HGT or 20vT Owners - Is it something I'm Doing Wrong

[Stu R]

My PAS tensioner bearing failed last year. I replaced the part, which was under warrenty from the last tensioner that went the year before.

Yes you guessed it. The PAS tensioner has failed on me again. :bang:

The 1st fail was done via a fully qualified machanic (not fiat) who use to work for rolls royce so knows his Sh!t.

The second one I replaced and did so sucessfully and had no problems with untill now.

Have I put too much pressure on the belt (the belt is ok) or is it they go on a regular basis. 1 year at a time for me.

The car has covered average miles over the year too.

Going to ring Fiat up tomorrow see if I can replace this one under warrenty too.

Any help would be great cheers

 

[sumplug]

My PAS tensioner bearing failed last year. I replaced the part, which was under warrenty from the last tensioner that went the year before.

Yes you guessed it. The PAS tensioner has failed on me again. :bang:

The 1st fail was done via a fully qualified machanic (not fiat) who use to work for rolls royce so knows his Sh!t.

The second one I replaced and did so sucessfully and had no problems with untill now.

Have I put too much pressure on the belt (the belt is ok) or is it they go on a regular basis. 1 year at a time for me.

The car has covered average miles over the year too.

Going to ring Fiat up tomorrow see if I can replace this one under warrenty too.

Any help would be great cheers

If the bearings are failing regularly, then i think you have a lubrication problem at the pump. Bearing must be going dry, but you will here the bearing failing. They just dont go like that. What fluid are you using? proberly the wisest thing to do is replace the pump itself.

Andy.

 

[Stu R]

Its not the pump itself thats the problem.

Its the belt tensioner. The adjustable one that stops the belt from being slack. The bearings are sealed and can not be lubricated.

 

[Hellcat]

The tensioner is a fixed tension. It should apply the correct amount of tension itself. Were they genuine Fiat parts?

 

[Stu R]

I got it from Fiat so I hope so.

It makes a slight greating noise first then gets louder and louder. Eventually you can see the tensioner moving side to side like it's loose on the bracket.

I don't know how the tension themselves though.

They have two bolts to tighten it up to the car body and you use the big nut on the wheel to apply the tension.

 

[sumplug]

Its not the pump itself thats the problem.

Its the belt tensioner. The adjustable one that stops the belt from being slack. The bearings are sealed and can not be lubricated.

The bearing gets lubricated by the PAS fluid. If you use the wrong type of fluid, you will have problems. If the tensioner is moving, then there is a reason for it. Is the mounting loose? These tensioners have a long service history and do not fail unless there is something else wrong. Try putting a bar against the tensioner and see if you can move it. It will show where the movement is. oh another thing, has the crank pulley been off? If so, it could of been fitted wrong and the belt is running at an angle. Saw this recently on a Rover K series.

Andy.

 

[Stu R]

Hi

The PAS Pump has not been touched. That is fine.

The Crank pully has never been off either. I have had the car 3 years now.

It is the Tensioner that is the problem.

The tensioner was replace about a year into me having the car as the bearings (or bush) went in the tensioner.

This was replaced by a qualified machanic but 1 year on this siezed up solid and snapped the belt. Luckily it was still in warrenty.
Pic of the old one
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/sroys/old_1.jpg

The new one that is going now which was replaced
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/sroys/new_1.jpg


This replacment is now going. Its about 10-11 months old.

Once the new pully is on the car is fine, runs great. I do get a bit of belt noise but told this can be normal for a HGT.

When the tensioner gets to about 9 months old, its starts to make a slight greating noise. This does get louder and louder over time till you can move the wheel from side to side like the bearings (or bush) have gone completely.

 

[jug]

Once the new pully is on the car is fine, runs great. I do get a bit of belt noise but told this can be normal for a HGT.

that sounds like proof of a problem to me. belt noise is not normal, far from it. if you can hear belt noise it usually means the belt that is running on pulleys that are not aligned. this puts excess strain on bearings and wears the belt more quickly. you can loosen off the bolts holding the PAS pump in place and try to improve the alignment before retightening the bolts. if you make the belt noise go away you have fixed the misalignment.

if you look at any given pulley, there are 2 points on it where the belt meets the pulley. on each pulley you should look at both points, if on either the belt is touching the guide wall on the pulley, it indicates a misalignment. the belt should run on and off the pulley without touching the guide walls on any pulley.