How about group buy on TIII belt tensioners

[Xtrempickup]

anybody access to the ability of getting TIII belt tensioners rebuilt or remanufactured? i know they are Ns1 but there are quite a few TIIIs out here still and more motors getting built for non R/T cars everyday.d be in for something like this

[turbovanman²]

I am working on an option, maybe a few weeks I will know if my idea works out, :clap:

As far as I know, there are no new tensioner pulley's being made and when the last stock is gone, there gone. I did find some from an aftermarket bearing company a few years ago but now they told me NLA, :(

[Xtrempickup]

oooo sounds good, do tell when you find out

[karlak]

Few weeks back I saw a TIII with a belt setup like a TII.

[turbovanman²]

Few weeks back I saw a TIII with a belt setup like a TII.

Pics?

What do you mean, using an 8 valve belt? The TIII setup is similiar to an 8 valve, just a wider belt and one more cam.

[iTurbo]

The timing belt tooth profile is a little different for the TIII as well. More of a trapezoidal shape then the round tooth belts used on the later 2.2/2.5 SOHC.

I've looked into getting a replacement TIII tensioner as well. I looked at a LOT of different tensioners from other applications hoping something could be made to work but haven't found anything. The closest I could find would be a modified SOHC tensioner, with the belt guides removed to accomodate the wider TIII belt. Timing belt life would probably suffer though; as if it isn't bad enough already.

There was a guy that made a TIII tensioner over on TD.com....Said he was going to do some testing and make more to sell but I haven't heard anything back from him. If there was a good solution available I would buy several! If I have another tensioner failure I'm going to be S.O.L. Even finding good used OEM tensioners is getting tough.

[karlak]

User name is wayne. I did not take any pics but will see if he has any.

[bansheenut420]

There is a guy on the other site that is making them once he gets everything hammered out. :thumb:

[WickedShelby88]

I'd be willing to get quote on producing the pulley portion of it and the ability to use the bearing from the older style SOHC which still seems to be widely available. Basically I would just need an old one to get the specs to be able to be transferred to cad for a CNC program. They could then be made from billet steel or aluminum.

[Xtrempickup]

billet steel sounds good, the originals are steel also

[WickedShelby88]

Well I just need to get ahold of an original to get a quote then, I would have to make at least 100 to get it into production here. Maybe less, but the markup would be more then to adjust for the overhead as a couple of the guys here don't like to write programs let alone do it for a one off part.

[powermaxx]

Okay, I guess it's time I come out with this info. (Jermey knows... ;))

I'm expecting my first prototype of a hybrid TII/TIII tensioner setup in a few weeks.

Basically I took a TII tensioner apart and reused the bearing section (for now since I haven't found the bearing from an OEM supplier). It will need to be tested before it's available to anyone. The only issue I see right now is that the outer shell is offset from the bearing center line as the TII "axle" is shorter compared to the TIII. Not sure if this would cause a problem but you don't know. The belt face will be aligned to match the TIII distance. (Hope that made sense...). I want to build a tester to spin this at engine bay op temps and run for about the equivelent of a year (accelerated age testing under heat). But if someone is willing to try it I may do that (tester is expensive and I have no time in race season!).

I didn't want to say anything until I knew I had it and the guy over at TD kinda made me slow up a bit but I think these will be sold as a "Kit" you supply the TII bearing section type of thing. It should be cheap (around $35-$50) depending on quantity, etc...



PS; Jeremy, that ebay TIII tensioner was no good. Had some flats on the bearings but it was good enough to get my specs for this effort. Once proven you'll get one for "gratis".

[turbovanman²]

Thats what I was planning to do also, I have prototype I actually bought, ;) but I don't think the TII bearing will hold up, its just a ball type and I don't believe it will take the loading and tension an TIII belt needs. I have the actually outer part done, just need to find a bearing to handle the load.

[iTurbo]

PS; Jeremy, that ebay TIII tensioner was no good. Had some flats on the bearings but it was good enough to get my specs for this effort. Once proven you'll get one for "gratis".

That's cool Steve; once I knew what you wanted it for I was all for the cause. If you need someone to test one or two, I'd be willing. I have two R/Ts that are daily driven at the moment, and one of them delivers pizza every night, so it might be a good candidate. I have all the tools to properly set belt tension as well.

[powermaxx]

Thats what I was planning to do also, I have prototype I actually bought, ;) but I don't think the TII bearing will hold up, its just a ball type and I don't believe it will take the loading and tension an TIII belt needs. I have the actually outer part done, just need to find a bearing to handle the load.

So as to not duplicate things should I stop on my project (seems a couple of other folks are doing something simular)? I have some other things I want to do before this but when I saw the thread basically describing what I was doing I had to say something. My shop hasn't started yet and I can switch them to some tooling for a TD project that is going to make some A413 folks very happy (can't say just what yet...). I wasn't going to make a dime on these things and had been on the back burner until the ebay TIII tensioner thing came up.

Maybe we can coordinate some efforts here as I'm still going to need one either way. (And I want to take care of my promise to Jeremy. ) I do CAD work also so if that helps (also have Master CAM if the programming guys get sticky with you...).

As far as tension loads on a ball bearing, that has crossed my mind (hence the test setup thought). Having the OEM bearing specs it would list the load/speed, etc.. for the bearing and that would tell the tale right away. I was hoping to find a roller version the same size as the TII part and still use the TII "axle" to save some costs. So what is the tension loading on a TIII belt?


(didn't mean to hijack your thread Xtrempickup)

[Xtrempickup]

i dont mind,im glad somebody is working on something other than just Jackson drilling and regreasing old stuff to get it by for a while

[bansheenut420]

Yeah, because another 50K miles so far is just "getting by" for a while.... lol There are actually a couple people working on replacement ones. :thumb:

[WickedShelby88]

Good to hear its going to be prototyped much they only way I thought would work without finding a specialized bearing supplier. Someone get a 3D Cad of a pulley and I can get a quote the next day. If more than one of us works on this its better than just one guy too.

[Xtrempickup]

somebody on TD lengel has his done nad will be making i guess thats good

[navyboy65]

Well Keep me posted, I'd be interested in one for a back up/spare!
seth@gfire.us

[WickedShelby88]

Someone is sending me one to make a prototype from T6 6061 aluminum stock I've got here at work.
I'd be willing to do stainless or mild steel and have it black oxided as well.