Is This Normal For D5 Drive Belt?

[zakmuh]

Hi There,

I'm not sure about the drive belt in my 2007 Volvo XC90 D5 engine. The car drives all fine though. Please have a look at the Youtube video below:

https://youtu.be/nP07n_Z7AZ4

In this video I'm showing the drive belt while engine is idling. It looks to me that the belt is not tight enough. So I replaced the tensioner but the belt still looks not tight. Is that right or is it normal? Do you think the belt is streched?

Any advice on this would be highly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Zak

[GreenV8S]

They do normally jump around a bit, but that looks quite lively.

Typically the belt and tensioner will have a similar life. Have you replaced the belt too? If not, check the condition of the belt and consider replacing that too. If there is any debris in the belt or the ribs are wearing, that will make it jump around too. Also check the condition of the other pulleys and bearings in the belt run. Uneven wear on a flat pulley could indicate misalignment or worn bearings in that pulley or its neighbors.

ETA: Also, the OEM tensioner would have included a damper but aftermarket ones often don't - that can make the belt tend to flap more, and that tendency will be worse if there are any problems with the belt or any or the pulleys.

[E-bmw]

Looks perfectly normal to me.

ETA, although as above, I would have changed both belt & tensioner together.

Edited by E-bmw on Saturday 8th December 20:26

[oakdale]

The flapping belt and belt chirping that can be heard, suggest to me that the alternator clutch pulley has seized.

[zakmuh]

Thanks for your quick replies guys. There is a rattling noise from the engine bay when idling and it goes away when driving.

The belt looks new. No cracks or debris. All the other pullys are okay as well-no plays or wobbly. The flapping level is same before and after replcaing the tensioner. If that flapping is normal as you say, then I just replaced the tensioner for nothing. Live and learn eh!

Cheers

[Justin S]

Volvo/ Ford struggled for some reason to get the tensioner to work on the D5's . I 'think' they were on the mk 5 or 6 according to my dealer when our alternator pulley also failed and needed replacement as well as the fourth tensioner in 60k miles .

[Sardonicus]

oakdale said:

The flapping belt and belt chirping that can be heard, suggest to me that the alternator clutch pulley has seized.

< This common as you like with these sprag/freewheel style alt pulleys