You sir, are a star! Just had this happen on mine replaced the tensioner and had the same problem a few months later. Will now be ordering the alternator part. Keep making these videos!
Noise just started for me, glad I found this video hopefully if I replace the alternator before the belt tensioner I could save a few bucks. Or would it be best to change both, it’s a 2013 tdi
You saved my from wasting 100€ on a new tensioner for my car! Thanks for putting up this video, will be changing to a spare alternator i have lying around
Sir, u made my Day. I was to Change the tensionor today but yesterday evening i saw your Video. I tried to push the inner fan but no Chance. Counterclockwise there was no way to push.
Thank you so much for your video. Have a Vw sharan that developed a squeal when turning the wheel throughout the whole turn. Changed the belt, tensioner, Pas pump, pas fluid. Still squealing, noticed my new tensioner was dancing about as you described. Removed the belt and gave it a manual turn both ways and it was locked up. Changed it for a spare I had and it resolved the problem 😮
You absolute legend. You saved me a lot of time and money. Replacement was tricky due to tightness of pulley and having to remove the alternator to do it. Thanks again, appreciate it ✊🏽
I had a seized over-run pulley on my CDCA Amarok 120kw BiTDI alternator. This broke 2 x tensioner bolts and I replaced the tensioner twice until I had chanced upon a Passat forum message talking about broken tensioner bolts caused by seized pulleys. I replaced the whole alternator and pulley (had high miles), however unbeknownst to me, the AC clutch had been damaged by this continued stress over a long period, which in turn destroyed yet another tensioner. Check your AC clutch for damage if the alternator pulley issue has been unresolved for some time.
Hey Thanks for the knowledge my 2.0 tdi sportswagon was doing that exact same thing. However. I went on & replaced the tensioner pulley , not seeing this video before & saw the belt still moving around. After some time. The bolt holding the tensioner sheared off. I was really confused why that happened. Could that bouncing be the cause of tensioner bolt braking or might be another underlining issue ? Thanks for your video . If you have a part # for the replacement part would be great! 🙏
I’m not too sure as if all the tdi alternator pulleys on those models are the same or not so I’d just see if you can find a online catalog, yeah when those pulleys stop acting like one way clutches the movement on that tensioner can get pretty violent
What if it's a brand new alternator? I replaced the alt, alt harness to fuse box, fuse box, charged the battery and the alt harness wire to fuse box is still getting hot and the belt is slightly off the tensioner about 4 cm. Car starts and drives other wise.
Had experience with this on a VW T5 minibus diesel 2.0 ........ Tensioner was damaged due to something like a stone struck by the tyre and hit the tensioner making it scew...... Internal damage to the tensioner..... When i took off the old one it fell into pieces..... Fitted new one with the old belt but it still ratlled on idling..... Old belt must have stretched a bit with the rattling so i got new belt and low and behold ..... Sound was gone 🥰
Besides the noise, does this give a vibration in the wheel? I’ve been thinking its the power steering giving up but this video is an exact copy of how my belt is acting
@@EuropeanAutoRepair just checked and its completely froze both ways, wont move an inch so ive ordered a new one and hopefully that'll solve my problems. Also go into limp mode due to a boostleak or something, screaming boost noise when under load so i reckon its the exhaust manifold being lose or a faulty gasket, but thats next on the list, hopefully this solves one of the issues at least haha. Thanks for the vid!
Hello, i just changed the belt and tensioner ( it was old ,10+ years ) now i have this exact problem with new tensioner and belt , should i check my alternator ?
@@EuropeanAutoRepair Yes , it moves quiet a lot and it has a knocking noise like the one in the video . I ordered the alternator pulley and the special tool , Thank you for the video , great info .
hi i have the same problem and it makes the same noise and i have been told its the tensioner and to test it we took the belt off and it did not make the noise so im not sure what to think
@@EuropeanAutoRepair i did not but i will because the mechanics told me you need a new tensioner this one is bad quality and it`s brand new so i will try everything
You can do it in place but it will be much easier to remove it and do it on the bench, you need to order the special tool to remove and install the pulley
It's a clutch sort of that allows the belt to pull the alternator in the correct direction and generate electricity. But any vibrations and irregularities in the *other* direction simply passes by, without affecting the alternator. Thus a smother run.
@@EuropeanAutoRepairI have a 2013 vw tdi m/T with 121k miles. I am suspecting my problem is something with the tensioner and/or pulley but my car won’t hold a charge. It will charge enough to get power but will only crank, not start. Prior to this it made a very violent sound similar to videos I’ve watched of tensioner problems. The noise was more of a faint flapping/slapping noise at higher gears/RPM’s/speed but much louder/violent once I slowed down then idled. A mechanic friend listened and diagnosed it as rod knock without inspecting but I disagree. I thought DMF failure but the more I dig into this it sounds like tensioner. Your comment above says the decoupler being bad would not affect it holding a charge. I’m not sure which direction to go!
@apeniel09 ah, ok sounds like it’s probably fine, flywheel failures on those is pretty common I’d definitely look into that, sometimes listening to it from the bottom with shielding off is helpful
@@EuropeanAutoRepair i was ready to Chance the tensionor tomorrow. Its a lot of work. I try to Rotate the inner side in one way and when its block in both side, then its damaged?!
You sir, are a star! Just had this happen on mine replaced the tensioner and had the same problem a few months later. Will now be ordering the alternator part. Keep making these videos!
Thanks man! I really appreciate that
Noise just started for me, glad I found this video hopefully if I replace the alternator before the belt tensioner I could save a few bucks. Or would it be best to change both, it’s a 2013 tdi
@eyeamjaydee6426 if the alternator clutch is frozen up just replace that and and belt
@@EuropeanAutoRepair appreciate you!!
You saved my from wasting 100€ on a new tensioner for my car! Thanks for putting up this video, will be changing to a spare alternator i have lying around
Sir, u made my Day. I was to Change the tensionor today but yesterday evening i saw your Video. I tried to push the inner fan but no Chance. Counterclockwise there was no way to push.
Thank you so much for your video. Have a Vw sharan that developed a squeal when turning the wheel throughout the whole turn. Changed the belt, tensioner, Pas pump, pas fluid. Still squealing, noticed my new tensioner was dancing about as you described. Removed the belt and gave it a manual turn both ways and it was locked up. Changed it for a spare I had and it resolved the problem 😮
That’s excellent! Happy it helped!
You absolute legend. You saved me a lot of time and money. Replacement was tricky due to tightness of pulley and having to remove the alternator to do it. Thanks again, appreciate it ✊🏽
Happy it worked out!
So glad I found your video. Was just about to replace the tensioner. Replaceing the clutch now. you saved me a lot of *issing about and money! Thanks
I’m so happy it helped!
Thank you this video so much. I have the same sound and issue. My alternator belt jumping like crazy
Thanks for watching!
Going to save this to my DIY and how to playlist now. Cool video brother.
Thanks for watching! I appreciate it
@@EuropeanAutoRepair 👊👍
Thank you for this I was just getting ready to replace my tensioner lol
Glad I could help!
I had a seized over-run pulley on my CDCA Amarok 120kw BiTDI alternator. This broke 2 x tensioner bolts and I replaced the tensioner twice until I had chanced upon a Passat forum message talking about broken tensioner bolts caused by seized pulleys. I replaced the whole alternator and pulley (had high miles), however unbeknownst to me, the AC clutch had been damaged by this continued stress over a long period, which in turn destroyed yet another tensioner. Check your AC clutch for damage if the alternator pulley issue has been unresolved for some time.
Me again!
I finally replaced the pulley and its fixed now. Thx again for Video.
Abo is starting now
Thank you so much you saved my alot of time and energy
Can you please put the link for the pully removal tool
This one isn’t the same one I use but it looks like it’s in the kit amzn.to/43o6ptt
Hey Thanks for the knowledge my 2.0 tdi sportswagon was doing that exact same thing. However. I went on & replaced the tensioner pulley , not seeing this video before & saw the belt still moving around. After some time. The bolt holding the tensioner sheared off. I was really confused why that happened. Could that bouncing be the cause of tensioner bolt braking or might be another underlining issue ?
Thanks for your video . If you have a part # for the replacement part would be great! 🙏
I’m not too sure as if all the tdi alternator pulleys on those models are the same or not so I’d just see if you can find a online catalog, yeah when those pulleys stop acting like one way clutches the movement on that tensioner can get pretty violent
What if it's a brand new alternator? I replaced the alt, alt harness to fuse box, fuse box, charged the battery and the alt harness wire to fuse box is still getting hot and the belt is slightly off the tensioner about 4 cm. Car starts and drives other wise.
Very common issue..
Had experience with this on a VW T5 minibus diesel 2.0 ........ Tensioner was damaged due to something like a stone struck by the tyre and hit the tensioner making it scew...... Internal damage to the tensioner..... When i took off the old one it fell into pieces..... Fitted new one with the old belt but it still ratlled on idling..... Old belt must have stretched a bit with the rattling so i got new belt and low and behold ..... Sound was gone 🥰
Nice!
Do you have a video breaking down the repair process?
I’m sorry, next time I do one I’ll make a video
What size screw is long, mine broke!
Besides the noise, does this give a vibration in the wheel? I’ve been thinking its the power steering giving up but this video is an exact copy of how my belt is acting
Check that alternator pulley first. I’m seeing that a lot lately
@@EuropeanAutoRepair just checked and its completely froze both ways, wont move an inch so ive ordered a new one and hopefully that'll solve my problems. Also go into limp mode due to a boostleak or something, screaming boost noise when under load so i reckon its the exhaust manifold being lose or a faulty gasket, but thats next on the list, hopefully this solves one of the issues at least haha. Thanks for the vid!
@jjh3455 no problem, hope it goes smooth
Hello, i just changed the belt and tensioner ( it was old ,10+ years ) now i have this exact problem with new tensioner and belt , should i check my alternator ?
Yeah I would, is the belt dancing around as if the tensioner is bad?
@@EuropeanAutoRepair Yes , it moves quiet a lot and it has a knocking noise like the one in the video . I ordered the alternator pulley and the special tool , Thank you for the video , great info .
Happy it helped, I bet that’s what you have going on. Thanks for watching
Hello , I just changed the alternator pulley and the problem disappeared, thank you again .
That’s excellent
My altenator was replaced like 1.5 years ago can it still be the broblem
It’s possible, would be worth checking
What if the tensioner is bouncing but not vibrating and making noise?
It’s normal for the tensioner to bounce around a little bit
hi i have the same problem and it makes the same noise and i have been told its the tensioner and to test it we took the belt off and it did not make the noise so im not sure what to think
Did you spin the alternator and see if the pulley free spins one direction and spins the center like it should the other direction?
@@EuropeanAutoRepair i did not but i will because the mechanics told me you need a new tensioner this one is bad quality and it`s brand new so i will try everything
@@EuropeanAutoRepair and if it is a problem with the alternator what do i need to buy exactly to fix the problem and thanks so much for your time
@@Venom-jl5np it sounds to me like the alternator pulley will likely be your issue, I have seen many mechanics say that exact thing
@@EuropeanAutoRepair ok thank you for your time i will check the alternator and if it s broke then i will buy a alternator pulley
My Jetta does the exact same thing, does that mean I should replace my whole alternator?
For this problem I usually just change the pulley itself
@@EuropeanAutoRepair okay, do I have to take out the whole alternator to do the pulley or can I leave the alternator in and change the pulley?
You can do it in place but it will be much easier to remove it and do it on the bench, you need to order the special tool to remove and install the pulley
@@EuropeanAutoRepair you have been very helpful thank you
Can a bad clutch pulley cause the alternator to die completely or cause any other issues within the pulley system?
A bad ac compressor clutch typically wouldn’t cause a alternator failure
@@EuropeanAutoRepair Sweet! Thank you!
So roughly how much is the cost of that part
I think they are around 30usd usually
wouldnt this mean that the alternator is bad and not the pulley? my pulley worked until it shattered into peices
The pulley itself has the decoupler built into it
@@EuropeanAutoRepair what's that
It's a clutch sort of that allows the belt to pull the alternator in the correct direction and generate electricity. But any vibrations and irregularities in the *other* direction simply passes by, without affecting the alternator. Thus a smother run.
If the alternators is locked up it must not be able to charge the battery or supply power to the car.
I’m just talking about the decoupler in the alternator pulley itself, the alternator bearing themselves are still ok and it charges correctly
@@EuropeanAutoRepairI have a 2013 vw tdi m/T with 121k miles. I am suspecting my problem is something with the tensioner and/or pulley but my car won’t hold a charge. It will charge enough to get power but will only crank, not start. Prior to this it made a very violent sound similar to videos I’ve watched of tensioner problems. The noise was more of a faint flapping/slapping noise at higher gears/RPM’s/speed but much louder/violent once I slowed down then idled. A mechanic friend listened and diagnosed it as rod knock without inspecting but I disagree. I thought DMF failure but the more I dig into this it sounds like tensioner. Your comment above says the decoupler being bad would not affect it holding a charge. I’m not sure which direction to go!
@@apeniel09 if I were you I would manually check my decoupler before going forward with anything
@@EuropeanAutoRepairthank you! It does seem to rotate one way but not the other.
@apeniel09 ah, ok sounds like it’s probably fine, flywheel failures on those is pretty common I’d definitely look into that, sometimes listening to it from the bottom with shielding off is helpful
U mean, that the role of the generator is fauly and not the tensionor itself?
Yeah, an alternator decoupler failure is often mistaken for a bad tensioner
@@EuropeanAutoRepair i was ready to Chance the tensionor tomorrow. Its a lot of work. I try to Rotate the inner side in one way and when its block in both side, then its damaged?!
@iboxp1486 yup, with the belt on if you can’t rotate the center in either direction it’s damaged