Scott Stokley Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I bought a 2010 TC new for my wholesale distribution business & I absolutely love this vehicle. However, when it was in the shop for minor repairs, they said the serpentine belt tensioner was the reason for the whining noise I was hearing. I was somewhat relieved that it wasn't the transmission but the Ford dealership wants $350 to R & R it charging me 1 hour labor & $113 for the belt tensioner which Auto Zone has for $43 (& $63 for the belt, $42 at AZ). Can I do this job myself? I'm a pretty fair shadetree mechanic. Does it require any special tools/wrenches? Thanks in advance for your help! Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stokley Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 Alright, I jumped right in & tackled this & it was surprising easy. I took the passenger side tire off for easier access (after jacking that side up & securing it on a stand). There is a plastic cover with 2 bolts that once removed, gives you easy access to the belt tensioner pulley. The pulley had a nut-like protrusion on it that I think was 15mm. Simply put a wrench on that & turn clockwise to release the belt tension. The belt can then be pulled off. The pulley has 2 bolts holding it on & it only took me a few minutes to R & R. The belt was a bit trickier to replace as I did put a new one on since this one had 97000 miles on it. (Save it as a back-up in case the new one ever breaks - it will keep you from getting stranded). It actually took me longer to replace the belt than it did to replace the pulley. I know this will anger you Ford mechanics but the entire job only took me 20 minutes start to finish & I ordered the parts from Rockauto.com for less than $90. My local Ford dealer wanted to charge me $349. I think that's simply outrageous. Look, I know you dealers have a lot of overhead & training, etc. to cover but charging triple for the parts & 2 hours (not one but 2 hours!) labor for this job is flat out wrong. I also R & R'ed the spark plugs in under 5 minutes for $10 & Ford wanted to charge me $239 - come on guys, that's tough to justify! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Way to go, Scott! Good on ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Cat Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Thanks for posting this one Scott. I have a fancy tool for performing this belt change, but based upon your description, it will be faster to take off the wheel and the plastic cover as you described. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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