GM vs. ACDelco belt tensioner

[Falcon_LS]

The belt tensioner on my Envoy was bouncing all over the place, so I decided to replace it today. I pulled the part number off a GM parts catalog by VIN, and none of the part suppliers and shops had this part number (12573024). Luckily the GMC dealer had one left in quite a distant warehouse, so I went and go it. Not a bad price either at $73.50. It's made by Litens in Canada.

The ACDelco part (89034219) is what everyone stocked and they stopped supplying the GM part because nobody would pay for it - $38.53 vs. $73.50. That didn't have a brand stamped on it, just "Made in Canada". The pulley is made of "thermoplastic" versus the steel one on the GM unit.

The GM part is double the price, and I can't see the steel pulley costing that much more. What makes the other part cheaper, is the bearing and spring of lesser quality?

 

[csx7006]

Canadian made

 

[Kruse]

A fair amount of aftermarket replacement tensioners have a bearing that is made in China. But the GM part may have a bearing made in China also.
A couple of years ago, I needed two pulleys for my Mark VIII. Once was an idler and one was a tensioner, but they were interchangeable. I stopped at a NAPA, and since they only had one, I also stopped at a Car Quest to purchase the second one. Both pulleys had a "Made in USA" marking on them. Both of the contents had a pulley that was made in Canada and a bearing that was made in China. Maybe the box was made in USA.

 

[EvanD]

I paid the extra. The plastic one didn't last a year before loosing tension. The thicker pulley made getting the belt on a horrible pain. You want the steel one. It's stronger and the steel pulley is smaller in width and curves down towards the front. This makes the belt change significantly easier to change. I will post pics on the two later tonight. My experience with the cheap one resulted in belt noise that drove me nuts.
my post
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3168802&page=1

 

[JHZR2]

I had gotten a tensioner once and it was made in Mexico or China. Spring got soft quick. Gates brand (IIRC, otherwise it was Dayco) was US made and has been fine since.

 

[zzyzzx]

I also like the Litens tensioners. I bought mine (Motorcraft branded) off Amazon and it was not that expensive.

 

[Cardenio327]

Originally Posted By: Kruse
Both of the contents had a pulley that was made in Canada and a bearing that was made in China. Maybe the box was made in USA.


This seems fairly common nowadays. We install quite a few suspension bushings that say "Made in USA" on the box but are stamped China or Mexico on the bushing.

When Tree Top was the second to last apple juice to not use Chinese juice, the labels stated that all their juice proudly comes from Washington State while the lot number and expiration date had the word "China" printed to one side.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Cardenio327

When Tree Top was the second to last apple juice to not use Chinese juice, the labels stated that all their juice proudly comes from Washington State while the lot number and expiration date had the word "China" printed to one side.


OT I know, but seriously??? WOW! Another thing to boycott. Golden delicious apples from here in the USA were absolutely delicious this year.

 

[IndyIan]

I just did the serpentine belt tensioner and the idler pulley on the Tracker, as both bearings were quite rough running. I ended up with a US made dayco tensioner with a japanese bearing for half price of the other brands, off of rock auto.
The idler pulley was the same price locally as rockauto but with no shipping, it ended up being a goodyear one made in japan with a japanese bearing.
I was surprised to see that the original metal pulleys had worn about 1/8" as they looked like they were made with a small groove to hold the belt on, but the replacements were smooth.
I guess they see a bit of grit up there but I would never have guessed that they would wear significantly.

 

[EvanD]

ok pics notice the metal one is tougher has a firmer spring and is the same as original GM that lasted over 100k


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