Mechanical Drive Belt Tensioner Q

[w00tah]

Is it supposed to be smooth when the tensioner bolt pulled clockwise or sticks a bit and then goes back to resting position?

[strad]

Hmm. Not sure exactly what you're asking. But to take a stab at it, the spring's operation is linear in effort -- at least on my car it is.

[w00tah]

so if the spring is stretched and doesnt go right back to resting position smoothly its probably time to replace?

mine sometimes gets hung up when pulled and then goes back to resting

[strad]

Yah I would think it should operate smoothly. I've worked on a couple different E36s and they were all smooth. So I'd say something's screwy with yours.