I had a look at my tensioner the other day and it looked ok ish, but the belt was starting to move towards the outer edge and it should be in the middle so as a bit of preventative maintenance I ordered a replacement from Dan.

Swapping it over is not difficult, it is however a little bit fiddly. Access is quite tight, and you have to be careful about breaking the top small coolant hose.

Here is how you do it.

1. Remove top engine cover by pulling up at the front edge. There are 2 pop on fittings at the front and it slots into 2 retainers at the back






2. remove the front intercooler pipe, its held on with a ring clip on the throttle body end and a jubilee clip on the front.





there is a small hose and a connection for a sensor on the sides these need removing. Easy peasy so far.





You will need to wiggle the pipe out being very careful not to break the small hose over it.



you should now be able to see the tensioner and pulleys.

Tension needs to be removed from the belt. I used a long bar and a 21mm socket to release the tension. I popped the belt off the top idler first then off the tensioner to give a bit more slack to play with.






The tensioner itself it held on with 2 10mm bolts at the top. ou should have a new one to hand so you can see where.

Small 10mm 1/4" ratchet and these came undone easily. they aren't mega tight. Remove both bolts.......

And this is why it took me 1.5 hours rather than 1hr..... DONT DROP THE BOLTS INTO THE UNDERTRAY!!!!!! If so you will have to track the bolt down and remove 20 screws on the undertrays to get it back.....





The tensioner should now be loose. You can wiggle it out the top at this point.






Mine did have a little play in the bearing but not too bad.




New tensioner ready to go in. Wigle it back into position. I put the bolt closest to the driver side in first, you have to so this semi blind but you can catch glimpses of where it goes.

this is the fiddly bit. its very doable, but you need a bit of patience.

When both bolts are in, torque to 25NM

Put the big bar and 21mm socket back on the tensioner and pop the belt back on the pulley. Put it back onto the top idler.

Double check that the belt is seated nicely in all the grooved pulleys and over all the right places and idlers.

Refit the bits you took off, not forgetting the small pipe and electrical connections on the intercooler hose.




Start the engine and check it all runs smoothly. The belt now sits in the middle of the tensioner so the other was on its way out!! There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Great write up, nicely done thanks. May I ask the approximate cost of the tensioner and do you have the part number?

The belt on mine is 'whistling' so I suspect it may be the same as yours. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

Tensioner was £112 from Dan (duckworthparts)

For the 4.4 tdv8 the tensioner is LR022809 There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

i've taken the liberty to wiki'fy this Mark..

Great write up - thanks.
Do you know if the belt is simple to do once you remove the tensioner or do you need to remove the fan assembly etc?
thanks, James

Good, write up many thanks on my to-do list.

the belt is not easy to do with just the tensioner off, the fan would need to come off and the fan shroud too I reckon.

I reckon its quite a bit more work than the tensioner on its own.  There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Is this tensioner usually the cause of a squeak when cold? No squeak when warm Gone to a good home: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Buckingham Blue with Ivory and clear glass = "Rory"
2025MY Defender D350 90 in Silicon Silver on coils
1974 Series 3 Lightweight = "Millie"
Many, many other Landies over the years
I use www.glenrands.co.uk Great independent specialist!
--------------------------------------------------

Mine is doing exactly that, the belt is running about 5 mm off the edge of the tensioner, I have bought a new one and fitting it or having it fitted shortly. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

probably.

worth changing, as it will go and fail at some point.. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Put a tensioner on my Xmas list  Gone to a good home: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Buckingham Blue with Ivory and clear glass = "Rory"
2025MY Defender D350 90 in Silicon Silver on coils
1974 Series 3 Lightweight = "Millie"
Many, many other Landies over the years
I use www.glenrands.co.uk Great independent specialist!
--------------------------------------------------

Great write up, could i humbly suggest adding part numbers to aid the slower members ( me )  2015 4.4 AB
GSXR 1000 K5
R1 1998

its on there a couple of posts down


"For the 4.4 tdv8 the tensioner is LR022809" There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Thank you and a classic example of a slower member ( me ) 2015 4.4 AB
GSXR 1000 K5
R1 1998

I checked the tensioner pully today but then saw something worrying.The crankshaft pully seems to run with a wobble Surely this pully must run true?There is no noise and everything is running quiet.Has anybody noticed this?If the front bolt is lose will it not be noisy?The front part of the pully drives the fan and the rear part the rest.The long belt runs smooth with very little movement on the tensioner pully.
Advise please. 2012 TDV8 Vogue SE 4.4