Size of timing belt tensioner tool

[DJYoshaBYD]

ok... I need to make one of these, but my car has no battery tie down, so I dont know the size of the bolt and the thread so I can just make one... ACE hardware style... can anyone measure the pitch, thread, length, and width of the bolt... please? that would be wonderful

 

[yokotabrat]

8mm x 1.25 according to this.

 

[Skate4life_066]

when i was messing with the timing on my tsi, i didnt even make a tensioner tool. the way i did it was took the auto tensioner off, put the timing belt around the cams and the crank while the tensioner pully was loose, then put the auto tensioner in a vise, smashed it down until the two holes were level with each other, and put a small allen wrench in the holes, then put the auto tensioner back under the tensioner arm and bolted it up. no tool needed. my timing is good too so i dont think i damaged anything by doing this and that was a few thousand miles ago but who knows im just a newb. i dont know if this helps or not but i hope it does.

 

[talon210]

Funny you say this because this is exactly how I changed my timing belt, except I used a small nail to hold the tensioner in.

 

[Skate4life_066]

haha yeah i didnt have a battery tie down rod and i really wasnt going to order a tensioner tool and wait for it to come... i had to get my dsm back on the road

 

[talon210]

haha yep exactly what I said. I had no problems at all doing it so why not. haha

 

[DJYoshaBYD]

wow... cool... that seems easier than using the tool... what about it leaking.. if I take it off and break whatever seal is in there, am I going to be able to put it back in without it leaking? I really cannot afford to buy another tensioner...

I guess the only way to get some experience points here is to finish building my motor and post pics... that would make people smile

 

[yokotabrat]

You won't damage the tensioner with the vise as long as you don't go crazy cranking it down really fast. Just take your time. Technically, if you think about what the tensioner tool is doing, it's doing the exact same thing as the vise (compressing the tensioner), it just allows you to not have to remove it or compress it all the way if you don't get the gap set correctly on the tensioner the first time.

 

[nuclearpenguin]

I actually have never reused a tensioner, but if I was going to, I would just put it in a vise and slowly compress it down as said then put a small allen wrench/pin/rod through the holes. My friend worked for a dealership and that's even how they did it there on those types of tensioners.

 

[Skate4life_066]

you might as well just do it that way. ive only done it once and everything worked out fine. if you do end up getting a new tensioner, they come with a pin already in it so when you attatch it to the block, you just take the pin right out and its set.

 

[VanIsleDSM]

I suppose that would be fine if you're a timing job pro and you can nail the right gap straight away by hand torquing the tensioner pully.. took me 3 times to get it right.. would have been a pain to have to take the tensioner off every time to go put it in the vice..

any fastener place will have some m8x1.25 ready rod.. I bought a 6 foot length for $3.. then I put 2 nuts on 1 end and tightened them against each other with some jbweld.. then I used a cutting disk on a dremel to cut away the corners on the bottom nut so the socket wouldn't grab it.. so every time you turn the tool in the top nut just sinches onto the bottom one.. worked great.. cost me $3 and minus the jbweld cure time it took me 5min.

edit: of course I didn't leave it 6 feet long.. I cut it down to about a foot and a half a something..

 

[nuclearpenguin]

both times i did it (im by no means a trained professional either ), i got it perfect on the first try.

having the 2-pin socket tool sure would have made it easier though

 

[chrisfullwood]

i did the same thing, i got 2 x 3 ft pieces, chopped it up so i had plenty, and just grabbed my trusty vice grips. works like a charm.

 

[lookin4dsm]

Here is where I bought my tensioner tool about a year ago. Look towards the bottom of the page.

http://www.jayracing.com/products.htm

It is stainless steel and works well. Not bad for only 10 bucks.

Mike

 

[nuclearpenguin]

Wow, I've never even seen that site before, seems to sell a fair amount of products and decent prices. At only $10 for the tool, I'll definitely think twice next time I do a TB