Could I have installed my belt tentioner wrong - help!

[GregS]

I can not seem to put tension on my belt tensioner when I adjust the tension rod, and I'm wondering whether its possible to put the tension rod on wrong?

-when you assemble the rod and nut, do you thread the rod all the way through the bolt first and tension everything by threading the rod DOWN through the nut, or does the rod get pulled up through the rod bolt?

- the tension rod is a normal, right-hand thread, correct (i.e., to tighten, you turn the nut to the right)?

My problem is that I assmbled everything and then tried to tighten the bolt with the effect of pulling the rod up through it. But when I turn the bolt to the left and the rod bolt is being pulled up, the tensioner is being swung to the passenger side, which LOOSENS the tension on the belt! Plus, anyone familiar with the tension rod bolt knows it has a convex part at the bottom that fits into a recess in the bottom of the bracket, this makes me think that the bolt should be PUSHING the rod down. But this isn't happening, the rod is being pulled up through, which causes the bolt to want to be pulled down through the hole in the bracket??

Can anyone explain what is going on? Is this the sign of a bad tensioner? I disassembled everything because the belt was loose, and I realized the threads on the tension rod had stripped, so I cut new threads on the rod, and reassembled. Now this problem is making me think I did something really wrong (cut the threads the wrong way, but I doubt it), my tensioner is bad, or I put the tension rod on the back of the tensioner the wrong way (but it looked like it only went on one way).

Sorry for a confusing post, but I'm pretty confused myself right now!

THanks,

GregS
'84 300D, 182k
'90 300CE, 172k

[GregS]

I'm referring, of course, to the tensioner on my '90 300CE (m104 engine).

Thanks

[GregS]

Based on the picture of the rod in Fastlane, it does look like it has a left hand thread.

So, o.k., maybe I should rephrase all of this and just ask whether I'm supposed to thread the rod all the way through the rod nut first and then tension the tensioner by threading the rod down through the rod not, thus tensioning the tensioner? Is that correct?

I did this job once a long time ago and I don't remember doing that? And the rod has never been sticking up through the rod nut on my car. Sooooo.....

GregS

[GregS]

Think I figured it out - tensioner is bad. This cased the tensioner rod to be out of position when I assembled it, and caused all the wacky problems I was TRYING to explain in my previous posts. When the tensioner goes bad, the rubber tensioning part delaminates from the metal tensioner housing, and you can just spin it 'round and 'round.

I'll order a new one tomorrow and everything should be fine then, I hope. I guess I'll still take the blame for cross-threading the tensioner rod!

GregS

[Gilly]

The convex part of the nut goes under the bracket.
The thread is left-hand thread.
You turn the nut clockwise (righty tighty), but the rod is being pushed downwards, not drawing the rod upwards like it would if it were right hand thread.
Easiest way to install it is to turn the nut onto the thread to the top of the rod is about even with the top of the nut. Once it's in place you can begine turning the nut clockwise to begin getting tension on the rod.

Gilly