I have an 03 neon and the tesioner pully (for the serpentine belt)went out and caused the belt to break. I bought the new belt but im being told the tensioner is a dealer item only and the engine has to be pulled to get it out. I am going to buy a manual on it this weekend but thought I would ask a few questions first. If the bracket broke also would this cause the engine to have to come out? I have a Dodge caravan and the tensioner and pully come right out without any problems. I have put 2 of them on it. Thanks for the help.
sohc98
08-14-2008, 12:20 AM
i think the tensioner is a dealer only part. is your caravan a 2.0 if so its the same engine as in the neon, depending on if the head is a sohc. i think in 02+ neons they changed the tensioner though to a different style. And no you dont need to pull the enigne out to change teh belt and tensioner. and it would also be a good idea to change your waterpump while doing this to save yourself from future danger.
actually you most likely have some bent valves form the pistons anc valves hitting each other when the belt broke, so you might have some bigger problems than the belt.
low-keyseg92
08-14-2008, 12:30 AM
Im sorry, I was not thinkin...I meant the tensioner for the serpentine belt(alt PS AC) Im at work and was in a hurry...No the caravan was a V6...but I dont have it anymore. lol. Either way, Autozone said it was a dealer item only and the engine had to come out. They were out of Haynes manuals. I dont believe for a minute you have to pull the engine to replace the belt and tensioner. Sorry for the confusion.
sohc98
08-14-2008, 01:21 AM
their is no tensioner for a ps ac belt as far as i know. Just adjust the ps pump to tighten it up. and its not really a serpinite belt it just goes from the crank around the ps and ac. The alternator has its own belt. And still no need to pull the engine for a belt.
low-keyseg92
08-14-2008, 05:15 PM
anybody else want to weigh in on this one?????
sohc98
08-14-2008, 05:37 PM
Trust me their is no tensioner for the accesory belts on any neon. If you look you will see that their is two belts, one for just the alternator and the other runs the power steering and air conditioning. To adjust the ps &ac belt you have to use the ps pump it has two bolts that you losten then adjust the pump so the belt is tight. then for the alt just turn out the bolt untill its tight. its a s simple as that. Just go to the parts store and say you need an alternator belt and a ps belt with ac for a 2003 neon, they will give you the correct ones, and putting them on should take no longer than ten minutes.
low-keyseg92
08-14-2008, 10:12 PM
I called Bankston and talked to their tech. He said there is a tensioner and its 150. and 400 in labor. He said the bracket for it is behind the timing cover andthe tensioner is just next to it. To change it, would be just like doing the timing belt. You have to support/tilt the engine for access and you have to remove the cover but dont actually touch the timing or anything else. He said there is 2 belts but every belt that controls more than one accessory will have a tensioner. Im not working on the car myself and cannot look at it, so I cant verify anything. These things are difficult to do when you are getting info from a 3rd party. Thanks for the help....
sohc98
08-14-2008, 11:46 PM
Dude your getting screwed, and fed a bunch of bs their is only one tensioner on a 2.0 engine and the only thing it is for is the timing belt nothing else, that is why its behind the timing belt cover. just think of it this way if the belts are on the outside of the timing cover and the tensioner is behind it how could it put tension on the accesory belts?
sohc98
08-14-2008, 11:56 PM
here i just cut this page form my repair manual so you can see.
low-keyseg92
08-15-2008, 09:17 AM
hmmmm...well he said the bracket for the tensioner was mounted behind the cover not the tensioner itself. I wish I was where I could see the car myself. I appreciate your help. I passed the information on to her. Her husband already pulled the engine so its outta my hands now...lol. These neons are to complicated thats why I drive a Honda...lmao. thanks again.
sohc98
08-16-2008, 12:59 AM
Well i decided to do some research on this and found out that i was wrong their is a tensioner for the 2000+ neon. I didnt know that the engine was changed for the 2nd gen. To me this is a stupid upgrade as the 1st gen setup works fine and is actually more reliable, seeing as the tensioner wears out on the 2 gen setup. Any way you still dont need to pull the engine to replace it. If the timing belt can be done with the engine in the car so can this. Good luck with it.
