1996 Grand Caravan 3.3L belt tensioner issue

My belts are squealing on my battlecruiser.

I replaced my belt and water pump (it seized on me and shredded the old
belt) a few months ago and the new belt I installed has been squealing
ever since. I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to adjust the
tensioner on this thing to make it stop. How do I do it? I've tried to
turn the nut on it and can't get it to budge and I'm not all that sure
that that'll do it anyways.

Any suggestions?

 

Well first of all if your water pump went bad the chances of the belt
tensioner caused it and the squealing.
The tensioner is a self adjusting part. If it is seized up it will cause
damage to the water pump and cause the belt to squeal. If the tensioner has
never been replaced now would be a good time to do it.
Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Nononononono... I caused it to seize. You know the little hole that
drips coolant when the seal goes bad??? Well... me being the lazy-ass
procrastinator I am, instead of changing the pump, I plugged up the
hole. The pump eventually seized and I replaced it the next morning.

Odd part about it was that I picked up a new pump the morning it seized.

 

if it isn't moving it is siezed

 

please explain your version to me so i can learn on how a bad tensoner would
break a otherwise good
waterpump??

 

Your misdiagnosing allot of vehicles dirty

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

The tensioner doesen't have to seize to go bad. All the tensioner does is
use
a big spring to apply tension to the belt - and you ever notice how over
time the
springs in your sofa get crushed down and sag and lose their springiness?
Same
thing happens here. Once the tensioner's spring has sagged it won't apply
the
right tension and the belt will start slipping, which makes it squeal.

Ted

 

My tensioner was making a heck of a racket - a very high pitched
squeel, difficult to hear, and even more difficult to pinpoint the
location. Once I did, I shut the engine down, released the tension and
slipped off the belt. I then spun the tensioner spindle by hand. You
could hear that the bearing was shot.

After consulting this group, I learned that I was right in the mileage
range that these tensioners tend to "go". I had the tensioner
replaced, and voila! problem solved.

Only thing that concerned me was that the original tensioner had a
metal wheel on it. The new one is plastic! <sigh>

Oh well...

 

--

Hey Ted, What normally causes the tensioner to sag is the fact that it
starts to lock up. Hit the accelerator pedal and watch the tensioner spring
forward... when the tensioner seizes up it does not spring forward and pulls
on the water pump. Have you ever seen a tensioner completely snap off?
That's because the tensioner is not doing its job and twists at the stud
which over time will just break off. Since the water pump bearing is weaker
then the stud, the water pump goes out first.
Most people simply replace the water pump as Dirty does. And when the
tensioner is seized up the water pump will normally fail again.
Bu your right the tensioner does not have to seize up to go bad.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

on the 2003 Caravan, is the tensioner the same design. Instead of waiting
for it to go bad, is there a mileage we should change it as preventative
maintenance.
Tx

 

On a 3.3, I had a tensioner seize and snap completely off with
relatively low mileage.Put the pivot stud in torsion and twisted it
off. popped the belt in two when it did it. vehicle didn't have 20K
on it. I would check the bearing and replace the tensioner if it is
not free and quiet.

Frank

 

REPOST
Hey Ted, What normally causes the tensioner to sag is the fact that it
starts to lock up. Hit the accelerator pedal and watch the tensioner spring
forward... when the tensioner seizes up it does not spring forward and pulls
on the water pump. Have you ever seen a tensioner completely snap off?
That's because the tensioner is not doing its job and twists at the stud
which over time will just break off. Since the water pump bearing is weaker
then the stud, the water pump goes out first.
Most people simply replace the water pump as Dirty does. And when the
tensioner is seized up the water pump will normally fail again.
Bu your right the tensioner does not have to seize up to go bad.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Can't vouch for the 2003, but on my 1994 the mechanic said that they
usually tend to fail - in general - somewhere between 150,000 kms and
180,000 kms. Since I was at about 165,000 kms, after reading posts on
this group, it seemed like good preventive maintenance (especially
since the bearing was squeeling). Failure of this part WILL leave you
stranded. Who needs the hassle?

 

Holy twisted metal Batman! That's nasty, and - from what I understand
- not typical. I trust that was fixed under warranty?

 

Yes, but not without a fight. Dealer claimed it was an uncovered
normal wear part. At less than 20K. Go figure. As I recall, they
finally agreed to do the work, I had to pay for the towing to get it
to them.

Also had one go bad on a 3.8, but that vehicle had about 70K miles at
the time it went bad. same thing, locked up (the pivot arm) and
popped the belt. This one didn't twist off but stayed locked up and
had to be replaced.

Frank

 

I've never had it happen but a friend of mine has a great story when he
was helping a friend of his drive a UHaul truck to Texas - the tensioner
fell off the engine in the parking lot of a good old boys bar somewhere in
Kansas.

Ted

 

what really sucks is when the tensioner breaks off and hits the P/S pulley
(plastic) and breaks a chunk out to it. Put the tensioner on and the belt
and then see the pulley. that pulley is a pain in the but to R&R.

 

When did they go to plastic? Both my 94 and 95 vans have metal pulleys
on their PS pumps.

Ted

 

--

I think right around 96 is when they started, and they are plastic up till
now

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech