I'm gonna be replacing my timing belt and local dealers in my area do not have the tensioner stud in stock around here. Is this supposed to be replaced? Courtesy sells it with their timing belt kit, but is it really necessary? I've tried searching around for answers in past threads on here, but no straightforward answers.

 

I just recieved the timing belt kit from Courtesy, & it contains the tensioner stud, you should replace it, I have seen past threads where that stud has broke, due to the stress that was placed on it over time , ie metal fatigue, just make sure that you apply Thread Lock to it prior to intallation! It would suck to loose an engine due to a tensioner stud, & not the belt itself, after you replaced the belt, & not the stud....

 

The stud is what the spring pushes on..your tensioner is tightened down with a bolt to actually hold it in place but the spring is constantly forcing the tensioner against the timing belt. If the stud snaps off and the bolt loosens...good bye engine.

 

that stud is pretty cheap, it doesn't hurt to replace while your at it.

 

its such a wimpy spring i dont see how or what its for?

 

Hmmm, interesting, I never knew about this. Would the original stud be a PITA to remove as I assume it has thread locker on it from the factory? I just hate Threadlocker because I think a Honda stealership used some on the crankshaft pulley bolt of my sister's Honda, and we still can't get the damn thing off with a propane torch plus airgun at the highest setting (will have to take the car to a shop for an extra strength air blast).

 

Hey guys,recently i was trying to take out my alternator on my 96 gxe well my only car.I turned the nut for the adjustment the wrong way i think or it was seized anyways it snaped and i was wondering could i just buy another nut or would i need a whole new assembly or is there easy way to fix the nut

 

whole assembly IIRC. and you have a ford gen not a third gen.

 

i know what gen maxima i have its just i was wondering if i had to buy the whole assembly which now i know i do and i was wondering if i could still drive it to my buddies house to fix

 

If you know you have a 4th gen, then post in the right section. you'll get better answers there.



Back to the original thread.
the spring on the tensioner is only there to use while you're setting the tension by hand. it does nothing once you torque the nut down on the end of the stud.

As for replacing that stud, that's another one I'd look at the car and make a decision. If you pull the stuff off and it's rusty, then I'd replace it. but it's not worth the hassle to replace just because it's "old". and as long as you torque the tensioner down properly, then you shouldn't ever have to worry about breaking it or the thing coming loose.
people that break those studs did something stupid with it in the past.