98 Corolla Belt Tensioner

[kevinp]

In a recent attempt to replace the serpentine belt in a 1998 Toyota Corolla I encountered a small problem. The tensioner took a great deal of movement to remove the old belt. When I attempted to replace the belt tensioner it would not rotate or move at all (the wheel just spins). When I went to my usual parts store they stated that they have no access to the part and I would need to contact a dealer. The dealer wants approximately $200. Do I need to dump this money into the part or is their some trick to working with this particular part that I am not aware of (ie does this exceptionally expensive Toyota part work differently than the average belt tensioner)?

[foompla]

i dont know if they work differently- but the "new" design of toyota belt tensioners that i have seen have been crapping out lately.