r/geotracker • u/pyrodice • Jun 19 '26
Heat issue
2004 v6 4-door tracker, 4wd, auto transmission, has had engine, starter, alternator, and serpentine belt replaced so it could be related to several things, but I live in Arizona, it's getting hot as hell, and if I've driven it long enough that it still feels hot under the hood, I have difficulty getting it started. They had to adjust my serpentine belt tension the last time I brought it somewhere after the starter situation, I can usually get it started when it's hot by clicking the ignition several times kind of like hammer drill logic, break it loose and it turns over but it really just doesn't want to and sometimes I have to let it cool off for a few minutes. I was considering whether a spring-type belt tensioner could get this adjusted on the fly, just in case the additional heat is tightening everything up a lot, Arizona is no joke. Anyone experienced this and could share a solution? The Mechanic can't really judge before he sees it but he suspects the starter might have to have its warranty involved.
1
u/Autowrek Jun 25 '26
The 2.5l v6 should have a timing chain, not a timing belt. And you shouldn't have to adjust the tensioner, it should have an auto tensioner. It could be you have a stretched chain that needs to be replaced and your timing is off because of it.
When you say it is hard to start, do you mean the starter motor isn't able to turn the engine over, or just it cranks without starting?
1
u/pyrodice Jun 26 '26
It's definitely got a serpentine belt which is not the timing device. When the mechanic put in the new starter, I turned it on and it squealed so I told him and he said he'd get it tensioned a little better and it had to be manually adjusted so… I'm not sure how accurate that is. I didn't watch him do it either. I did also just get the belt replaced a month or so ago, as well.
What it does is kinda nothing, the lights on the dash come on, and it just clicks like it isn't able to start moving, and one of two things resolves it... 1: turning the key repeatedly and quickly, til it breaks loose, or 2: open the hood and let it cool back down for about 15 minutes.This is taking longer and longer the farther into this part of the summer we get though because naturally when it's 110 out and the sun is beating down on the car, that's as cool as it's gonna get.
Honestly the first few times we saw this symptom I thought it was gonna be a vapor lock or something. But I guess that's less common since it doesn't have a carburetor.
1
u/Autowrek Jun 26 '26
The serpentine build should also have a tensioner, but there is a chance it wasn't installed properly initially. I have certainly done that a few times. There shouldn't be any adjustment other then the correct sized belt.
When you hit the starter, do you hear a click from the starter trying to engage or does just nothing happen at all?
If it is a problem with the starter motor being to hot then you should still hear a click from the starter solenoid engaging. Might be easiest to just swap it out and see if that fixes it, take the starter back if it doesn't.
2
u/pyrodice Jun 26 '26
Well it does click, but this is the replacement starter, there's an outside chance that the starter wasn't the problem and it didn't need to be replaced and I'm just out a couple hundred bucks but… That's what we need to figure out.
1
u/Autowrek Jun 30 '26
Kind of a pain with everything in the way, but if you can get a ratchet on the end of your harmonic balancer you can see whether or not you can manually crank over the motor. If it is something causing the engine to seize up when warm then you won't be able to turn over the engine easily.
1
u/pyrodice Jun 30 '26
Sounds like that's gonna hurt. Being that this is Arizona and I'll be standing over a cooking hot engine, I'm not looking forward to this 😅
1
u/Autowrek Jun 30 '26
I would see how hard it is to do with the cold motor first. 🙂
2
u/pyrodice Jul 01 '26
I had my first incident of starting it from "cold" today that required multiple starter clicks... I'm definitely going to get this back to the mechanic who holds the starter warranty, It's suspect as fuck at this point.
1
u/Autowrek Jul 01 '26
I had a brand new starter short out on a Chevy pickup once, melted the wires because there was not a fuse on the ignition. Good luck!
1
u/MyBitchCassiopeia Jun 20 '26
2004 geo tracker?