Searching for HD cooling tensioner

One of my customers cars broke a tensioner and I'm having a hard time finding it. Willing to pay $60+, and I'd rather not do an electric swap.

I will have one in a month or so. I realize the owner wants it sooner, but that is the best I can do, unless some fresh meat shows up in the local yards.

Ty this guy: http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/8-parts-sale-wanted/1287577-mechanical-fan-parts.html

Howdy - it appears it's been a while since this topic has been brought up.

Has it been confirmed throughout the whole whale universe that there are no known new/NOS HD tensioners out there?

Today I discovered a '96 at a local repair shop, the car's been down for 5 or six months, mechanic said they have looked everywhere.

Thought I might be able to help by looking here...

I have one. Please p.m. me

They have been unavailable new or aftermarket for years.

Another person, same request. Anyone have a tensioner I could purchase? Thanks.

CanaveralSB wrote:

Another person, same request.  Anyone have a tensioner I could purchase? Thanks.

PM sent

Sadly, Tom's kind lead did not work out, so I am still looking for an HD tensioner if anyone has one.

I just picked one. $75 plus $12 shipping. I accept paypal at jfkiehl@ij.net.

I sold it on facebook.

I have another tensioner. I would like $75 plus $12 shipping. I have it on ebay, so if you are interested let me know quickly. I accept paypal.

Has anyone looked to see if the one could be made? Perhaps the spring can from another application with a machined or fabricated mount and arm? What makes that unit so unique?

I thought of that as an option, but have not investigated it. The mount is a unique part, but the rest of it may be just as unique. The pulley is also unique, as far as I can determine. It is a small ribbed pulley. The unit can be disassembled with a Torx bit.

Look at one from a 99-06 GM truck with the 5.3. The pulley might just swap over and the spring could be swapped as well if you're very careful. Yes, the spring (and whatever they use for dampening) does wear.

I called Gates to inquire about reproducing if I placed a large order. They said the molds have been destroyed and it would cost $60k to reproduce them

Maybe someone could 3D print the parts out of metal.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

Maybe someone could 3D print the parts out of metal.

I was thinking the same thing. Of course it would need to be very good high strength, high temp, sintered metal materials which are expensive and require furnaces and such. Probably also a custom spring wind which require minimums and are fairly expensive.

I think it could be done.

I haven't seen the castings, but it is also possible a CNC machine could profile them depending on the geometry.

I believe the issue is the spring. If there is another tensioner with the same spring it could be swapped. I believe the HD tensioner can be disassembled, because the center bolt is a hex. I would be extremely careful with it. Having a fair size order of specific springs could make the cost reasonable.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

I believe the issue is the spring. If there is another tensioner with the same spring it could be swapped. I believe the HD tensioner can be disassembled, because the center bolt is a hex. I would be extremely careful with it. Having a fair size order of specific springs could make the cost reasonable.

When I was still working, we would order custom wound springs pretty regularly for prototypes and sometimes for old equipment where the springs were no longer available from the OEM. They were not very bad price wise as you might think. Most winders are used to needing to do prototypes as that is where most of their new business for big quantities come from. Haven't done any in the last probably 15 years but I would assume it would still be similar, especially with the rapid prototyping now available nobody has time to go offshore for things like spring prototypes.

there is a stainless steel filament that can be used on most 3d printers that can be debound and sintered to leave behind a solid metal part, but the problem again is cost.

All filament rolls are sold by weight, a 3kg or 6.6lb roll costs about $465, and then the processing tickets range from 50 to 80 dollars but each one is supposed to be good for up to one kg of parts. however there are nylon composite filaments that have carbon fiber, glass fiber, and Kevlar fiber in them, but sadely my printer is currently unable to print these materials due to the hotend temps required to get good layer adhesion.

As for springs maybe someone could look at supercharger tensioner springs, as I've seen them for sale so maybe one of those type might be the right tension for use.

goldwolfnhn wrote:

there is a stainless steel filament that can be used on most 3d printers that can be debound and sintered to leave behind a solid metal part, but the problem again is cost.

All filament rolls are sold by weight, a 3kg or 6.6lb roll costs about $465, and then the processing tickets range from 50 to 80 dollars but each one is supposed to be good for up to one kg of parts. however there are nylon composite filaments that have carbon fiber, glass fiber, and Kevlar fiber in them, but sadely my printer is currently unable to print these materials due to the hotend temps required to get good layer adhesion.

As for springs maybe someone could look at supercharger tensioner springs, as I've seen them for sale so maybe one of those type might be the right tension for use.

The spring must physically fit the case as well.

One more person looking for a tensioner. If someone has one I’d be happy to pay well for it. Thanks.

I am almost certain I have one, and also the fan and shroud and etc. I took off when I did my fan delete. Problem is that I am in physical rehab for a broken ankle and have no idea when I will get out of here. I have a buddy who sometimes uses my garage on weekends. Next time I know he will be there I will ask him to go up into the loft and take some pix. I too would take $75 plus shipping if that is the going price. If it's up there I'll have to scratch my head some on the shipping.

I picked a tensioner today. The pulley is a little chipped up, but the tensioner still works. $75 plus $12 shipping. BTW shipping will be going up this winter. 5-8%.

I do love ‘Apollo 13’ type discussions….about finding solutions to seemingly impossible problems (replacement tensioner unavailable). Used to have a super cheap boss, we called ourselves ‘Cuban mechanics’. Getting that SOB to buy parts to fix a truck properly wasn’t an option….we’d have make repairs with what we had on hand, or we could salvage. Anywho, I’m rambling. My question, how much do some guys HATE electric fans? 3D printing, smelting operations, springs wound to aerospace specs? I get there’s a simplicity to mechanical fans….but treat yourself to a modern upgrade! Electric fans are just more efficient, and free up a teeny bit of power. Just my two cents. All in good fun!

I still have the tensioner.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

I still have the tensioner.

I have the heavy duty tow pack with mechanical fan on mine. Starting to have a squeek and I'm not sure where it's coming from, might need this tensioner if it's still available. Are they rebuildable? Am I correct when I say that GM part number 88920945 is the tensioner for accesory belt (readily available) and the tensioner you are referring to that is no longer made is the tensioner for the V belt on the mechanical fan?

The one I have is for the fan. It has a serpentine style belt.

You can not rebuild the tensioner, but you can replace the bearing in the pulley.

Squeeking can be anything from a bad bearing to a slipping belt.

""Starting to have a squeek""

Spray Armor All on the drive belt. If the squeak instantly quiets, it is coming from the belt itself. Our cars seem to get a problem as they age and the various pully surfaces get polished. A new belt will help, but only for a short time. The only permanent "cure" is a segmented groove serpentine drive belt, which is getting hard to find.

You might also want to look at the harmonic balancer ring to see if it has become unbonded.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

The one I have is for the fan. It has a serpentine style belt.

You can not rebuild the tensioner, but you can replace the bearing in the pulley.

Squeeking can be anything from a bad bearing to a slipping belt.

I replaced my belts today and accesory tensioner and found the bearing is shot in the fan tensioner AND my alternator pulley is wobbly. Do you have any info on rebuilding this tensioner, bearing part number or write up etc. Also, please PM me details on the fan tensioner I may need to buy it from you.

If the tensioner itself is not the issue. you can remove the pulley, and the pulley bearing has a number on it. After you remove the pulley, you should be able to press the bearing out, and a new one with the same number in, if you support the pulley properly.

There is a nut on the front of the alternator that holds the alternator pulley in place. You can use an impact wrench to tighten the nut on the shaft. That should fix the alternator pulley. If it does not, the alternator should be replaced, or repaired.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

If the tensioner itself is not the issue. you can remove the pulley, and the pulley bearing has a number on it. After you remove the pulley, you should be able to press the bearing out, and a new one with the same number in, if you support the pulley properly.

There is a nut on the front of the alternator that holds the alternator pulley in place. You can use an impact wrench to tighten the nut on the shaft. That should fix the alternator pulley. If it does not, the alternator should be replaced, or repaired.

I got the tensioner pulley off, it may be an aftermarket pulley, made by Gates. Bearing number on it is "6203 LH". Do you know what the LH stand for?

https://www.amazon.com/6203-2RS-Sealed-Bearing-17x40x12-Lubricated/dp/B079YTDXGN/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=257FHECWF1YRR&keywords=6203+bearing&qid=1643689733&sprefix=6203%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=A3RMJZMAP3U4RK&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNTVXV0M3Rlg3NExFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTkxNDU0M0pTRUY3WlgwV0FWUSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODkwMTk2MklUSkJKM0MzMzBUNCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

I ordered this 6203 2RS bearing because it seems to be the closest to it.

All the manufacturers use different suffixes on bearings and it looks like this particular bearing was used a lot of places in vehicles, pumps, and other OEM products so may be an OEM specific suffix not sold over the counter except in some aftermarket stuff using the callout.

Lost of people asking the same questions, though, about what it is and where to get them. Even Audi used them it appears.

It does appear to be a deep groove ball bearing in metric sizing with double rubber seals so my guess is that most any 6203 number bearing with that description would work OK. The problem is that you don't know anything about the clearances in the bearing or grease for certain, but again guessing it is likely that because there are no other prefixes of suffixes if you get a 6203 without other suffixes it should be the same. It appears a lot of places are recommending a 6203LU as a replacement. Suffixes often determine the speed rating and load characteristics and they make a lot different combinations within the same bearing number group.

As with all bearings these days, it is probably going to be very hard to find good bearings at all. When I see two bearings for $8 I tend to grimace a bit as skateboard wheels are more cost than that. I think it may pay to go visit a local industrial bearing supplier as they would be selling to many pump and other repair places. That would probably mean they have crossed paths with this issue many times already. Yep, you will pay more there, but the odds of getting the right/good bearing would probably be higher.

Others here might know offhand, but if the pulley and bearing part of the damper is the same as the non tow one, you might be time and money ahead to get a new pulley and bearing. Sometimes the pulleys are a blind hole except for bolt clearance and hard to push out the bearing without damaging the pulley.

The OEMs have to be getting good bearings somewhere, I wish I knew where.

The pulley and bearing are only on the HD/tow package. They may be on other cars, but they are only on the HD/tow package in the B and D body cars.

You can look at the bearing manufacturer for their quality. A Timkin is a good quality bearing. There are some other high end bearings that are also known for quality. Stay away from "no-name " brands.

The bearing on the gates pulley is not replaceable without grinding away shoulder material. It's as if the pulley was molded around the bearing. I went the service route, removed the seals and blasted with parts cleaned and regreased. It rolls smoothly now and that may be a permanent fix.

What did you use to remove the seals? Sometimes they can be very hard to get out without damage.

That does not look like a shoulder that precludes removal of the bearing. I do not recommend that you use yours as a test part, but it does look like it can be removed. If I can find the time, maybe my chipped up one would be a good test part. What is the part number on the pulley? Did you check if they are available.

I carefully along the edge of the seal pried with the tip of a razor blade to get the seals off.

The bearing O.D. is 40mm, and the surface you see of the bearing in the pic was measured at 36mm. So there is a 2mm raised shoulder trapping the outside bearing race that would need to be grinded away so I passed on that. The only number on the pulley was gates 62 4.

Purplezombie wrote:

I carefully along the edge of the seal pried with the tip of a razor blade to get the seals off.

The bearing O.D. is 40mm, and the surface you see of the bearing in the pic was measured at 36mm. So there is a 2mm raised shoulder trapping the outside bearing race that would need to be grinded away so I passed on that.  The only number on the pulley was gates 62 4.

That shoulder makes it sound like the bearing would push out the to the other side. What does that look like.

booster wrote:

Purplezombie wrote:

I carefully along the edge of the seal pried with the tip of a razor blade to get the seals off.

The bearing O.D. is 40mm, and the surface you see of the bearing in the pic was measured at 36mm. So there is a 2mm raised shoulder trapping the outside bearing race that would need to be grinded away so I passed on that.  The only number on the pulley was gates 62 4.

That shoulder makes it sound like the bearing would push out the to the other side.  What does that look like.

Identical on both sides! It's like the pulley was molded around the bearing. I would imagine if I was careful with a dremel I would be successful in getting the bearing out/pressing a new one in, but since this was my only pulley I just went the safe route.

I would wager that the bearing is pressed out/in. The steel pulley on the 91-93 tensioner has a similar bearing, and it can be pressed out on either side.

I just ordered a new gates part # 38145 tensioner from rock auto. $41 delivered. When it arrives, will eyeball compare it to a used tensioner I bought a few months back.

The 38145 appears to be the tensioner for the electric fan wagons.

Oh fudge
Will still eyeball it when it arrives
Does anyone know the difference?

I have one for sale. $75 plus shipping. It has a good pulley with it.

I bought one from you in Daytona, for when it's needed. Just thought there might be an option.

That is the only one that fits. There are no new ones.

hello..
i have a tensioner i pulled from one of my '95 roadmaster wagons..
if anyone needs one, please let me know..
i also have (if i have not yet sent it to the dump) the mechanical fan blade assembly..
$75..? i'll take $60 + shipping or swap me some other parts..