[hamada128]

1993 2.3 102.985 engine with 303,000 miles.

The belt will make a squeak noise when starting the car from cold and goes away quickly.
I tried to re-tighten the belt couple times but I noticed it will have some slack after a while.
Could it just be a bad tensioner pulley? can I replace the pulley itself without taking the whole tensioner assembly out?
Or is it the tensioner damper shock bushings are bad?
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Check Codes]

How old is the belt?

 

[hamada128]

Belt was replaced in August 2013 with CRP-Contitech brand and shows no signs of cracks or damage.

 

[Josh]

I have the same deal with a new belt I recently put in, in the 16V, but it's usually not a cold/hot weather issue, but rather a humidity thing for me. We've had incredibly humid weather the last two weeks, and today was probably the height of it so far.

Squealed for about two minutes before it went away; haven't checked the slack today, but I'm probably going to need to just do the whole tensioner and then test with my belt tension gauge.

I should also note the suspect area for me where I hear it squeal is the alternator pulley.

 

[hamada128]

We have been having snow/rain in the past few weeks btw.

 

[slk230red]

I've bought 4 belt tensioner assemblies for my '93 since new. I bought a new belt a few months ago and thought I would see if the tensioner was still good. Of course not, went to tighten up the belt, and there goes the crappy rubber.
Busted.....installed a new tensioner the next day. For me, it's not mileage but age of the parts.

After you tighten the belt, push down and see if it returns to a tight position. If not, do yourself a favor and install new tensioner assembly.

 

[hamada128]

The only issue for me in the meantime is the cold weather to change the whole assembly and I thought it could be the pulley that is deteriorating and it's faster to replace it now till it gets warmer.

 

[slk230red]

The only issue for me in the meantime is the cold weather to change the whole assembly and I thought it could be the pulley that is deteriorating and it's faster to replace it now till it gets warmer.

That's true if you think the pulley is defective. Do you have a replacement pulley? I have a couple.

 

[hamada128]

I don't have a pulley yet, but I want to make sure that a pulley could fail and cause the belt to loose tension and also to verify it could be replaced without needing to remove the whole assembly.

 

[slk230red]

I don't have a pulley yet, but I want to make sure that a pulley could fail and cause the belt to loose tension and also to verify it could be replaced without needing to remove the whole assembly.

If the pulley were to fail it would more than likely make noise, not cause the belt to lose tension. The tension is provided by the rubber being twisted in the assembly. On the extreme side, if the pulley bearings were to come apart, then yes, it could cause some loosening. If that were the case, you should see a wobbly pulley. I've seen one in this condition before.

Yes, you can replace the pulley without removing the assembly. Remove the round cap on the front of the pulley and you will see the bolt that attaches to the assembly. But you will have to release the tension first.

The 2.3 is really easy to replace the tensioner assembly. If you do replace it, be sure to check the condition of the little shock absorber.

 

[hamada128]

Thanks SLK.

 

[hamada128]

So I tried to replace the tensioner pulley and I stripped the Hex bolt trying to remove it. Can I still replace the whole tensioner assembly with this situation?

 

[Check Codes]

So I tried to replace the tensioner pulley and I stripped the Hex bolt trying to remove it. Can I still replace the whole tensioner assembly with this situation?

That sucks. It's too common with older cars, but it still sucks.

Autohausaz.com has the whole assembly in the Febi brand, which includes a new bolt, spacer and bracket, so I think you should be fine going that route: Febi 1022006970A Belt Tensioner Assembly

It's $100 I'm sure you didn't want to spend, but what price excellence?

Good luck.

 

[slk230red]

So I tried to replace the tensioner pulley and I stripped the Hex bolt trying to remove it. Can I still replace the whole tensioner assembly with this situation?

Yes, but you will still need to remove the old pulley to remove the little shock absorber to switch over to the new tensioner. You will also need to remove the pulley on the new one to make the switch.

I haven't tried it without removing the pulley.

Good luck

 

[hamada128]

Yes, but you will still need to remove the old pulley to remove the little shock absorber to switch over to the new tensioner. You will also need to remove the pulley on the new one to make the switch.

I haven't tried it without removing the pulley.

Good luck

I am planning to replace the shock as well.
Can I just remove the shock bolt on the other end away from the tensioner and pull it with the tensioner assembly?

 

[slk230red]

I am planning to replace the shock as well.
Can I just remove the shock bolt on the other end away from the tensioner and pull it with the tensioner assembly?

Yes, that's how I do it.

 

[hamada128]

That sucks. It's too common with older cars, but it still sucks.

Autohausaz.com has the whole assembly in the Febi brand, which includes a new bolt, spacer and bracket, so I think you should be fine going that route: Febi 1022006970A Belt Tensioner Assembly

It's $100 I'm sure you didn't want to spend, but what price excellence?

Good luck.

How good is the Febi brand mentioned here? is it reliable?

 

[Check Codes]

Febi is related to Bilstein, and I'm sure you are familiar with that name. They are one of the OE suppliers to many euro manufacturers, including MB (though I don't know if they were the OE supplier on this particular part). I've used Febi parts on my W210 (I think my idler pulley and either the bushings or links on the sway bar, maybe both, and I have a flex disc to install as PM) and haven't had any problems. Personally, I would trust this part if I had a 201. And DP's problems notwithstanding, I don't think it causes any stalling.

I also noted autohausaz.com, but fcpeuro has the same thing for $82 with free shipping (kind of surprising to see autohausaz undercut by that much):
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vw-a-c-drive-belt-fastback-1022006970

The dreaded URO part is $50, so you know it's not that.

 

[hamada128]

I am able to pick up the Febi locally today for $85 from a European parts supplier but I wanted to make sure if it is good because sometimes Febi has some parts made in China.

 

[Check Codes]

I am able to pick up the Febi locally today for $85 from a European parts supplier but I wanted to make sure if it is good because sometimes Febi has some parts made in China.

Well, many manufacturers do that nowadays, and simply being made in China isn't automatically a killer since they can and do build to spec. If the country of origin concerns you then you may want to go with the MB part, though it's over $200 and that's at a decent discount.

I think it's great you have a local supplier with prices like that!

In any event, hopefully someone will chime in who has actually used the Febi tensioner on their car and can tell you their results. Did you search the forum for that? It might turn up some hits, either here or MB World.