by veefre Sat Apr 02, 2011 12:25 amAfter all the work replacing the valve guide seals and adjusting hydraulic lash preload, I figured I'd do the engine a favor and clean the years of accumulated grime off.
Well, after that the fan belt really started squealing so I cleaned off the pulleys as best I could and installed a new belt. It squealed too, until I got hold of a nifty tension gauge from Napa (Gates also sells them under its brand).
It's called the "Cricket" because it clicks when it registers tension. It's a strange looking device, but it does work pretty good, once you get the hang of it. As far as I can tell, it works on the leverage principle, and measures the amount of deflection of the belt between two points as you press down on a certain point on the gauge.
Best part was it was only about $16 including tax, whereas fancier belt tension gauges can cost more than $100 and do pretty much the same job.
Also used it to adjuste the new belts on the Neon, which started squealing as well.
And I much prefer the gauge method of setting belt tension to the old straight-edge and ruler technique, which is far too dependent on technique (IMHO)...
If you need a link to the Napa part I can find it and post it.
Well, after that the fan belt really started squealing so I cleaned off the pulleys as best I could and installed a new belt. It squealed too, until I got hold of a nifty tension gauge from Napa (Gates also sells them under its brand).
It's called the "Cricket" because it clicks when it registers tension. It's a strange looking device, but it does work pretty good, once you get the hang of it. As far as I can tell, it works on the leverage principle, and measures the amount of deflection of the belt between two points as you press down on a certain point on the gauge.
Best part was it was only about $16 including tax, whereas fancier belt tension gauges can cost more than $100 and do pretty much the same job.
Also used it to adjuste the new belts on the Neon, which started squealing as well.
And I much prefer the gauge method of setting belt tension to the old straight-edge and ruler technique, which is far too dependent on technique (IMHO)...
If you need a link to the Napa part I can find it and post it.
