[z80kid]

I was talking to a guy last night (a forum member, but I'll let him decide whether to identify himself :icon_wink: ) and complaining about the price of the pneumatic tensioner assembly.

He said that he has friends who run the Ford probe, which has the same thing. They just drill them out and run a bolt with a little loctite through them to provide the tension.

Huh? :icon_eek: I just spent $100 on a damn tensioner. And to be honest, I think I'd trust a bolt more than that damn thing.

Anyone else try this and care to comment?

BTW - thanks all for the answers to my engine swap questions. I got a short block that's going in next week (once I get my heads back from the machine shop). Guess I'll find out then if I'm any good at this stuff :icon_biggrin:

 

[flstffxe]

A bolt doesn't take up the slack as the belt heats up and grows slightly or stretches as it ages. It is set when the belt is put on and that is where it stays.

It is also a hydrolic tensioner not pneumatic. It has a spring which pushes on a piston with a hole/s in it to allow fluid to pass through from one side of the piston to the other side, thus working like a shock/strut to maintain consistent pressure on the belt.