Finally got a couple of decently warm days and decided to do a little maintenance. Changed the oil, installed my Minspeed tensioner stop, and basically visually checked most everything. I noticed that the damper on my tensioner is toast. Lots of shock oil covering it. No dampening left at all. (side note.....anyone know if this part is available anywhere without buying the whole tensioner?) Well I went out for a nice spirited drive after (first time in quite awhile, been a messy winter here so far). After getting the car warmed up I went to my favorite section of road. I noticed that as I was going thru the gears that the engine just kind of goes soft from about 6k to redline. No real noticeable sounds. But the rpm's just kind of level off. Nothing drastic, but definitely noticeable. Hadn't noticed this before winter set in.

Could this be caused by a slipping belt? I noticed my tensioner is about all the way out. The hole is barely visible. I know I need to change the belt (going with the NAPA belt 060535). Should I be looking somewhere else for the problem? Any how-to's available for the belt swap?

 

It could very well be a slipping Drive belt. Here's a DIY thread for those of us with no drive belt tensioner tool.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=126986

Jeremy

 

If it's only at high rpm your computer could be retarding timing due to knocks/pings or detonation. What kind of fuel do you use? is the car breathing right (ie: dirty filter). If you can't see the hole in your tensioner it's a real good chance your belt is slipping. But, it's always good to keep your eyes open instead of only looking at one option.

 

Thanks for the link! Sounds just like what I am experiencing. Can I change the belt from below after getting the tensioner taken care of?

 

Only use Chevron 92 and the filter is an Alta recently cleaned.

No codes and no knocking/pinging. Just a slow down of the engine at high rpm.

 

Yes I think the tensioners come with a pull pin in place so after you install the tensioner, lay on the new belt and relieve the tension and enjoy full boost!

Try some fuel injector cleaner with your next fill up too.

Jeremy