Not sure what to make of the belt tensioner, perhaps someone can shed some light. I thought that the belt tensioner was hydraulically driven on this engine. But, for the life of me, I can't figure out where this thing is getting oil pressure. If it's mechanical (spring driven), on the other hand, mine is fully retracted. Any ideas?

 

The Mechanical Timing Belt Tensioner keeps the correct timing belt tension which is critical to the longevity and performance of the timing belt. A lever is pivotally mounted on a shaft which is located within an engine mounted housing that extends outwardly and is adapted to move in a belt tensioning direction. There is 1 or more torsional coil springs mounted on or near the tensioner such that it supplies tensioning force to the lever which applies tension to the belt by way of an idler pulley. Most vehicles use a timing belt idler on an eccentric pivot to set the initial timing belt tension during the belt installation. It is a good practice to replace the tensioner with the timing belt. ________________________________________
nondual
holidays to st lucia

 

I don't know much about cars but I know that the engine of my volvo sounds like it's working harder than it needs to, to do what it is doing. I took it in to get checked by good year who said they couldn't find anything wrong. I took it to a private mechanic who says he thinks the sound is the timing belt tensioners. I don't know if this is worth fixing or even the real problem...

What do you guys think?

 

the only noise I'd expect off of the tensioner would be bearing noise - can you describe what you're hearing?

 

It's kind of a rattle. Like, I don't feel the rattle but I certainly hear it. It's most noticeable when I'm sitting at a stoplight, I can hear the engine from inside the car and when I press on the gas pedal, the engine doesn't seem to be able to keep up... like it's working harder than it needs to do, as I mentioned before.

 

The noise you describe is what I'd expect of a tensioner pulley with a bad bearing. But I wouldn't expect a noisy pulley to cause a power loss. Now if the tension on the belt is lost the belt can jump a tooth or two and create a valve timing problem and associated power problems.

If your suspicious of the tensioner or belt I'd get this thing to the garage pretty quickly. A broken belt on this type of engine will cause serious damage to the valve train!