bypassing the aircon unit / same tensioner or not?

[neilm]

I need to bypass the aircon on my 2003 1.5 dci due to bearing noise coming from the aircon compressor - do I use the same aircon belt tensioner or do I need a different tensioner ?

[tomalamix]

you may use the same tensioner but different belt..

cheers

[davelowe]

I would personally phone the people at Gates and ask what their specific recommendation would be. To me, this is uncharted water - and you could seriously cause damage if you get it wrong. Be careful.

[neilm]

hmmm, thanks davelowe, noted, but also retaining (possibly naively) a sense of proportion. Possibly uncharted territory as you say but not earthbreaking maybe - having just fitted a bmw TDS into a jaguar, and slaving the bmw engine loom into the jaguar loom, and a ford tdi into a landrover, which was an absolute pig to do, keeping with renault in a renault, but ceasing to use aircon, does not seem as threatening a project ! But I could be wrong !

I will update when done.

[tomalamix]

you can use the same tensioner because you are removing a element from the system, so youre removing (maybe) the less reliable piece of hardware that runs on the accessories belt. this way you are pretty safe to by pass and use the same tensioner.

the other way around, ie, adding accessories to the system, you would need to know what is the allowed tension for that new component, besides the power consumption from that accessory, etc etc..

cheers

[davelowe]

Looking forward to the update - I'm not a mechanic by trade, although I work in a related field.

Feedback is of course always welcome!