Thread: Drive Belt Tensioner Pulley

for a 300 tdi the bearing in the pulley can be replaced NTN 6203 $8 from any bearing shop- a bit fiddly getting the circlip out.



or if the tension has gone from the spring replace the whole unit with a dayco apv1004 which can be ordered from any auto store repco/supercheap $160


or support an AULRO vendor
Land Rover Discovery Defender 300TDI Main Belt Tensioner | eBay

I changed the bearing on my tensioner a couple of times but after a while the tensioner itself starts to stick as the fibrous gasket between the tensioner body wears out. The end result was the tensioner started sticking and not returning quick enough after high revs and eventually threw the belt. The belt only had about 10,000km as well. I now know that a tensioner that bounces a little on idle is on its way out as the new one ran very smooth without any bouncing.
Cheers
Mark

Ok. Mine is bouncing a little on idle. Might need a replacement tensioner.

from memory they arent very expensive for the whole setup. was the first job i did when i bought mine. i personally wouldnt bother with just the bearing. do the whole tensioner, much easier to do and you know it's done right. the cost is the only difference but like i said they arent much.

i've also replaced the bearing in the tensioner, it was only a short term fix. Replacing the tensioner is the answer, probably replace the belt also.

Over time the whole thing wears and can affect belt alignment so it's best to replace the whole thing.

Weird. The belt chirping has become worse over time and is always at its noisiest while cold, after a trip it seems to have gone away. The tensioner pulley jumps a lot as though it has internal resistance (sticking) so I took the tensioner out, the pulley bearings are beautiful, like new, so I added engine oil into the tensioner where the internal spring is exposed, placed it back and now silent with hardly any jumping. The belt tensioner alignment marks are still about 25-30mm away from each other although the belt is a little crazed and glazed. I dont know what the internals of the tensioner are, I guess a huge coiled spring and I thought there may have been friction between moving parts...hence the oil..no loss if it doesn't work for long. Just thought I'd give it a try, the tensioner has plenty of oomph in the spring tension. I have just given the tractor a new head gasket and fingers crossed as to how long it lasts. ..... I'm starting to like this incontinent beast.