Signs of bad serpentine belt tensioner?

[texadelphia]

I replaced my alternator pulley yesterday and when I first started the car there was some whiney pulley noise coming from the front of the car that wasn't there before. I tried the fuel line stethoscope method and it seemed like maybe it was coming from the tensioner but it was hard to tell exactly. But I did notice the tensioner vibrating, although I've never taken note of how much it's supposed to move. Took the car for a drive and the noise went away. I'm wondering if maybe it was just some protective coating that needed to wear off the new pulley or if my tensioner might be on it's way out as the old alternator pulley was seized for quite a while. Is there a way to diagnose a bad tensioner beyond it being noisy? Looks like a pretty easy repair but I'd like to save the $50 if it's not a problem.

[Jeevan]

first try to eliminate Powersteering pump out of the picture. Do you hear more noise when the steering wheel is in lock to lock position? does the steering wheel move smoothly without hiccups?

Not fool proof but you can try this method. With the car running, spray water on the belt see if the noise comes back up. If so, it means that you have bad tensioner or the belt.


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[EvolutionArmory]

Throw an Automotive stethoscope on it. You’ll hear the noise in the tensioner.

Another method is to take tension SLIGHTLY off the tensioner while it’s running very carefully. If the noise goes away, there’s your issue.