Belt Tensioner Assembly

[Zetor]

I need to replace the tensioner assembly on my 1998 Dodge caravan. There is no bolt to remove, as it looks like the entire assembly turns. Any help you could give on removing and replacing this item would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Zetor

[rduke]

I just changed my tensioner in a 97 caravan with the 3.3 liter engine. It is pretty hard to change but can be done if I can do it. You have to take the belt off first. Use a 15 mm wrench to turn the bolt in the middle of the tensioner to the right. This makes slack in the belt and you can pull it off one of the pulleys. Be careful as the tensioner is very strong. There is a 15mm nut on the back of the tensioner. That is all you have to remove to pull the tensioner off. Access to it looks just about impossible at first. You have to jack the car up and go under it with a flashlight to see it. I was able to get a 15mm wrench up there by contorting my arm. I had to just crank it down when replacing it since there was no room for a torque wrench. This part has broken twice on my car so I just changed that and the water pump to be safe.

The spark plugs are just about impossible on the back side. I was able to get the number one plug changed by moving the alternator. This is what the Haynes manual says to do. The number 3 and 5 look really hard to get at. The book says something about removing the resonator and taking off some support bar, but I have not been able to get it off yet. If anyone has a tip for the rear plugs please let me know.

regards

[zetopt]

You can actually buy a tool (Flat and long with the 15mm socket) a any auto parts store that makes it easier to get the torque on the tensioner. Fairly inexpensive.(Check Auto Stores have it)

[MikeSam]

rduke;
you can change the back spark plugs by removing the top plenum. It takes a quite for a while to remove the plenum, but it is quite simple job.. just takes time. Just make sure you have new plenum gasket ready before removing it to save time. Once you remove the plenum, it is real simple job to change the spark plugs and oxygen sensors. The spark plugs of my car were changed 2 years ago by pep boys, and I realized that they misthreaded and overtightened the spark plugs and they did not connect the plug cable correctly after I decided to change again by myself because of the rough idle.

Mike from Ohio

[jaysonsperling]

If you're talking about the belt tensioner tool that you can use to pull the tensioner down to get the belt off, it's a long flat bar with a handle that you can use. I've used them before, very nifty to use. (trust me, I know; I've goten a regular socket wrench *stuck* on that bolt before, had to saw it off...)

But if you're talking about an extension that goes onto an actual torque wrench, then be careful - you must recalculate the torque that's required to set the bolt correctly since a horizontal extension will change the given torque

Originally Posted by zetopt

You can actually buy a tool (Flat and long with the 15mm socket) a any auto parts store that makes it easier to get the torque on the tensioner. Fairly inexpensive.(Check Auto Stores have it)