audi 80tdi belt tensioner

[littlekev]

hi can anyone tell me how to change alternator belt tensioner?the pully which keeps tension on the ribbed belt on my tdi is shot to pieces and the belt just slips icant figure out how this comes apart any help or advice would be great.i think the pully can be bought rather than a complete unit

[Wings]

Unscrew the nut in the center of the tension-wheel....easy!

[Marc97]

I've posted a similar question before and got a similar answer.
My question now id, how does the tensioner wheel provide the tension for the belt? Surely there must be some other doohickey with spring in it that keeps the belt tight.

[Wings]

Not in mine. I've got an Audi 80 Avant -94, and my tension-hickey is also blown to smithereenes. However by using a tyre-iron or equiv. you will be able to tighten it enough. Be aware to loosen the two 13mm nuts on the rear of the alternator...one is hidden behind the coolant-hose.
Also barely loosen the nut in front, connecting the alt. to the frame mounted on the engine-block.

[TDi-iac]

Crushed the casing on the tensioner a few months back on my '95 80 TDi, and it was a knightmare to replace, due to the pre-tension built into the unit. Nothing a bit of elbow greese, common sense, and a 400mm socket extender bar for leverage couldnt fix