AND leaves you with the worn pulley surface.

 

The tensioner arm shouldn't require lube. If it's jumping around, something else is wrong.

 

The last time I had a "noisy" tensioner, (Ram truck) there was an idler pulley with a bad bearing about six inches to the left that was the real problem.

[Psych0matt]

yeah, as I was saying before I had a squeaking issue that I thought was my AC, but narrowed it down to the tensioner. I went to replace the pulley, and when I put it back in the tensioner arm broke (probably original), so I still need to return that pulley, but got the whole unit for under $30, fixed up everything.

[ShamelessTR]

Which is noisy--the pulley or the tensioner arm?

 

Bearings should be sealed, and the pulley is likely to be replaceable separately anyway for less than thirty bucks. Not a thing you can do with the pulley except replace it, unless you feel the urge to pop the bearings out and put in new ones--which probably costs more than the replacement pulley AND leaves you with the worn pulley surface.

 

The tensioner arm shouldn't require lube. If it's jumping around, something else is wrong.

 

The last time I had a "noisy" tensioner, (Ram truck) there was an idler pulley with a bad bearing about six inches to the left that was the real problem.

 

 

The coil spring in the tensioner just makes some popping when it starts to move from the place it's sat for years and years. The pulleys are all fine, and in fact I just threw a 3.5 Pulley on the supercharger tensioner to help take some more of the slack out of that belt. I hit 'em both with a nice long blast of WDs White Lithium and worked them back and forth until they stopped making noise. They move free enough in their travel, have a fair amount of tension on them, and don't seem to move awkwardly. All the pulleys are in fair condition, but I cleaned up their surfaces with an emery cloth all the same. Going to be building a S/C in the near future to replace our second... or third stock replacement.