Tensioner belt?

[tomjj]

Hi there,
When i got my car i noticed on the front left side of the engine bay there was a rattling type noise. I did not really know what this was.
I had the cambelt done before i got the car as a condition of the sale.
I still had the rattling noise coming from near the cambelt general area.

I've recently taken the car to VW and they say to fix the rattle they will replace the 'tensioner' belt and this will fix the problem. I've no idea what this 'tensioner' belt is nor where it is. It was all a bit vague. Cost was about £60 then labour on top.

Any idea what this tensioner belt is? I presume it is not done when the cambelt is done then? Does this often rattle?

The noise is annoying and i want to be rid of it. The price sounds OK but need to ensure this will fix it.

Thanks.

[tomjj]

Any idea anyone?
Thanks.

[richgolfmk5tdi]

seems like it could be your alternator belt tensioner thats causing the rattle, so should'nt be to hard to cure, fingers crossed.

[DSGFAN]

Hi there ! i`ve noticed you have had a tensioner belt problem, i think i`m buying a car with that same problem, did it get resolved ? And when you mention that the noise camed from de left side it is the left side when you are facing the car, right? Thanks

[tomjj]

Hi,
I took it to a local garage and they said what it was straight away.

It was the alternator belt or tensioner belt or aux belt or whatever it gets called by different people. It's the one next to the cambelt on the left hand side (as you look) at the engine bay and next to the fuel pump i think it was. You can see the belt from above anyway.

Apparently over time these can just get old and loose and cause a rattle or something similiar.

Anyway the price was under £100 all in i think. The price was about £57 for the belt plus the vat or something. Can't quite remember.

TBH i was prepared to pay £100 to get rid of that rattle and did not think twice about it. The rattle has now gone and i'm very pleased.