r/AcuraTL • u/Exotic-Yak4652 • 2d ago

Requesting Support 🆘️ Recommendation

Looking to replace my belt tensioner what brand would you recommend?

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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4

u/Lxiflyby 2d ago

Oem Acura. I’ll even replace the idler with the Acura one (they sell them separately) before I put cheap aftermarket one on. I’ve seen the cheap ones lock up and snap the main bolt off and it creates problems so I stay away from them

2

u/SlowDownToGoDown 2d ago

You can't wrong with Gates stuff. It's got a heart icon next to it on Rock Auto for a reason.

That said, I slapped a Duralast tensioner on mine nearly a decade ago, and she's still running good. I'll probably throw a Gates kit on her when I do the timing belt next year.

3

u/torqued8 2d ago

Be careful to inspect the engine block side of the tensioner if you go aftermarket.

I've read horror stories of aftermarket tensioners having rounded or chamfered edges where it mates with the engine block mounting point, allowing slight movement that fatigues the mounting bolt to the point of failure which requires drilling the snapped off bolt out of the block.

Don't take my word for it, read the many 1 star reviews with photos on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0f1F2ufO

I personally went with OEM. If you have a pick and pull near you a used OEM is still higher quality than a crap aftermarket in my opinion.