hey guys, went to auto masters to get a general service done today...

he said the manufacturers set the timing belt replacement at 90000km so it may require attention.
however there is a sticker that says it was replaced at 81000km in 2010. the car is sitting currently at 116000km approx. so i dont think the timing belt needs replacing yet.

the reason i asked is because of the pre tensioner issue i have heard - my car has a cold start up rattle sometimes.

how much am i looking at to get the pre tensioner issue fixed/diagnosed and fixed?

I have the exact same issue, even on a 5 degree day turn the car off and on again and the rattle is gone.

Does it damage the engine or anything having the rattle? I.E. should we be restarting the engine or just drive with it (sound does go away).

I'd also be interested to know cost of repairing, but need to know how urgent it is to fix.

DON'T drive with it as I have seen one where the pre tensioner was sheared off, not good

If you hear it shut down and then restart, Leigh I think you need to book in for repair

mine was doing that and the belt could be slid off without undoing the tensioner get it checked out ASAP a $500 fix is better than a new engine

As above. The rattle needs to be investigated before something breaks and causes expensive damage.

its the common one, where it rattles only when its cold, then after a minute or less it will be fine.

the thing is, i dont want to get a belt replaced if thats not the issue? i found it odd that the guy at auto masters didnt give me the exact problem and just said ur timing belt may need replacing. i specifically said to him that the rattle is most likely the pre tension.
all i got was oh the manufacturer says 90000km, maybe u need to replace the belt.

sure the manufacturer says 90000km, but what happens if its been replaced already before hand? im sure it lasts more than 30000kms.. right? i found it odd as well that they didnt notice the "DAYCO" sticker stating when it was replaced in the engine bay. isnt that standard?


ps. has anyone ever told you guys how handy it is to have a site dedicated to ur car model/s? wouldnt have the slightest clue otherwise..

I just got mine replaced by madmagna/mitsfix and havent had a rattle on start up since :). Exact same symptoms you mention above.

ive got this current problem and have for a while now, major service is on the cards soon

I have heard that the tensioner can fail after it has been compressed and refitted to the engine as per the Manuals instruction has anyone experienced this or is it an old wives tale?

Often this is the case that these fail once they have been removed and re compressed thus why I dont remove them or compress them rather I leave them compressed on the car

Thanks for that well worth knowing for any one doing a Cambelt,Waterpump etc.

i had the same issue with my tj. had a really bad rattling sound when i started the car cold but as soon as it warmed up it dissapeared. my cousin told me it was my tentioner rattling about. so i got a timing belt kit and replaced the belt and tentioner (note: my belt needed replacing as it was over 100000k's, but if your belt is fairly new then there is no need to do the belt just the tentioner. just make sure all your points are aligned before you retention it) since doing this the rattle is gone and starts up with no rattle on a cold start. with mine i found it wasn't so much the tentioner but the tentioner pulley, the bearing was seazing up. hope this helps

If I put a stethoscope onto the timing belt tensioner on my TW I hear a quite loud clicking noise is this normal it has only covered 5000km since being replaced along with the Cam belt using all genuine Parts and was tensioned up as per the manual.

My Pajero did this 12months after timing belt. Got a bill for $265 or $275 to replace tensioner.