VQ40 Belt Tensioner replacement - Engine Squeak

[silentsamurai]

Some of your Nissan Frontier owners may have the squeak problem coming from your motor that sounds like a belt / old beat up motor. I finally got sick of being at a stop light and having people look at my new truck that sounds like it's on it's last leg.

Went to Stadium Nissan in Orange, CA and it was surprisingly cheap. The tensioner was only $37 and the belt was $21 after the guy gave me a discount.

Unfortunately, I only had time to replace the belt. I tried removing the tensioner but it was way too locked in place. Either I remove the entire fan assembly so i can fit a ratchet in there, or i find another way to breaker bar it which isn't going to be easy. Go figure, when I want to work on my truck the sun starts going down at 3:45 in the afternoon.

Im going to keep an ear out and see if all I needed was a belt replacement. Because the V belt I got from Nissan in Orange seemed to have thicker slits on it and the stock one seemed to have thinner grooves and harder material.

Here is a picture of the tensioner that Donahue57 from Clubfrontier(dot)org posted.

Has anyone else here done this DIY? Would like some suggestions on getting to this thing without taking off the entire fan assembly.

Cheers.
Adam

 

[mcm4090]

I haven't done it yet on a Frontier but it looks like you just have to remove the one bolt in the center. Should be able to use a flex head ratchet to remove the bolt with out remove the fan shroud.

 

[fishy_frontier]

I've done it. All I did was replace the tensioner and it fixed the noise. It's best to use a flat ratchet to take the center bolt out since it's quite a squeeze and takes a bit to get out due to the thread pitch. You should be able to get a breaker bar in there if needed. Maybe even try standing on a small stool (depending if your truck is lifted or not) to get a better angle and more leverage.

 

[silentsamurai]

I've done it. All I did was replace the tensioner and it fixed the noise. It's best to use a flat ratchet to take the center bolt out since it's quite a squeeze and takes a bit to get out due to the thread pitch. You should be able to get a breaker bar in there if needed. Maybe even try standing on a small stool (depending if your truck is lifted or not) to get a better angle and more leverage.

I know what you mean about needing a stool. I've got the 3" lift on mine, and parked UP my driveway I feel like a kid leaning over the counter trying to steal one of moms cookies. I just hope I haven't stripped too much off the big bolt yesterday to only have a few tries at it in the next few days.

 

[fishy_frontier]

I know what you mean about needing a stool. I've got the 3" lift on mine, and parked UP my driveway I feel like a kid leaning over the counter trying to steal one of moms cookies. I just hope I haven't stripped too much off the big bolt yesterday to only have a few tries at it in the next few days.

Yea I felt silly leaning over the front end of mine in the driveway. Use some patience with that bolt and make sure the ratchet head has a good grip on it. Let us know how it goes:ylsmoke:

 

[silentsamurai]

So far no squeak what-so-ever. It must have just been my belt. Or like alot of parts on this truck, once you go off-roading everything starts squeeking. Maybe I just had a dirty belt and dirty tensioner. Perhaps moving everything around made it stop. Either way everything seems to be working just fine.