t belt tensioner

[1BADBIRD]

I will be doing some head work on my car. I was told by the local mechanic , that when i take the head off the car, and replace it, i should ALWAYS put a brand new tensioner on the motor.. These things are not cheap!! I was looking on one web site, and they recommended that i compressed the tensioner, and reused it.. i bought my car with 98,000 miles on it..it now has 117,000miles.. The person i bought it from said it had a t belt replacement at 85,000 miles.. what should i do??91 talon awd

 

[Revolution]

When we were doing my head for the second time the tensioner was brought up.
You can get away with compressing it into place ( wich you would have to do anyway with a new one), the real question is, "Is the tensoner seized in any way ?" have you tried compressing it into place for the install ? was it giving you any problems ? Those are the questions that will ultamitally lead you to know if the timing belt tensioner needs to be replaced.

Take into consideration that when changing a timing belt sometimes you have to change other things like for example your water pump.

happy tuning.

 

[DevilSperm]

look for a date on the one you got...maybe someone has already replaced it...i reused mine, it had a 1997 date on it and was still in good condition....if its the stock one though you might think about getting a new one $$$$$$