Alternater belt tension.

[Ispy]

Had belt changed because of squeel on acceleration. I took it back to be retensioned after a week running as it was happening again after it warmed up. My question is how tight should it be as it seems tight to me. Only happens after engine has properly warmed up and only on light acceleration.Thanks for any help.

 

[SplanK]

The belt is on an auto tensioner so it should sort itself out..

When I had our car (DIG-S engine), the tensioner unit did fail but was only evident when cold and would make a 'clack' within the first 2-3 seconds of startup before settling down again.

Just before we got rid, it did squeal a little when cold but no more than a couple of seconds and I suspect a drop or 2 of oil got onto it causing it to perish a bit.

To do it when warm is a bit unusual, suggests to me something is binding up but difficult to diagnose over the internet!

 

[best-car-i-have-owned]

The belt is on an auto tensioner so it should sort itself out..

When I had our car (DIG-S engine), the tensioner unit did fail but was only evident when cold and would make a 'clack' within the first 2-3 seconds of startup before settling down again.

Just before we got rid, it did squeal a little when cold but no more than a couple of seconds and I suspect a drop or 2 of oil got onto it causing it to perish a bit.

To do it when warm is a bit unusual, suggests to me something is binding up but difficult to diagnose over the internet!

The k13 is a manual tensioner

 

[best-car-i-have-owned]

Had belt changed because of squeel on acceleration. I took it back to be retensioned after a week running as it was happening again after it warmed up. My question is how tight should it be as it seems tight to me. Only happens after engine has properly warmed up and only on light acceleration.Thanks for any help.

The K13 has a manual tensioner screw on the idler pulley, which must be tightened to a certain deflection point of the belt:



It's really important to make sure the idler pulley doesn't have a knackered bearing before changing the belt, as this can be a source of noise, too.