Heavymental Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 my drive belt on my 95 ls400 seems to be a bit loose. When i press down on it with my finger the belt moves quite a bit. The belt condition is fine. im only getting about 13.5 volts when motor is running. is it the tensioner? or ilder pulley?
landar Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 my drive belt on my 95 ls400 seems to be a bit loose. When i press down on it with my finger the belt moves quite a bit. The belt condition is fine. im only getting about 13.5 volts when motor is running. is it the tensioner? or ilder pulley? You have not really identified a problem as far as I can see. "Moves quite a bit" is highly speculative and does not mean there is any problem. A charge rate of 13.5V is acceptable. I would think you would get a lot of belt squeal if it were really loose. Try putting a large electrical load on the alternator such as turning on headlights, brake lights, rear defroster, etc and rev the engine a bit. If it does not squeal, you are probably fine as is. It is does, then the tensioner may be weak or (more likely) the belt is stretched and simply needs replacement.
curiousB Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 ditto A loose belt will be quite musical. More noticable when you load up alternator with electrical load. High beams, fog lamps, A/C blower, rear defrost, tunes, .....
Heavymental Posted June 7, 2011 Author Posted June 7, 2011 i dont know, the belt has a lot of push back to it. this all happened when i left the car sitting for about a week and it wouldnt start. i then jump started it and put the meter to it. With the headlights on the meter dropped a bit. The belt does not squeal heavily, i would sometimes barely squeal for a few seconds on some starts. alternator was replaced 4-5k miles ago.
curiousB Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 The old push the belt and see if it deflects only 1/2" is for the olden days of V-groove belts. These serpentine belts have much more surface area and the belt wraps around more of the pulley face to create the needed grip. As a result the belt doesn't need to be tightened so much and the bearings of all the items have longer life. If the belt is slipping you'll hear it.
steve2006 Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 The belt has an autotensioner which is spring loaded and has a preset tension automatically adjusting the tension as the belt stretches,as you press down on the belt the tensioner will physically move giving the impression of excess play but perfectly normal,as others have said with the absence of belt noises there is unlikely to be anything amiss. If you look at the autotensioner you will see marks on it which should roughly align indicating the tension is correct.
Heavymental Posted June 7, 2011 Author Posted June 7, 2011 thanks guys, ill just drive it and keep a look out on the belt.
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