Gates 91107 Krikit V-Belt Tension Gauge, Black

This tool is short and sweet. It just works like it is advertised. It takes a moment to get the hang of it, but once you do it is the simplest thing in the world to use. You just stick your finger on the tool and press on the belt until it "clicks" (thus, the name cricket!). It gives you a fairly accurate reading of what your belt tension is. It's invaluable for both new and used belt installations. Improper belt tension not only risks damaging or throwing a belt, shortening its lifespan and possible stranding you out in the middle of nowhere -but an over-tightened belt can significantly lower the lifespan of belt-driven accessories on your car or truck. Over-tensioning a belt for fear of loosing it or it slipping prematurely can cost you hundreds or more if you ruin the bearings in an expensive alternator or A/C compressor. Even if the bearing you ruin is an idler pulley it still means a possible breakdown or an annoying squealing item that needs to be replaced thousands of miles or years before it is due to be serviced again. It's REALLY embarrassing if it a vehicle you are working on for someone else. For a few bucks, this thing tells you almost exactly the tension you are putting on your belts as you install and tension them for the first time. Some mechanics do this by "feel" but how do you learn this feel? -by making mistakes. Use this tool for a while and maybe you won't need to eventually -but at least you are learning something and aren't feeling around in the dark for what the proper tension should feel like. For as cheap as it is, it should be in every shadetree mechanics toolbox.

Used this to adjust belt tension on my 2000 Toyota 4Runner. It worked perfectly , I would suggest buying this before eyeballing tension on your belts. My belts were all either too tight or too loose just trying to eyeball it based on methods I had read. Everything runs way smoother now after checking and adjusting tension.

Appears to be well made and simple to use 1 finger, press and it will click when you reach the tension, final drive to back wheel. 5/16 to 3/8 tolerance. Thanks I like it. Saw one on a episode of theToymakerz show. Vanquish v8 episode.

Solid one-job type of tool. If I were really picky I'd say it could benefit from being a tiny bit smaller (but I'm also blaming Nissan on this because apparently clearance wasn't a thing for them in the early 2000s) and I would also say that it's a shame that it doesn't go above 150lbs (but then again, most cars don't need that much tension on their belts so it's okay) Other than that I really like this product and for that price it offers a great value

I tried a few phone apps that purport to measure belt tension by recording the sound when rlthe belt is "plucked" and results from one pluck to the next were inconsistent. This Gates Kriket gives consistent results and is small enough to carry on the bike, if the bike ride is long enough to warrant it.

How is this even possible? This thing is terrible. I don't know how others get perfect readings. And no, my IQ is not lower than 139. Know that I had a timing belt job just done at a Toyota dealership and to replace the timing belt, the dealeship needs to remove all belts including the alternator, then put it back or replace with new with the proper tension on all my betls at their factory recommended setting. That's my starting point. Front that factory setting belt tension, I tested this tool before I even started to take the belt off (I was replacing the alternator myself) and to my shock, this thing did not even hit ~50lbf. It actually read before the minimum 50 setting of this tool. It was about ~46lbf of tension. Of course I tried it several times and on different belts. All came back with the same result. How can this thing read less than ~50lbf on a betl that is fresh out of a dealership service with the proper ~100lbf of tension? Complete garbage at least to me. Before I bought this I read another reviewer describe the same issue but I gave it a shot and tried it. Nope. A damaged crankshaft resulted from incorrect belt tension would cost me thousands. I'll pay the $180 for an OTC tool glady. Now, there is another version of this tool with a different part number that starts readings at ~100lbf, but because the recommended range for what I needed to do is between ~85 lbf and ~120 lbf I chose this one that goes as low as 50. It may be the wrong tool but I'm giving it a very low score because a tool that is supposed to measure between ~50 lbf and ~150 lbf, reads ~100 lbf as ~46 lbf, does not have a place in my toolbox.

My 2003 Toyota Tacoma V6 (5VZFE) had squealing belts on start up, so I picked up this gauge to see where I was at. It indicated my belts were around 50-60lbs and they needed to be between 80-120lbs. I'm not 100% sure of the accuracy of this device, but the reading is pretty consistent between multiple tests. I tensioned my belts between 80 and 90lbs to be on the safe side, since I have nothing else to verify the accuracy of the Krikit with. The belt squeal is gone, and all the belts don't feel overly tight, but noticeably tighter than they were previously. One concern I have is the accuracy across very short spans, but I'm hoping by keeping my adjustments on the low side of my manual's tolerances, it won't reduce the life of my pulley bearings. Overall I think this is a good value, and hopefully far more accurate than guessing the tension by feel.

I believe this tool to be in the ballpark of what is safe and proper for belt adjustment. Its small for the toolbox yet easy to use. I am a DYI mechanic for some jobs such as replacement of belts. Seems like a tool grampa would have,maybe the Egyptians used this tool

Perfecta y facil de usar, para medir la tensión y aprovechar para alinear la correa de tu moto eléctrica. Me he ahorrado tener que ir a menudo al concesionario oficial, tener que dejar la moto durante dias para una operación simple de 15-20 minutos donde alineas y tensas correctamente la correa. Muy buena inversión

Très bon outillage pour contrôler la tension de courroie quand on veut quelque chose de plus qualitatif que le fameux quart de tour de torsion. Cela permet d'être répétable, utile pour garantir un fonctionnement dynamique acceptable jusqu'au régime max du moteur. Un doute sur le tenue dans le temps de la petite sangle qui tient l'outil sur le doit. Plus facile à utiliser que le dynamomètre. La lecture demande une bonne lumière et une certaine habitude.

I use it for my electric bike belt. This is much cheaper than excactly similar product just branded for bicycle usage. Nexus 7 rear hub with middle motor is advised to tension at 15-19kg. I like to aim for rather towards 15kg so all bike bearings and rear hub wont damage. And the belt should not still slip if tension is not under 15kg. Would be nice if there was a spare part for the rubber ring attaching to your finger. That part does not seem very durable.

Better than the app

zeer nauwkeurig, en altijd bij de hand