tensioner pulley replacement
 

Does anyone have a DIY or any info?

I am looking in the mazda manual and its kinda confusing...also the tensioner pulley doesnt even look like the one I have (i have a extra off of my old motor).

Any help would be appreciated.

i havent really looked into my speed3's tensioner pulley but ive replaced pulley on the mazda6. If its any different which im not 100% sure but the tensioner should be bolted down by 3 bolts.

First you must take the belt off. Put a 1/2" ratched onto the slot on the tensioner and either push or pull till you see the belt loosen up. Slip the belt off from there.
***make sure you draw a belt diagram so you dont forget how they went on because you dont want to put the belt back on wrong or it might not even go back on.

take the 3 bolts off (if its a 3 bolt tensioner)

take off the old tensioner put new one on. Tighten bolts down (do not overtighten)

Put belt back on while pivoting the tensioner with the 1/2" ratched like you did to loosen it.


Ill check mine out tomorrow to and will repost if i need to make adjustments to the directions.

^^^
this.

its that easy. should take around 20 minutes. taking your passenger side wheel off might make the process easier.

yea they are right, i had to do it last year. i was actually pissed bc i heard the rattle sound forever and couldn't figure it out, i thaught it was my catt so i took down my downpip went through a hot mess and in the end it wasn't even that, finally we looked over it again and it turned out to be the tensioner pulley, i was pissed. but yea tops 20min if you know what your doing and an extra hand helps.

oops, i never mentioned taking the wheel off part. Lets make that step 1

Alright I replaced the tensioner and it fixed the problem!

I didn't have to take the wheel off actually...

It wasnt a 1/2 inch wrench. It was a 14mm. Just put it on the bolt that is right on the pully...and turn it clockwise and it will lift the entire pully up.

It took a little wiggling to get the belt off. It was a really tight fit. Using a screwdriver as a lever to peel the belt off of the pulley helps.

The tensioner was held on by 2 10mm bolts that were torqued down pretty hard...then the tensioner came right off.

Installed the other one...slid the belt back over in the reverse order of taking it off...and it was done.

Started the car up...no problems...no squealing when its cold...no rattle.

Can you give us a bit more of a description of the original problem?

It sounds like you left a tool lying somwhere in your engine bay and you cant find it, just vibrating and rattling.

Mazda only sells the entire assembly... the "Duralast 231015" (AutoZone house brand) is just the plastic pulley tensioner thing and it sounds like you can get it for 14 bucks

this is what you guys were talking about eh?

(and when he said 1/2" ratchet I dont think he was talking about the size of the socket... I think he meant a 1/2" ratchet rather than a 3/8" or 1/4")

and I still barely know what Im looking for haha... is it under the alternator? If so I think taking the wheel off would make it much easier...

napa sells the gates brand tensioner assembly and it's not plastic. it's really easy to do. you just have to remove the under tray.

Fuck. I think I have this. 2009, less than 6k. It rattles when I'm idling under 1000 RPM, sounds like it's coming from RMM area.

sounds like you have it.
warranty it? i doubt they can prove that bolt ons caused your tensioner to go bad.
or just buy one. easy as shit to install.

thanks I need to do this, stealer wants $280!
I thought it was a ripoff.
So how much for the tensioner ? Is it dealer only or can you go after market ?
Does the napa gates brand work ok ?
Thanks!!!!!!

try an online arts warehouse or something. dealers are expensive.

looks like the part itself is just over $100...check mazda-parts.com or onlinemazdaparts.com

does anyone have the part number of the tensioner ?

found this on mazda-parts.com:
Belts & pulleys, Serpentine tensioner
MazdaSpeed3
MAINTENANCE & LUBRICATION »Engine service
Mazda › Mazda3 › 2007-2009
List Price : $148.11
Your Price : $106.62 -


Found this at NAPA:

Drivebelt Tensioner Assy
Product Line: NAPA Belts & Hoses
Part Number: NBH 38408
Application Information: 2007 Mazda 3
Engines : 2.3 L 2261 CC L4 DOHC 16 Valve
Engine Aspirations : Turbo
Price: 49.49 Each
http://partimages.genpt.com/partimages/774486.jpg


Any reason to NOT go with the Napa part (Gates) instead of the Mazda ? The mazda part must not be that great anyhow, mine's rattling at 40k and wankular's is acting up at 6k.

mine started around 40k as well, let us know on that NAPA part

it sounded like the thing at autozone was not that thing... it sounded like some little plastic doohickey

USAllparts.com - Duralast [231015] Belt Tensioner Pulley "Standard" CT-BL262W-TP1 <-- just the wheel? I feel like the NAPA thing is more sufficient to our needs

i'd be willing to bet that the NAPA part is just as good as the mazda one...good find, flyrevs...i'll be hitting that up if i ever have tensioner problems...:D

I am waking up this thread from the dead!

I looked at rockauto and it looks like they sell the tensioner and the pulley seperately. If you are getting a belt rattle the source is from the pully bearing right? Should the whole assembly just be replaced if the noise is present?

go to napa and get theirs. Mine has been good ever since I replaced it last summer. By assembly... you mean the tensioner? Like... everything that bolts on. If so, then yes, replace it all. It's cheap

there is nothing to "wake up" on this thread. The info is here, do it.

yea, I was wondering if the assembly has the tesnioner pully included. I'm guessing it does based on the pictures.

I ordered the part from NAPA. Once it comes in I will install it. I hope it's as easy as everyone says it is.

:sucks:

More revival.
So when you put your wrench to a bolt and it breaks http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/fc6efcac.jpg like its made of butter, and it's the top one http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/1850a93f.jpg that you can't see, you disconnect the pmm http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/5542e052.jpg to lower the engine so you can drill out that butter bolt.
But when it doesn't drill out, you drill through it, and break a carbide drill in the hole that you have to smash out with a tool steel screw driver. The you can get a longer bolt that goes through the mounting flange, and put a nut on in, since the threads you cut for a new butter bolt are cheese threads. Then when you start your car you can still hear the noise because it's you idler. Not your tensioner.
I've been soaking that bolt with pb blaster for days, hoping it doesn't suffer the same fate.
I believe if that bolt breaks I'll need to pull the motor to drill it out.
Fml.

I continued to hear the rattle after my tensioner replacement and when I looked into it a little deeper it was actually my timing chain. I got it replaced and now everything is nice and quiet.

That's not what I want to hear.
I have all the parts for the timing chain job, but DO NOT want to do it.
I'd rather give it to someone and let them pull the motor and drill out all the broken bolts than try to do it in the wheel well and on my back.

I hear ya, I took it in to have it done. I would have done it if my engine was already out but it is tight in there with the engine still installed.

The easiest way to tell if it is your timing chain is to pull the oil cap and check for slack in the chain. I was able to basically pull the chain up off of the sprocket.

Oh I know all the symptoms.
My chain is loose when cold.
Tight at operating temp.

Mine chain was loose all of the time.....

Getting ready to change out the pulleys this weekend. I am about 90% sure that is what my noise is that I have not been to figure out.

Try screwdriver trick?

I'd double check the timing chain again to be sure because my new chain is tight when cold and hot.

There is sections of the chain where there is supposed to be slack, even when warm.
To properly check for a stretched chain, you need to take the valve cover off and have cylinder 1 at tdc.

True but when my chain was making a lot of noise, I was able to lift it off of the sprocket through the oil filler hole (tensioner was shot and chain was stretched). If your not able to do that and still suspect the chain, then yea remove the valve cover and take the appropriate measurements.

I seem to have one of these issues either in the tensioner or the chain. time to look a little closer! hope its not the chain but..... the sound....sound chainy lol:laugh:

Belt tensioner and idler pulley are both easy to check and replace.

Yea, I was hoping it was the belt tensioner and idler pully so I changed them anyway but I still heard the rattle. When I got my new timing chain everything became nice and quiet again (well, until I got my engine mounts).

I don't know if it's my tensioner or timing chain that needs fixed, but when I drive by a wall or a building on my right side, where my engine noise kinda echoes, I get an almost metallic/slight grinding noise, not so much a rattle. Is this a result of the tensioner or the timing chain? I'm at 55k miles, and had the tensioner replaced almost a year ago. I'm thinking timing chain..? Thinking about going to the dealer for the VVT recall, but it's such a pain in my ass :(

Same thing I heard when my timing chain needed replacing. Easiest way to tell is to remove the oil filler cap and see if you can lift the chain off of the sprocket (do this when the engine is cold).

Like I said, hot or cold, when the engine isn't running, there are spots in the crank rotation where the chain will have slack.
Checking through the oil filler cap should not be taken as a definitive test for chain stretch.

Not trying to jack the thread, but I had a funny but good experience with my local dealer on this issue. I had the same sound as OP which I thought was the tensioner. But since I was about to hit the 70,000 mark, I took it to the dealer for them to check. Mind you, now, I have a catless dp/rp on this car, upgraded pump, aftermarket CAI (but Mazda's) the Grimmspeed EBCS (in two port mode, though), and all other mods in sig. I only flashed ECU back to stock. What do you think dealer did?

They said it needed VVT part and new timing chain and COVERED IT UNDER WARRANTY free! So I got the fix. But, guess what? When I picked it up, it was still making the same sound I dropped it off with. I called it to the attention of the tech. He located it with a stethoscope. it is the tensioner!

They want $280. So, I'm getting the $50 NAPA tensioner and will fix it myself, now that I'm sure of the diagnosis. But I got a new chain and VVT actuator. Free and with my mods. No questions asked. Strange.

I got a Gates Tensioner from Rock Auto for like $35 and its a quality piece. It says its made in Canada not China. If you're in there you could do the relay roller too its actually easier than the Tensioner.

So i think i might need to do this.

The dealer says it is just the idle pulley bolt. Is this a different pulley or the same pulley. Can only the bolt be replaced?

The idler is different from the tensioner.
Do them both and the belt well you're down there.
Piece of mind.

Been looking all over for info on the idler bolt haven't found much. Any idea of the OEM part number. I guess I could try and dredge through the shop manual but trying to find shit in that sucks imho

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Use onlinemazdaparts.com usually how I find all my part #'s..

I tried searching for idler and didn't find anything.

I will just call MSM tomorrow they will help me find it. Was planning on ordering from msm anyways

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

The pulley comes with a new bolt.
Mazda 3 Accessory Belt Idler Pulley - Idler Pulley - Gates Dayco - 12 11 10 09 - PartsGeek.com

Needed help with diagnosis, and I found this thread and figured that this was my problem. I took a video of the sound my car started making this morning. You can hear the rattle best towards the end of the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FaAp...ature=youtu.be


Is that a sympton of either the tensioner or idler on its way out? I'm at 76,000 miles so I figured I may as well replace both.

Yes.

sounds exactly as my car has for 5k miles LOL

What a fucking nightmare that was. A 20 minute job turned into a 3 hour job after I snapped the upper tensioner bolt clean off. I had to remove 2 motor mounts and the hood, hook up an engine hoist (thank God I parked my car underneath the overhead hoist unbeknownst I would have to use it) and lower the engine out the bottom of the car in order to drill out the remainder of the bolt.

I had to do what Tokay did and use a new bolt with a nut on the other end because of the now drilled out threads, which was a royal pain in the ass unto itself in such a confined space. I don't even know what that little brass spacer thing is behind that bolt hole, but its marred to shit because of all the drilling I had to do.

Fuck that, next time I'll leave it. I'd rather listen to the rattling then go through that bullshit again.

They make cars out of butter these days.

Goodyear Belt, tensioner and idler part numbers found, I think
 

Can you guys tell me if these are correct part numbers? I've done allot of research at rock auto and summit and this is what I came up with, look right?


Attachment 103459

Yup

got the tensioner pulley from napa today. went to change it but didn't really notice the ticking noise today. pulled the tire and started the car and i heard it. it seemed to be coming from the idle pulley. is this one the idle pulley? from a previous post this is only $9.00???? ill change them both probably but if i don't have to change the tensioner pulley i won't but sucks that i spent the money tho

Lol. No.
That's the crank pulley.
Don't take that off.
The idler pulley is expensive.

The gates tensioner is to the left of that tho right? The one you broke the bolt on? I could have sworn my noise was coming from this big one. What is directly behind there?

Yes that's the tensioner.
The crank and timing chain.

Take the belt off and check for small stones in the pulley grooves.

Fukk! I was in there yesterday but decided to put everything back cuz it didn't seem like the tensioner. I'll just change since I bought it lol. Thanks for your help tokay. I appreciate it.

Holy thread revival, batman.

So at least 2 people broke a bolt off trying to remove the entire tensioner housing... but is it really the tensioner, itself, that fails or is it just the bearings on the pulley? The tensioner is just a spring so idk how that would actual fail unless the spring wore out. I'm pretty sure you can replace the tensioner pulley without removing the entire housing, which avoids the risk of snapping a butter bolt (and costs you a fraction of the full assembly).

So what REALLY dies and needs to be replaced? Pulley bearings or actual tensioner or both?

I just swapped my belt tensioner recently. The 'ticking' was coming from the pulley itself and not the assembly. Seems like the pulley just gets worn out, I could feel a slight amount of play in the pulley when I took it off and messed with it. I swapped my whole OEM assembly for the Napa part and I'm happy with it but I think I could have gotten away with only replacing the pulley for like, a quarter of the cost... Oh well, it works.