my car contracted thrown belt syndrome at the track on saturday. I only lost the p/s & a/c belt, the alternator belt was okay.

yesterday I put the belt on and tightened to what appeared good tension. I searched 2gnt and someone said to tighten the belt until you get no more than 1/2" deflection of the belt between the two most distant pullies (which would be the ones you see from under the car)

I also made sure to make it pretty tight, b/c a loose belt is probably just going to lead to another thrown belt.

After the fix, I get this really loud sqeal when I make tight turns, and (sometimes) when I turn on the a/c I get the same squeal. What should I do - tighten that #14 tension bolt, or loosen it? TIA!

and also, how many ft-lbs do you torque the tensioner pulley bolt to? couldn't find it in chiltons

tighten it. also make sure there isnt any oil, etc. on the pullies. :thumbsup


edit: there isnt a ft/lb reference for the tensioner because everyone will have different results. the "half inch" rule is only an approximation as well.