Indeed - I agree. Just in case you don't know a good rule of thumb for tensioning a belt is to adjust the pulleys until you can turn the longest stretch of the belt by 90 degrees. You should be able to do this with relative ease - don't tighten like a piano wire!

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Sorry, I lost you there?

__________________
My occupational hazard bein'
my occupation's just not around...
1980 300SD
1980 300SD

A better "rule" would be to use a tension gauge. First time you do that, you will be convinced of the worthlessness of the various shade tree methods.

True true but then it wouldn't be a rule of thumb anymore - can you recommend a decent tension gauge?

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

In an affordable price range, there is the Gates (aka Kriket) 91107 gauge for V belts, 91132 for serpentine belts.

http://www.********.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=101690

I've never uses a tension gauge, I just tighten until it's "good enough".

But, if you think about the stresses that belts put on your crank hub and bearings on driven components it's not a bad idea to make sure it's right.

__________________
My occupational hazard bein'
my occupation's just not around...
1980 300SD
1980 300SD