ricgowan

Bought ECS kit and started work Friday on my son's A4. We had a local shop diagnose his coolant issues as water pump, and the previous owner had no idea how long ago the timing belt had been done (154,000 miles now), so he bought the ECS kit with metal impeller water pump and found a couple write-ups. We spent a couple hours getting the car into service position and getting the old belt/tensioner/pulley/water pump out and all these parts replaced with new from the kit. So far so good. However, with the new belt on, there is too much tension on the pulley and there is NO room between the L-shaped bracket in the pic below and the tensioner assembly:



The red arrow is where there is supposed to be 6-10mm clearance, but the pulley keeps that bracket all the way down. You can use the Allen-wrench shaped opening in the pulley to pivot it over clockwise, but the belt pushes it right back.

Tips? Ideas? Bueller? Bueller?

lyleswk

Have you "pulled the pin"?

ricgowan

Yep, finally just said "the heck with it" and moved on in the install. Wasn't a pin, though, it was a plate wedged in from the side of the tensioner. The piston in the tensioner popped up, and we then adjusted the metal tab using a pair of needle-nose pliers. We couldn't get 8mm in clearance, it was closer to 10-11mm, which is on the edge/over spec, but we buttoned it all back up and it runs fine. I'm hoping the tension will settle as the belt heats/ages, and we will go back in a month or so and re-check the clearance. Thanks!

Prospeeder

Theres a special procedure. You must use the 2 pin tool to turn the pulley ecentric counter clockwise untill you can easliy remove the little plate wedge, then slowly turn the eccentric clockwise untill there are 8mm of clearance between the pulley lever and tensioner body. If you just yank the pin tension will not be correct when the engines hot.

lyleswk

As Prospeeder notes, you missed a step. The spec is 6 to 10 so you may be okay. I set it to 8 by using an allen wrench to rotate the tensioner, putting a socket in to hold the position and then tightened down the tensioner. I then "pulled the pin" or as you note pulled the wedge. I would personnaly feel more comfortable with a tigher tension, but that is up to you. You would have to buy another tensioner, but might be able to do it without pulling the bumper.

oceanbreeze

Well, if you are careful and do it gently you can compress it back. Use a bench vice, or even a long c-clamp and turn it slowly.

lyleswk

That's a thought. Not sure of the internal workings of the tensioner. If it is a simple spring, then that should work.

ricgowan

We're definitely going back in to check on the tension later, but I want to make sure I'm clear on this.

When the procedure is complete, I should have the piston from the tensioner in contact with the bottom surface of the lever on the pulley, with 6-10mm clearance between the top surface of the tensioner and the bottom surface of that lever, correct?

oceanbreeze

It's a little more complicated than that -- there is a spring, and some hydraulic fluid and a valve. The hydraulics are a bit like the hood or trunk lid struts found on most cars.

Compressing it back in is easy to do if you do it slowly ,i.e., over a few minutes.