Does anyone know where i can get one of these? i know partsdinosaur has one, but does anyone else? and does anyone know how easy or hard they are to install? i had the bracket break 2 days after i built a neww motor and my timing belt went, along with my valves and pistons and etc.......yah!!!!!!!!!!!! time to do it all again.

Ouch. partsdinosaur is the only source I know, honestly the only source I NEED to know.

The mechanical tensioner is PITA to install relative to the hydrolic one, at least when the engine is still in the car. sounds like you will be installing it with the engine already pulled, so you'll be fine.

Rock auto sells them but they aren't very much cheaper than Parts Dinosaur.

Got with PartsDinosaur. I did mine with the motor in the car, was not the hardest thing I have done. As far as modifications go, you need to remove plastic from the inner timing belt cover at a couple points. Been running my mech tensioner for over 20k miles now and running strong.

how much better is the mechanical one then the hydraulic one?

I'm also running with the mechanical tensioner and haven't had one problem with it.

Originally posted by kballard81
how much better is the mechanical one then the hydraulic one?

Sigh...

that is not really a valid question. It is cheaper to purchase, and though some people are skeptical of it, it was original equipment on certain Chrysler motors.

It works just fine.

It's $104.50+shipping from partsdinosaur, I ended up reusing my hydraulic one so I only have the tensioner left.

I'll sell it to you for $90 shipped if you're in the continental US

I know this isn't the classifieds section, but it's applicable :D

It is better than the stock tensioner. (If you install it correctly.) Something about putting a more even tension on the belt throughout the RPM range, making it less likely for the belt to snap. There is a thread somewhere on here that shows it.

Better or worse, it functions fine as many people can attest to. The earlier rep that it got (that it was not to be trusted) appeared to be installer error. If you go to partsdinosaur (which I recommend) thay have a video on it there.

Yeah, AzDave did that video. It's pretty self explanitory. There are a couple good write ups in the Wiki too. Be sure to pull the back timing belt cover and mod it so the tensiones mounts flush to the motor.

Originally posted by adamzty
It is better than the stock tensioner. (If you install it correctly.) Something about putting a more even tension on the belt throughout the RPM range, making it less likely for the belt to snap. There is a thread somewhere on here that shows it.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/151517663-post18.html

FYI, my hydraulic tensioner went out after a rebuild I did. The timing belt was flapping like crazy during idle and i'm lucky I caught it when I did.

I realized after some research WHY mine went bad. I remember clamping the tensioner in a vise. When you do this, you must be cautious on the SPEED at which you compress it, and the number of times you do. I tried timing my engine up 10 different times with that tensioner until I got it perfect. During this time, I grew frustrated and vised it too quickly half of the times. This is NOT something you do when dealing with this particular part. PATIENCE is key.

The combination of speed of compression and the number of times the tensioner is compressed determines the life of it. If it's compressed a few times, and slowly, yours should be fine. It is important to be cautious/patient.

well im done with the hydraulic tensioners.....i actually have 3 of them if anyone wants to buy them.....$25 each shipped ups ground.