Ok so I made a fatal mistake on the side of the high way in a bad mood trying remove my seized tensioner pulley! I cranked the bolt without thinking counter clockwise stripping the reverse threads in the housing! Now I know I could probably remove this and helicoil it or even just replace it with one out of a wreck, but this is what I did as a sort of temp maybe permanent fix.


Since the hole goes right through the housing where the pulley is bolted on, I used a slightly smaller bolt and a nut on the other side to secure the tensioner pulley to the housing. The only downside that I see so far is that in order to release pressure on the tensioner to put the new belt on I had to pry it down with a crowbar as opposed to using a rachet on the nut, because it is no longer a reverse thread. Does anyone think it will be a problem if I just leave the bolt and the nut in there?

That sounds sketch to me, especially if you used a smaller bolt thus possibly leading to play in the pulley bearing. I'm all for cheap fixes, but this one sounds like it's going to land you on the side of the road again with complete tensioner pulley failure or belt breakage. I would be buying a whole need assembly and fix it right, but that's just me. They aren't that much and can be had at any junkyard or Morads Parts Co. I'm not a fan for " g...o rigged fixes" when it comes to important things like engine work.

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Dubs:00 VW GTI VR6, Low and Slow 91 VW GTI 8v, Shave the Bay!! 91 VW Cabriolet 8v, bitch Basket
GP's:04 GP GT, Past now G-Ma's Girlfriend's 97 GP GT, "Project Pink Power"

I know what your saying but in reagrds to the pulley bearing it does not rotate on the bolt, the bolt passes through the actual surface that the bearing seats on, and is only used to pressure a plate or washer like device against the center of the bearing so that the exterior pully will spin around the bearing!

I know how GM designed it thank you very much. I'm saying you are introducing stresses to the "system" that would not normally be there with the correct bolt. And I'm not talking about how the bearing itself is held onto the arm, but how the bolt you are using can wiggle just the slightest in the tensioner arm hole (since you obviously have to use a smaller bolt to get through the reverse threaded hole) thus causing problems in the entire pulley moving under changing loads.

Keep it like that if you want, but I'd personally spend the 10-15 bucks and fix it right.

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Dubs:00 VW GTI VR6, Low and Slow 91 VW GTI 8v, Shave the Bay!! 91 VW Cabriolet 8v, bitch Basket
GP's:04 GP GT, Past now G-Ma's Girlfriend's 97 GP GT, "Project Pink Power"

It's a common mistake that happens to the best of us; If a temporary fix works for now, go with it until you can get the tensioner. If it doesn't work, you'll be the first to know!

Why risk having a problem again? Fix it right. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about saving money and fixing stuff up all jank, I did it on my GTP all the time, but only when I knew it wasn't going to cause a problem down the road.

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'05 WRX STi - COBB Stage 2|Invidia DP|3" Borla XR-1|Coilovers|Camber Plates|Swaybars|Endlinks|Bushings|Braces|Anti Lift Kit|DBA4000s|SS lines|
Sold: 06 Cobalt SS/SC, 99 GTP 245WHP/326 Ft-lbs, 06 R6