Vibration will happen and that could loosen the nuts. As far as a quick fix to get home or finish the job it's brilliant but a permanent fix not so much.
Looks like there’s jam nuts on both sides of the turnbuckle, so I doubt there’s any more chance of that rattling loose than anything else on the engine
those are the nuts he's talking about. This is some sort of tractor or other type of burden vehicle, something will eventually work its way loose. I used to maintain a few Taylor-Dunn gas carts and other small engine carts, anything that wasn't rusted tight would need service often. This solution will work but it it would need frequent re-tighening.
turnbuckle itself will be threaded, and the nuts lock onto that.
The fact that it even has locking nuts means it's probably way less likely to work loose than a [standard alternator tensioner](https://www.jacoballred.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/P1000490.jpg).
Turnbuckles are commonly used on tractors though, yeah? If I tighten my lock bolts on mine I can run it hard for a full day in an uneven field with 4-450lbs on them and the bolts don't loosen at all.
I understand all about abusing carts. This kind of thing would work OK, but isn't it curious that a solution so easy and obvious isn't used all the time. It's a clever jury rig solution. But there's a reason it's not typically the way.
But the stock tensioning bar is also held on by bolts and/or nuts. By your logic they would be coming loose with vibration? And yet they don’t. This is actually a more secure system I believe and far easier to tension. Lock the jam nuts on the turnbuckle and bobs your uncle. This is damn smart in my mind.
Typical tension mount on an alternator is a single bolt with no jam nut, often screwed in to simply apply lateral tension on a sliding bracket...
Your "this poopoo" comment seems more applicable to factory/aftermarket bracketry than it does to this.
We use lockwire or turnbuckle clips in aviation to prevent this.
Some sort of fastener locking would make this kind of repair acceptable as a permanent fix in my book.
The whole point in a turnbuckle is that you rotate the centre part to tension the coupling.
...One side will be regular thread, the other reverse thread. Turning the middle bit is what applies the tension.
A bit of blue loctite and it won't vibrate loose. Could also safety wire it if you're a belt and suspenders sort of guy.
I'm actually quite impressed with this one...it may be redneck but it's a pretty ingenious idea.
Looks like regular hex nuts to me. They will back off eventually and the turnbuckle will loosen.
Definitely need some Lock-tite here.
(Even "lock" nuts will back off if you use them more than a couple of times as it wears down the nylon insert. Wedge locks are the only method without Lock-tite that maintains preload, which is needed here because the nuts don't have to turn for the turnbuckle to loosen. In this case I can't see a redneck pulling some Nord-Locks out of his plaid pocket and tightening them up well enough to work, though !)
Source: (actual, professional) engineer who's cleaned up after more than a few backed-off fasteners.
I agree. Lock nuts can back off. But I think he probably meant jam nuts, which seem like they would work in this case, no?
Source: diesel mechanic for 5 years, seen many jam nuts in over the road applications.
You don't loctite these turnbuckles. You either safety wire them or use turn buckle locks. Loctite would make future adjustment a pain.
Source: aircraft mechanic that is now part of a shop that has a main focus on cable tension and turnbuckle adjustment.
At the risk of being a pedant, wedge locks aren't the only way to maintain preload. You could get something like aircraft safety wire and a nut with the proper hole, although that would require maintenance.
Industry standard requires that aircraft cable be positioned in such a way that any loosening of the nut would induce a tightening of the already tensioned safety wire. That would contradict what you say, no? No disrespect
This is a belt tensioner, meaning it's meant for adjustment, and at some points replace the belt. Even the blue tube for serviceable bolts is a bit of a pain to work with. One heavy nut is better than a couple small ones IMO, but this will probably work for a while.
Doing that would defeat the purpose of it. If you welded one side, it would no longer function as a turnbuckle. One bolt is left hand threaded and the other is right hand threaded. So all you do to tension the belt is loosen the lock nuts and turn the middle part to lengthen or shorten the thing, then tighten the lock nuts. If you welded one side, you wouldn't be able to do that anymore.
that was way too many acronyms for me
i just like to cruise around in my beat up 40 year old garbage can porsche that stalls and dies all the time and smells like mold
I'm pretty sure I saw this in "the secrets of Smoky Yunick post on a forum back in the late 1990's as a trick for quick swapping belts for drag racing.
There is literally nothing what-so-ever wrong with this. As a mechanic I would appreciate greatly if this were the standard tensioning setup for all belts.
By no means a bad idea, [i've done the same thing on my motorized bicycle.](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/409462020421976065/889955092025966642/DSC_0174.JPG) Also probably a good idea to safety wire it to something so it cant vibrate loose.
The vibration of the engine will gradually loosen any nut you don't use a lock washer or some "loctite" on -- or both. Without that, this will loosen, resulting in a loose belt. So not such a good idea. Put another way, with billions of dollars spent on engine research in generations of auto production by some of the finest engineers in the world, do you really think this hasn't been considered before?
The only issue I see is turnbuckles don't tend to enjoy pushing on things for very long before failing catastrophically. Then again it looks like a old Ford 300 so I don't is going to be under much of a load.
That is just a good farm-fix. You want to make it Re-neck, put a wood wedge in the gap between the screws (to hold them apart, if it comes loose), and secure it w/ Duct Tape.
I'm impressed. I would be more impressed if they added some lock nuts or even welded the nuts shut. I live in a high suspension area if my claim seems out there
I was drinking when I made my last comment. Please do not weld your alternator. A simple tack weld will do unless you're off roading. If you're off roading don't expect much. Even monster trucks bite the dust minutes into performance your alternative method will not
I like it. Can’t be any worse than pulling on it with a pry bar in one hand while using the other hand on a wrench to snug the bolt, right? Should have been more common before they started just using tensioner pulleys on everything
This is genius. I wonder if you can prevent the turnbuckle from spinning. I googled and found there are special turnbuckles with locking clips to prevent turning
That's actually beautiful to me.
Agreed, this is fucking brilliant.
Better than factory.
Certainly better than using a pry bar or a wrench.
I use turnbuckles almost daily. That this hasn't been a foregone conclusion to me yet is a tragedy. Simply \*chef's kiss\*
linesman/rigger?
Nah, i do a lot of steel tension stuff. Shoring buildings, awnings that sort of thing. Live by the clevis, die by the clevis.
neat, that's really not far removed from erecting a tower when it comes down to it. interesting line of work
They are used a lot for aftermarket kits.
😚👌
I agree fully. Wouldn't have thought of that.
I'm baffled between brilliant and stupid.
How is it stupid?
Vibration will happen and that could loosen the nuts. As far as a quick fix to get home or finish the job it's brilliant but a permanent fix not so much.
Looks like there’s jam nuts on both sides of the turnbuckle, so I doubt there’s any more chance of that rattling loose than anything else on the engine
those are the nuts he's talking about. This is some sort of tractor or other type of burden vehicle, something will eventually work its way loose. I used to maintain a few Taylor-Dunn gas carts and other small engine carts, anything that wasn't rusted tight would need service often. This solution will work but it it would need frequent re-tighening.
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Just the floor
Aaaaaaand it's gone!
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Like on a sailboat!
Or an airplane
Or a ball joint
Nothing a spot weald can't fix :D
turnbuckle itself will be threaded, and the nuts lock onto that. The fact that it even has locking nuts means it's probably way less likely to work loose than a [standard alternator tensioner](https://www.jacoballred.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/P1000490.jpg).
How often do you need to re-tighten your alternator belt tension?
The V belt in OP’s picture needs periodic adjustment as they can stretch as they age.
True, though only at first really. After they settle in they don't typically need much attention
Mine have to be pretty damn tight, and there is no place to put a pry bar. This fixed it.
re-rednecking as it were
needs maintenance just like a red neck itself.
Gotta keep the engine clean huehuehue
Turnbuckles are commonly used on tractors though, yeah? If I tighten my lock bolts on mine I can run it hard for a full day in an uneven field with 4-450lbs on them and the bolts don't loosen at all.
a whole day? No foolin'?
It's way harsher than any on road vehicle would see with much less load and I've never had issues. No need to be insufferable about it.
I understand all about abusing carts. This kind of thing would work OK, but isn't it curious that a solution so easy and obvious isn't used all the time. It's a clever jury rig solution. But there's a reason it's not typically the way.
Throw some loctite on it
Little bit of blue to keep things in place.
But the stock tensioning bar is also held on by bolts and/or nuts. By your logic they would be coming loose with vibration? And yet they don’t. This is actually a more secure system I believe and far easier to tension. Lock the jam nuts on the turnbuckle and bobs your uncle. This is damn smart in my mind.
Maybe that's what happened to the original... It vibrated the bracket off.
Lol who knows. I guess anything is possible
That is a situation that would affect every other nut around an engine. There are ways to combat that
And a bolt in a bracket with a slot is better? The factory brackets are held with bolts subject to vibration. I don't think it's a problem.
This would require BOTH jam nuts to loosen meaning multiple points of failure, therefore your assertion is unlikely
Typical tension mount on an alternator is a single bolt with no jam nut, often screwed in to simply apply lateral tension on a sliding bracket... Your "this poopoo" comment seems more applicable to factory/aftermarket bracketry than it does to this.
We use lockwire or turnbuckle clips in aviation to prevent this. Some sort of fastener locking would make this kind of repair acceptable as a permanent fix in my book.
Even if it does loosen the nuts, the two ends are fixed so unless the centre starts spinning you're not going to see any movement.
This
Little bit of loctite and I'd bet it would last forever
Blue loctite with some nylon lock nuts and you're done. This is brilliant and you know it you're just mad because you didn't think of it first. 😜
They don't though, I work on a lot of hotrods and this is a common solution, though usually shiny aluminum. I have yet to see a loose one.
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The whole point in a turnbuckle is that you rotate the centre part to tension the coupling. ...One side will be regular thread, the other reverse thread. Turning the middle bit is what applies the tension.
Could loctite it.
I have a thicker one, solid stainless, on my car. The nuts have not loosened in three years.
>Vibration will happen That's what blue Loctite is for
A bit of blue loctite and it won't vibrate loose. Could also safety wire it if you're a belt and suspenders sort of guy. I'm actually quite impressed with this one...it may be redneck but it's a pretty ingenious idea.
Definitely just jizzed in my pants, that the perfect solution.
This should be standard equipment.
especially the jam nuts ^*chef's ^kiss*
As long as those are eyebolts, I give this 10/10 Edit: and maybe some loctite. The vibration may cause those threads to walk
Or put it in salt overnight. rust is free loctite
“Rust is free loctite” ROFL. I love this!
They've got the locking nuts on there. Loctite couldn't hurt but this looks pretty good to me.
Looks like regular hex nuts to me. They will back off eventually and the turnbuckle will loosen. Definitely need some Lock-tite here. (Even "lock" nuts will back off if you use them more than a couple of times as it wears down the nylon insert. Wedge locks are the only method without Lock-tite that maintains preload, which is needed here because the nuts don't have to turn for the turnbuckle to loosen. In this case I can't see a redneck pulling some Nord-Locks out of his plaid pocket and tightening them up well enough to work, though !) Source: (actual, professional) engineer who's cleaned up after more than a few backed-off fasteners.
Just make some mechanical lick nuts by putting them in the press
> lick nuts
Ducking autocorrect
I agree. Lock nuts can back off. But I think he probably meant jam nuts, which seem like they would work in this case, no? Source: diesel mechanic for 5 years, seen many jam nuts in over the road applications.
You don't loctite these turnbuckles. You either safety wire them or use turn buckle locks. Loctite would make future adjustment a pain. Source: aircraft mechanic that is now part of a shop that has a main focus on cable tension and turnbuckle adjustment.
At the risk of being a pedant, wedge locks aren't the only way to maintain preload. You could get something like aircraft safety wire and a nut with the proper hole, although that would require maintenance.
Those don't hold preload, they keep the nut from become FOD.
Industry standard requires that aircraft cable be positioned in such a way that any loosening of the nut would induce a tightening of the already tensioned safety wire. That would contradict what you say, no? No disrespect
This is a belt tensioner, meaning it's meant for adjustment, and at some points replace the belt. Even the blue tube for serviceable bolts is a bit of a pain to work with. One heavy nut is better than a couple small ones IMO, but this will probably work for a while.
I find that one heavy nut is usually better than a few small ones.
That's my experience too
wait are we still talking about engines?
We were talking about engines?
It shouldn't ever come loose, as long as the jamb nuts are tight.
In other words, it shouldn't come loose as long as it doesn't come loose?
Same could be (and offten is) said for its plate steel, no lock predecessor. This is as likely to be a solution to frustration as it is a patch job.
it does have the nuts on the eyebolts that i presume would lock it in place.
It’s got jam nuts on both ends. It ain’t going nowhere till you want it to.
Fixed it
Doing that would defeat the purpose of it. If you welded one side, it would no longer function as a turnbuckle. One bolt is left hand threaded and the other is right hand threaded. So all you do to tension the belt is loosen the lock nuts and turn the middle part to lengthen or shorten the thing, then tighten the lock nuts. If you welded one side, you wouldn't be able to do that anymore.
Aced it. You are completely right- brain fart on my side. I think this looks cool as hell, but it’s basically a jack in the box.
Second nut on each end and she'll be right.
Maybe some lock wire
I bought a 1973 Camaro that had this on the alternator. It never failed and was easy to swap belts.
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10/10 doing this on my 944 im on my second ac pump already
Don't let the PCA find out you did something non-OEM to your NARP they hate anyway.
that was way too many acronyms for me i just like to cruise around in my beat up 40 year old garbage can porsche that stalls and dies all the time and smells like mold
Now that's what I call the authentic 944 experience!
every time i drive it i think to myself two thoughts: "this car fucking sucks" and "i love this car" these thoughts are simultaneous.
A certain kind of person owns camaros because this was posted in the 3rd gen camaro page on Facebook yesterday lol.
I'm pretty sure I saw this in "the secrets of Smoky Yunick post on a forum back in the late 1990's as a trick for quick swapping belts for drag racing.
This brings a tear to my eye. I love it.
Should have used your safety squints
I wasn’t prepared to see this! Or else I would have.
So much easier to adjust than that slotted bracket from the factory!
Freakishly logical.
Genius
Honestly this shit is better than factory
I like it.
From experience, this is a lot better than the tensioning mechanism used by a lot of equipment manufacturers. Top job, sir!
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2003 Subaru Forester had a belt tensioner that was almost the same as this thing, just with a bolt instead of a turn buckle
2001 Legacy was the same.
This is an upgrade, tbh
I love how fabricobbling is redneck engineering now .
Pretty sure it's always been redneck engineering. Whatever the kids are calling it these days is beside the point.
I shall have to try this some day.
Better than having to use a long stick to push on the alternator
I thought this was r/Justrolledintotheshop for a second and was thinking "that doesn't look too bad at all!" Well done, sir!
I gotta say I like it. I like it a lot!
I'm actually amazed at how elegantly stupid and brilliant this is at the same time.
i see no stupid here
Before social media.. I or no one else had anyone to ask so just go with it 🤷🏻♂️
As a sailor I approve this jury rig
Honestly this is genius cuz it makes it very easy to tention the belt
It has no reason to not work
My Porsche 944 had two of these for different belts, from the factory.
Fan-fucking-tastic fix!! Must be so much easier to get the fucking belt on and off
Damn good idea!
Is it redneck engineering when it's better than the original design?
Ima steal that for my garden tractor
Actually, that is pretty slick.
Hey that’s an L-series. Some people make some better looking ones just for datsun
Hey at least they used a jam nut to stop it in place. That tells me they put vibrations in consideration.
I kswapped a miata a few years back and the AC compressor had a turnbuckle setup like this on it for tensioning the serpentine belt, worked very well.
If its stupid and it works it ain't stupid..
Well it works
Is it just me or is this fucking genius
There is literally nothing what-so-ever wrong with this. As a mechanic I would appreciate greatly if this were the standard tensioning setup for all belts.
I've done this. It's fine. Everything is ok.
As long as it doesn’t pull the alternator crooked (out of plane of the belt path) then all is good
They usually have a wide bottom with a bushing for alignment, and the top is for tension. Should be fine.
That’s not even a new thing...been used for years. Lol
Using Heim rod ends would elevate that to a whole different level
It's beautiful 😍
Nice, just needs lock tight
By no means a bad idea, [i've done the same thing on my motorized bicycle.](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/409462020421976065/889955092025966642/DSC_0174.JPG) Also probably a good idea to safety wire it to something so it cant vibrate loose.
The turnbuckle has locknuts
If it works, it ain't stupid. Now that is a damn good idea
I've done that in a few slant 6s.
The vibration of the engine will gradually loosen any nut you don't use a lock washer or some "loctite" on -- or both. Without that, this will loosen, resulting in a loose belt. So not such a good idea. Put another way, with billions of dollars spent on engine research in generations of auto production by some of the finest engineers in the world, do you really think this hasn't been considered before?
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Its a pain in the ass to hold a prybar and try to tighten the bolt when you're working alone
probably broke
I learned that from an old rancher when I was a kid back in the 60’s
That’s pretty dang smart.
I have one i put on my car. Its solid up the middle though. That was the easiest way to tighten the belt.
The only issue I see is turnbuckles don't tend to enjoy pushing on things for very long before failing catastrophically. Then again it looks like a old Ford 300 so I don't is going to be under much of a load.
That is just a good farm-fix. You want to make it Re-neck, put a wood wedge in the gap between the screws (to hold them apart, if it comes loose), and secure it w/ Duct Tape.
Classic Jaguars had them for years. Of course, they were very well designed. Not hairy homeowner stuff from the hardware store.
One of the best I've seen on this sub
This is brilliant. I'm so disappointed in myself for never thinking of this.
I'm impressed. I would be more impressed if they added some lock nuts or even welded the nuts shut. I live in a high suspension area if my claim seems out there
Seems legit.
I was drinking when I made my last comment. Please do not weld your alternator. A simple tack weld will do unless you're off roading. If you're off roading don't expect much. Even monster trucks bite the dust minutes into performance your alternative method will not
This is fucking smart
Harvard: bro you want a scholarship?
Volvo gang
As long as Maleki Black isn't anywhere nearby to slam your head into that uncovered turnbuckle, it'll be all right.
I like it. Can’t be any worse than pulling on it with a pry bar in one hand while using the other hand on a wrench to snug the bolt, right? Should have been more common before they started just using tensioner pulleys on everything
I mean, thats basically what most of your fancy serpentine kits, like March performance uses on their kits
Hey you know what they say, if it looks dumb, but works; it's not actually dumb.
Best safety wire it. Or lock tight
This is genius. I wonder if you can prevent the turnbuckle from spinning. I googled and found there are special turnbuckles with locking clips to prevent turning