Thread: 300tdi tensioner pully movement

I have a worrying noise somewhere along the serpentine belt.

I dropped the belt and the tensioner pulley/bearing has quite a bit of movement in it....

I assume this shouldn't have any movement??

All other bearings/shafts feel fine

Sometimes the bearing isn't enough to fix the problem. Definitely look at the bearing, which is a nice cheap fix, but check the tensioner itself. If its old, the left hand side will probably be nearly touching the housing, if its not touching but out of alignment - it can be fixed for a while with the 5c piece at 9 oclock to correct the angle. If, as was the case with mine, the wear was so bad that the tensioner was rubbing on the housing, once that happens wear is increased to the point the belt will slip off with the slightest help (ie wet). Was fixed with a whole new unit - Burson's have them (OE Dayco) for about $90. The new pulley also fixed a whistling/squeaking noise that I had, which must have been the metal to metal contact of the tensioner and housing as it bounced around.