I purchased the tensioner bar to keep the tensioner from crashing into my crank pulley if the belt broke and noticed two tings:
1. The little shock/damper had almost no dampening ability. Not sure how much it had as new but right now not sure if it could dampen anything. I could easily puch the shaft of the shock in and out.
2. The bolts that mount the little shock/damper to the tensioner were each at a very low torque. No where near the 24 ft. pounds suggested for reinstallation. Probably were at about 5 ft. lbs.

Sould I replace the entire unit (tensioner) or can you replace just the little shock?
I have about 42k miles on my Mini.

Thanks for any help here.
What has been your experience in installing the tensioner bar?

 

That does sound a bit strange. I would give the supplier a call asap before installing it. Either that is the way it is supposed to be or they should replace it.

 

I also noticed when I installed the stop bar last weekend that the bolts on the shock were nowhere near 24 ft. lbs. of torque. I didn't tightened them to 24 either because I wanted to make sure the stop bar was able to move. Did use red loctite but I'm second guesssing myself now- the info on the pack says you have to heat the bolts to something like 500 degrees to break them loose after it's cured. I'd have to remove the whole tensioner to get some heat on the bolts if I wanted to turn them! I didn't test the shock's damping ability, but I could move it without difficulty to line up the bolt holes on my 2003 with 26,000 miles. Good luck and if you get some definitive answer please post. Thanks.

 

Thanks, I will.

Paul