So, I ordered a new OEM belt tensioner & installed it about a week ago. I checked the metal plate in the middle of the spring today & it's bouncing around all over the place. Before I installed the tensioner, I was playing around with the wimpy little Stabiles strut & it really only seemed to have compression damping. When pulling it open, it would just fly open at full speed with no resistance at all. Compression only had a little resistance, all the while making a hydraulic "squishing" noise. Is this normal or should I get this thing exchanged?

 

Define OEM? Genuine MINI or Gates

or

Chiwanese crap posing as OEM

 

showing video marked "private" in a public place does not work....

 

I bought this one from Outmotoring: https://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coo...ensioner_.html

It is the OEM Litens tensioner with the typical Stabilus damper.

Thanks, fixed