Belt tensioner noise?

[cougar9150]

I just replaced my belt tensioner w/a Dayco unit from Advanced. My old one did it to and it was also a Dayco (on the car when I bought it). What happens is that when the AC kicks on or a load is put on the motor you can hear the tensioner lock up and hit the end of the groove. it also sems to move more than any other tensioner I have had on my other cars. Is this normal for all tensioners or should I just go get a Ford one? It isn't horrible just slightly annoying. I also replaced the idler pulley w/the Dayco part, and a new belt at the same time

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

You're sure you are not hearing the AC clutch? The clutch solenoid on these cars is very loud, and you can easily hear the loud CLICK when it kicks in or out, from pretty far away from the car outside. The clutch CLICK will correspond to when the tensioner grabs due to the increased load on the belt. Your tensioner is probably not bottoming out, and what you are hearing sounds normal for this car. I would not worry about it. I am observing this w/all stock parts on a 30k mile car.

[ckadiddle]

Loud click or chirp when a/c compressor kicks in is normal. I can hear it with windows up and radio off.

[cougar9150]

Okay thats good news for once. Thanks for the info.