2000 Ford Focus Belt tensioner

CRAIG1510

MEMBER
2000 FORD FOCUS
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
138,000 MILES

I car started to make squealing noises and upon checking under the hood I found that the serpentine belt has at least 1 1/2 inches of play. I understand that tension is put on the belt by the belt tensioning wheel so I assume I have to replace it. It appears that by removing the plastic coolant reservoir I'll have enough room to remove and replace the wheel. I can't however seem to get the reservoir off. There is 1 bolt and a locking clip. It appears as if breaking the locking clip is the only way to remove it. Is removing the reservoir the right approach to access the tensioner?

Thursday, January 29th, 2009 AT 10:51 PM

3 Replies

1SWEETDEAL

MEMBER
3 POSTS

Use a knife to dig into where the clip is n pull outwards. It then should go over the clip

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Saturday, January 31st, 2009 AT 2:22 PM

CRAIG1510

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2 POSTS

Thanks. I appreciate the response. I asked the boss for a day in case I got a response because I would have liked to have done the job myself. I didn't get the day and we took it to a repair shop. Got it fixed and put some $ into their pockets - a good thing since they seem to be slow. A couple of win wins.

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Saturday, January 31st, 2009 AT 3:19 PM

1SWEETDEAL

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NP.I'm working on the same project myself.I have no idea on how to put the belt on ( I cut it off to get the size at the autoshop. Lol ).I'm having trouble with the tensioner. Don't know which way to pull/push it or which one it is.I've seen some videos but they don't have the same diagram as my vehicle. Gonna keep trying tho

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Saturday, January 31st, 2009 AT 5:43 PM