Krikit belt tension gauges

[rationull]

My Subaru has an "old school" crank-alternator-power steering belt that is tensioned by the alternator position - no automatic tensioner. Well, not totally old school as it is a multi-ribbed belt, not a V belt. In any case, being the sucker for measurement that I am, I bought a Krikit belt tension gauge (branded by Gates, although it looks like Dayco has the same thing). Seems like a reasonably well constructed piece, and easy enough to use.

The car has only about 12k miles on it. I measured the belt tension the other day and it was off the scale on the low end. To be fair, the tension is spec'd at 50-65 kg which is at the very low end of the gauge.

Now, I'm not actually worried about this, but I find myself wondering whether the tension is actually low or whether the gauge is worthless. Anyone have any experience with these tools?

 

[MNgopher]

I use a krikit guage on my '88 Cherokee. No automatic belt tensioner on that one either.

I find I end up tightening up the belt a lot more than I would have before I had the guage. That being said, I've also never had any problems with belts slipping or bearing wear since.

At least on my Jeep, the tension specification is different for a new belt or a used belt (the new belt goes on tighter as it will stretch with break in time).

 

[mechtech2]

Good luck getting any tension gauge to work consistently.

 

[rationull]

The way this gauge is designed, it seems like it should be pretty consistent assuming you apply careful pressure and always use about the same spot on the belt to measure.

The manual for this car also has two tension specs, one for new belts and one for re-used one, with the new spec being higher tension.

 

[MNgopher]

Given the range of tension that my vehicle specifies, if I generally get it near the middle of the spec, there are no issues with consistency. Still beats making a WAG (as i stated, the belts go on a lot tighter than I previously assumed).

 

[artbuc]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Good luck getting any tension gauge to work consistently.


I like the old "tighten until you can just turn the belt 90 degrees at its mid-point" trick. Only problem is that depends on how strong you are. Every year my belts get a little looser!