1993 Dodge Caravan fanbelt tentioner

[quote:486876e8dd="runster"]1993 Dodge Caravan 6 cyl Four Wheel Drive Automatic 187127 miles

tentioner suddenly is slightly out of alignment so that it derailes the belt..happened suddenly and no apparant reason,what can i do?[/quote:486876e8dd]

Hello,

It could be that the Tensioner Spring has failed and you would need to replace the Tensioner Assembly.

It could also be the pulley itself either do to the bearings or ware on the outer edge.

So your best bet would be to replace the Assembly.


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have had the generator out,and the tentioner is really feeling hard when putting the belt back on...might i have bendt the assembly by applying to much force since it was feeling to hard?car is been standing for 2 years outside so corotion might have made it get sticky to operate..its bendt downwords so i was thinking as a temporary solution to bend it back up...however i cant find the bolts for the assembly to check if it has loosened either

[quote:7b5f089309="runster"]have had the generator out,and the tentioner is really feeling hard when putting the belt back on...might i have bendt the assembly by applying to much force since it was feeling to hard?car is been standing for 2 years outside so corotion might have made it get sticky to operate..its bendt downwords so i was thinking as a temporary solution to bend it back up...however i cant find the bolts for the assembly to check if it has loosened either[/quote:7b5f089309]


Ok, it is possible that you bent the tensioner bolt. To remove the assembly the bolt in the center is what holds it on.

You will need to replace the assembly.

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the bolt holding the wheel itself is not bendt,however the whole assembly is..i can determine that since there is a gap on top of the assembly wider then at the bottom...i already removed the wheel itself so im studdying the main assembly...i can bend it back,but i need to know where the main assembly bolts are located since i cant see or feel them,before bending it back i need to know that its not a loose bolt issue

It is difficult to get to there is a tool that I use....

[quote:b7166c6aec="runster"]the bolt holding the wheel itself is not bendt,however the whole assembly is..i can determine that since there is a gap on top of the assembly wider then at the bottom...i already removed the wheel itself so im studdying the main assembly...i can bend it back,but i need to know where the main assembly bolts are located since i cant see or feel them,before bending it back i need to know that its not a loose bolt issue[/quote:b7166c6aec]

The main bolt is in the center of the assembly... That is the bolt that I believe you have bent.


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since im a mechanic on most fields from ships to chainsaws i never used these sites,but my experience on american equipment is limited so i would say that you are helping exeptionally,i just need to know if its possible to wiew the main assembly bolts from any angle,using mirrors or whatever to see if they are ok

There is only one main bolt

my former car a chrysler voyager had problems keeping the fanbelt tight enough,and my car now dodge voyager had a stuck spring so putting the fanbelt on i bendt the main axel..for people with old versions of theese cars it might be a solution to do what i did since its an insanity to reach the bolts and remove the original assembly: i put a jack under the assembly with a piece of wood between,broke the assembly main bolt of and with some simple metal pieces laying around the garage i made a new assembly in under 2 hours that can be easily attached by just drilling 2 holes in the bracket under the servofluidtank,then after just adding longer bolts to the tank and putting it back...backdraw is that it will be a manual tentioner,but it can be ajusted up or down,and the angel of the fanwheel can altso be ajusted ..altso it takes me now 2 minutes to remove the whole assembly and makes it way easier to put on the belt alone..by adding a small metall angel with a hole in it to the top of it,and attaching a metalspring between that and the wheel housing it can be made semiautomatic in that u just loosen the main bolt in the drawing and the spring tightens the belt,and u just fasten it again..

forgot to say that you still use the main housing and beltwheel,only need to grind it a bit to fit the flat piece of metal used as adjuster and weld nuts on it for all bolts

Glad you go it going.

one last question...i took the magnetic switch from the backhatch of my voyager,mounted it on an already in place metalplate in front/top of the radiator under the grill,ran a short wire to the hoodreleasearm,replaced the main hoodspring with a less powerful one,and then just put a lead wire in to the cabin and trough a switch i put in the dash...so now the hood opens elecrically with just the touch of a button....noted that the electric switch could have been a bit stronger,but after lubing the mooving parts it works perfectly,and for electric failures there is the machanic opener as well...is this standard on new models of theese cars?

[quote:56b9664498="runster"]one last question...i took the magnetic switch from the backhatch of my voyager,mounted it on an already in place metalplate in front/top of the radiator under the grill,ran a short wire to the hoodreleasearm,replaced the main hoodspring with a less powerful one,and then just put a lead wire in to the cabin and trough a switch i put in the dash...so now the hood opens elecrically with just the touch of a button....noted that the electric switch could have been a bit stronger,but after lubing the mooving parts it works perfectly,and for electric failures there is the machanic opener as well...is this standard on new models of theese cars?[/quote:56b9664498]

If you are talking about an electric hood release I honestly do know I haven't run into any as of 2003 and 2004 models haven't worked on any newer.


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ok...just thought that since its seemed the obious for me to do when i saw the amount of work it took to replace the wireassembly originally installed it would be standard on newer models since all needed is already in place in those cars for the most part..by the way,sorry i cant rate ur help,when i try i just get "why give zero"whatever i try to give as points,but im just a blond viking,might be im doing it wrong :)

[quote:aec2998475="runster"]ok...just thought that since its seemed the obious for me to do when i saw the amount of work it took to replace the wireassembly originally installed it would be standard on newer models since all needed is already in place in those cars for the most part..by the way,sorry i cant rate ur help,when i try i just get "why give zero"whatever i try to give as points,but im just a blond viking,might be im doing it wrong :)[/quote:aec2998475]

No problem your not doing anything wrong. You don't have any points to give. You collect points as you post questions. My feedback point are so low because I answer alot of first time posters who don't have points to give.


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