How do you remove the serpentine belt tensioner on a 1991 V8 car? I see a large torx bolt in the center of it that would probably remove it, I'm just afraid that the spring inside might pop out and make re-installation a bear. Thanks!

 

... a picture is worth 1000 words:

 

That's the bolt.
No worries about the spring. It won't pop out.

 

Thanks!

 

Can the pieces be seperated for painting (with spring removed) or that asking for trouble?

 

I just took the tensioner off today and there's some interesting looking clips or pressure fittings... not something I'd wanna mess with. And that spring probably has a lot of force behind it considering how it presses down on the belt. I'm actually bringing my engine brackets in for blasting/powder-coating tomorrow. I'll see if they can at least sandblast the tensioner so I can paint it myself if anything.

 

Decided not to risk taking it apart. Just masked (the black retaining plate) and painted it. I cleaned it up with solvent and steal wool first and it looked pretty good.