hi, i'm a newb at mechanics. first off, i have a 96' chevy blazer s10 with 4.3l. i installed a altenator and noticed that the spring tension pulley was crooked. so i took it off and re-locked it and threaded it back on. when i try to re-install the belt do i push down on the tension pulley? cause when i did this, i did get the belt on but the tension pulley got screwed up again. how do i get the serpentine belt on, tension pulley? maybe i need a new one?

 

push in on the tensioner its easier if you got too people cuz it can be a bit of a pain in the ***

 

There should be a square hole in the arm of the belt tensioner. I use my 1/2" breaker bar with a 1/2" to 3/8" adapter on my '00. The earlier ones may have a 1/2" square hole however. Take a look and you should see it.

 

Well Kyle the '96 model year has a different style of tensioner according to Autozone website, it is shorter and does not contain the square hole similar to our '00. I would make a good guess that it is also not located in the same area.

But if the tensioner is not staying aligned it needs to be replaced...bythe description of the problem a bearing has failed. If this is the case then you would need to remove the tensioner and find the bad part and replace it. I replaced mine with one from a auto recycle yard (more comonly known as a wrecking yard), the pulley wheel is removable and it that is the problem it can be replaced...

Autozone lists the tensioner at $35 approx...

 

My information came from a GM service DVD and was checked from another source. If yours is different, then well... Sorry. But if you are going with the picture shown on the Autozone website, then that is the side that points towards the block... The front side (towards the radiator) should have the square hole in it. This is what is used to relieve the belt tension. The tensioner listed for your '96 is the exact same as that listed for my '00 Bravada.

As far as the alignment, something has to be broken if it isn't staying aligned.