Anyone replace a tensioner on a Mercruiser 8.1 ?

Had a squeak I was dealing with and swapped out the belt which stopped the squeak. According to the manual, the 8.1 has a belt tensioner pulley wheel in the middle of the serpentine route. It said turn it clockwise with a breaker bar (and 13mm socket in 1/2” drive) to loosen the pulley tension so the belt can be removed. When I did that it did not loosen the tension, only felt it tightened the bolt. I felt having that much leverage I could easily snap the bolt so I stopped. Instead I loosened the alternator and got the old belt off - new belt on that way. Should I be concerned the tensioner is not working properly or did I do something wrong? Anyone replace one of these and can give me some insight on the procedure any any other suggestions? Idler pulley as well? Thanks!

Some of the 8.1 inboard engine setups are different. On mine, the belts are tensioned by a long bolt on the alternator that has two nuts on it that lock onto each other once the tension is set. The pulleys are fixed in their positions. Only the alternator adjusts.

Jimmy Buoy said:

Some of the 8.1 inboard engine setups are different. On mine, the belts are tensioned by a long bolt on the alternator that has two nuts on it that lock onto each other once the tension is set. The pulleys are fixed in their positions. Only the alternator adjusts.

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+1

I am now realizing that after I changed the port belt. Sometimes I forget the benefit of having two motors, when something goes wrong check to see if the other one does the same swapping out parts. Thanks guys. Cross that project off the list.