My brother's 03 Tacoma needed a new water pump and timing belt, so I decided that I'd take it on for him. While at it, we found that he hadn't washed enough of the road salt off and that corrosion was causing problems. Three rounded off bolt-heads later, we found that it wasn't going to be possible to get the a/c compressor off of the bracket, much less get the bracket off of the motor. ("Honey, I really DO need a die grinder.") That meant that we wouldn't be able to get the belt tensioner off to compress the spring in order to get the new belt on.

So after letting it sit for a day, I realized that it should be possible to get a clamp onto it and then compress it without pulling it off the motor. I looked around and found some 3/8" x 1" bar stock that looked suitable and measured how big it needed to be to just fit over the stud, then how long the arms needed to be to line up correctly. A few cuts with the chop saw later it was ready for cleanup and assembly. It went together with a Forney stick welder and some 3/32" 7018 rod. (Three passes on the inside joints for reinforcement are a good idea.) Then the center of one end was drilled and tapped for the longest bolt I had in hand and the center of the bolt was drilled a little to help it stay on the stud while in use. A suitable nut was then lined up and tacked on on the inside to add some strength.

And... It worked!

I've attached a few photos in case anyone needs to duplicate it. It did bend some during use, so it will be reinforced if it's needed again.

 

Nice solution, I like seeing people's problem solvers, and you didn't have to worry about breaking the pulley bracket like you can with the tool below if you tension it too quickly.

Another option- Schley SL97300


Schley tensioner tool in action....if you use one compress it slowly, only turn until it's not easy, wait a little, do it again. Takes awhile but you'll avoid breaking the tensioner pulley bracket. It compressed pretty far before the pin would go in, as illustrated.


I'd suppose if you tensioned your version slowly it wouldn't have bent at all, no reinforcement needed.

 

Thanks, Habanero. I'll take it slower next time.

When I was a tech, Toyotas were my main source of work. I miss having access to all the cool tools, but not the bill from the Snap-On man.

Wrench on,

J~

 

It would be really difficult to walk away from a tool box like that even though you could buy a decent house for what some of those and their contents cost!
I do think you made a neat little gadget.