Hi all,

I just bought a tj2 with 110k. Service records indicate that the belt has been replaced at 90k so I took the cover off to verify and was shocked that the belt was rather loose (could deflect belt by about 5-10 mm in either direction depending on motor stop position[different cam pressures I guess])
the loosness was in the belt section between the cam pulleys (motor stopped)

when the engine is running the belt is tight and also for a short time after stopping

this doesn't seem right to me, any thoughts???

is it major work to get to the eccentric to adjust?? or could it be tensioner failure??

I have a service manual on order but any help/experience would be appreciated

sounds like tentioner failler

What does the manual stae on belt deflection?, on the audi's at work on some of the motors the belt deflects more than that and is considered normal and i have not seen a failure yet except for in one case that involved a mouse, tho when we took the belt off it was fine (can't say the same for the mouse lol or what was left of it)

I think if your belt was loose it would have skipped teeth by now and bent valves. I f a tensioner has failed it would skip teeth for sure. The belt will be looser at points and tighter depending on what the pistons are doing in the engine (on compression or on exhaust) and a belt cant be over tight otherwise it will break. Hope this helps out a bit. Set the engine on top dead centre and turn the engine over 3 teeth of a cam gear and that should be fairly tight!

the belt is not loose...
in the service manual it states that the tensioner assembly only activates when the motor is running or being manually rotated...
it's normal for it to get loose when the motor is off and the car is in Neutral or Park...it will tighten up nicely when the car is running again...read your service manual regarding lubricating and checking the tensioner assembly... :cool:

Sounds like a hydraulic belt tensioner?

They only work when there's oil pressure... :)

Thanks all for easing my mind,

with the white timing marks virtical (a few cam teeth past the timing mark) the belt can easily be deflected but there is enough tension to pull the belt straight once released