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1995 belt tensioner question

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    1995 belt tensioner question

    My 1995 Grand Marquis with 86k that I paid $2000 for had been having various problems with the transmission, brakes, and then when sitting for a number of hours upon start-up it would stall the first time just about every time. It would start right back up again but then sometimes there would be a smell of raw gasoline through the ventilation system. So, with all of that going on, I made the decision to swap parts onto my $600 1996. I took the 96 to Advance Auto and had an alternator test done and found out that was bad, so I swapped the alternators. There was a very good video on youtube:

    NO MATTER WHAT FORD CAR TRUCK OR VAN , THIS VIDEO GIVES YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO REPLACE THAT ALTERNATOR !


    I had to get a 1/2" socket driver, because I didn't have one on hand. The handle on the one I bought was long enough that I had perfect leverage to make it easy to slip the belt back onto the alternator without using a piece of pipe over the handle as the guy did in the video.

    The 96, even with 132k, is now in very good condition. Engine, transmission, and brakes are all just fine. Having taken a few cosmetic pieces here and there from the 95 and also changed over the nice set of Michelin tires, the 96 looks much better than it did when it first arrived here.

    Anyhow, I just wanted to get the belt back onto the alternator of the 95 so that I can start it up occasionally over the winter. The problem is, even though the cars were built only 5 months apart, the belt tensioner on the 95 is different. The 1/2" socket driver does not fit. And with it being such close quarters in that area with the fan blades making it tight I can't even really see what it does take.

    Does anyone know what the belt tensioner on a 95 takes? Thanks!
    David
    1989 LTD Crown Victoria LX
    14 previous Panthers, gone but not forgotten....

    #2
    3/8 drive should be right. I have an adapter and 4" extension for my breaker bar that's 1/2 drive for getting that crap done on any setup.

    Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
    rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)

    Originally posted by gadget73
    ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.

    Originally posted by dmccaig
    Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks!
      David
      1989 LTD Crown Victoria LX
      14 previous Panthers, gone but not forgotten....

      Comment


        #4
        Well, it should have been a simple 3/8" but it wasn't. There was evidently a flaw in the casting that made the opening in the belt tensioner too shallow for a 3/8" to fully engage. So, I had to do something different.

        What I ended up doing was using a tire iron in my left hand to apply pressure to the belt tensioner from the driver's side while pulling on the belt with my right hand. I also had the wall of the garage behind me to brace a foot against. In that way I was able to establish enough slack to slip the belt back into place. Bit of a complicated ballet position, but it got the job done.
        David
        1989 LTD Crown Victoria LX
        14 previous Panthers, gone but not forgotten....

        Comment


          #5
          no, that's normal... you need a flat square (ie: not rounded) extension. Those type that allow a socket to swivel a little will not work. Unless the casting is rounded out itself... then you're screwed and have to do it the way you did.

          Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
          rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)

          Originally posted by gadget73
          ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.

          Originally posted by dmccaig
          Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

          Comment


            #6
            Yeah, I had a completely square 3/8" driver head....no extra extension at all....and that would only go in about 1/3 of the way. There was just enough room to get a flat orange crate hammer in there to try to tap it into place, but it was no go. The tensioner casting had extra metal that shouldn't have been there. At first I wondered if someone had broken something off that got lodged in there, but I managed to feel around with a little finger and that was not the case. It was just a poor casting from the factory.
            David
            1989 LTD Crown Victoria LX
            14 previous Panthers, gone but not forgotten....

            Comment


              #7
              Most driver heads have a ball on one side. I'm curious as to whether it might have been a matter of the ball providing too much resistance. A bad casting wouldn't be unheard of, but I just wanted to check whether all other possibilities were ruled out.

              2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
              mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

              Comment


                #8
                Was/is the tensioner OEM?


                "Hope and dignity are two things NO ONE can take away from you - you have to relinquish them on your own" Miamibob

                "NEVER trade your passion for glory"!! Sal "the Bard" (Dear Old Dad!)

                "Cars are for driving - PERIOD! I DON'T TEXT, TWEET OR TWERK!!!!"

                Comment


                  #9
                  must be rounded out cause I've never had anything go in more than a third of the way on those tensioners and I just hold positive pressure against the tensioner as I crank on the breaker bar to get it started and it hangs on pretty damn good once engaged.

                  Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                  rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)

                  Originally posted by gadget73
                  ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.

                  Originally posted by dmccaig
                  Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Last year I swapped the original tensioner for a new OEM along with belt and idler pulley. Didn't have any issues on my '95.


                    "Hope and dignity are two things NO ONE can take away from you - you have to relinquish them on your own" Miamibob

                    "NEVER trade your passion for glory"!! Sal "the Bard" (Dear Old Dad!)

                    "Cars are for driving - PERIOD! I DON'T TEXT, TWEET OR TWERK!!!!"

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I don't have a mechanical fan, so I don't have that issue.



                      -ryan s.
                      08 Lincoln Navigator L - 233k
                      03 Mercury Marauder- 63k
                      97 Ford Crown Victoria HPP "Tank of Justice III" (TOJ3) - 194k -->578.9 miles on ONE tank of gas<--
                      94 BMW 325i Convertible - 135k
                      73 VW Super Beetle "Bunky" <----- Wifey's
                      12 Mini Cooper S - 90k <---- Wifey's
                      Originally posted by pantera77
                      Well my buddy tells him he knows exactly who loves buying shitboxes.

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