Belt Squeal not covered?!?!

[RocsMerc]

My car has had continuous belt squealing problems for as long as I owned it. When I first bought the car about a year and a half ago with 39,000 miles in it, the belt started squeaking two days after I brought it home. I brought it back to thew dealer I bought it from with in a week and they replaced the belt free of charge. About four or five months later, the same belt squeal returned. I thought they might have given me a faulty belt, so I brought the car back to the same dealer only to find out that they closed down. I decided to bring it to a dealer that was closer to my house since that one was gone. When this dealer looked at my car they said that the alternator pulley was bad and that i needed a whole new alternator. They replaced my alternator under warranty and I payed the $100 deductible. A few more months went by until the weather got cold again this past October and the same sounding squeal started again. I went to bring it back to the same dealer that changed the alternator only to find out that they closed down too. After that I got lazy and just lived with it for a while since the squeal was intermittent and I wanted to bring it into the dealer while it was squealing. A couple of days ago I had an electrical problem with my break light switch so it gave me an excuse to bring in the car again. Now my car is at a third dealership and I got a call this morning telling me that the brake switch is covered under warranty and will be replaced but the squeal is caused by a bad belt tensioner and it's not covered under my "Extra Care" warranty. They told me the part would be $170. I found an older post on this site that claimed that there is a TSB on this part. Is this true or false? :confused: If it's true, can anyone show me some documentation that I can show the dealer? :help:

From http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20088&highlight=tensioner+tsb

Take your Marauder to your DEALER.
There is a TSB on the tensioner.
They will replace TENSIONER AND BELT.

My Tensioner started to squeak around 30,000 miles.
My Dealership replaced it and the belt without asking any questions.

Tensioners are NOT normal maintenace items.
I've never had a tensioner go bad or need replacement before the Marauder.

Just take it back to your Dealership.

[fastblackmerc]

Replace the tensioner yourself. The aftermarket part is cheap. Takes about 15 minutes of your time.

[RocsMerc]

If it's not a covered part, I'm willing to pay for it and let them do it. (I got a nice tax return check yesterday, lol) I just want to know that I'm not being ripped off for something that should be free.

[centexmarauder]

i had the same exact problem i replaced the belt with a $40 gatorback and thier was silence. may not be the prob. but try a really good belt, one desinged to make no noise. everyone said it was the tensioner or some bearing but i thought id try the belt one more time.

[ts-pa]

Gates tensioner assembly is only $50 or so from NAPA.

[fastblackmerc]

I recommend that you replace the smooth & ribbed idler pulleys if you replace the tensioner. They all get the same wear.

Belt Tensioner:
Dayco – 305291
Goodyear – 49293

Idler Pulleys:
Dayco (smooth) - 89007
FoMoCo (ribbed) - YW7Z-8678-AA

Goodyear Gatorback erpentine belt:
P/N 4060922

There made it easier for you... you didn't have to search.

[RocsMerc]

I got the car back and no more squeal. It turns out the price of $170 they gave me actually included labor, so the bill wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. The only thing that concerns me now is at the top of my bill it says "03 G Marq" under year/model. Is it at all possible that I could have gotten coverage on this part but didn't because some idiot put me in the computer as a Grand Marque?

[dfjkl]

That's the thing I noted...no one actually answered your question about whether or not it was covered...I'd be curious too....I know not myself.

[ts-pa]

I got the car back and no more squeal. It turns out the price of $170 they gave me actually included labor, so the bill wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. The only thing that concerns me now is at the top of my bill it says "03 G Marq" under year/model. Is it at all possible that I could have gotten coverage on this part but didn't because some idiot put me in the computer as a Grand Marque?

Your warranty coverage is based on the policy, not which car was used when getting the parts. It is possible that parts used are the same for both SOHC & DOHC engines. So the listing of the GM shouldn't be of concern.

[ts-pa]

That's the thing I noted...no one actually answered your question about whether or not it was covered...I'd be curious too....I know not myself.

Most policies do not cover wear items. Is it possible that the idlers & tensioners are considered wear items?

[chader]

That's the thing I noted...no one actually answered your question about whether or not it was covered...I'd be curious too....I know not myself.
TSB are not free.They are just advice on fixing a problem.
Are dealers closing down like that all over or just there?

[RocsMerc]

Are dealers closing down like that all over or just there?
Here on Long Island, Ford Dealerships are dropping like flies.

[PonyGuy]

Rumor has it that people are a little scared of buying a Ford product for fear that FoMoCo will go bust. Could be a self-fulfilling rumor...