How to tighten treadmill belt in 2022: Guide

Ever faced the need of using a treadmill? Well, if you did or you’re thinking of it, you’ve chosen the right article to read.

Losing weight is not one of the easiest jobs in the world as it doesn’t go away effortlessly, and by this, it means that it is not just running which you have to undergo but the maintenance of the treadmill is a much bigger headache. 

Further in this article, you will come to know a very common treadmill problem and its solution. So next time when you have an issue with how to tighten treadmill belt, you could fix it on your own instead of calling for help.

Read along and find out how you can tighten a treadmill’s belt, no matter what kind of treadmill it is, we have the solution. 

Read more: How to tighten treadmill belt

Measures to tighten the treadmill belt

Does your treadmill have a loose belt? Don’t worry because we’ve got your back, we’ll provide some tips on how to tighten the belt on the treadmill.

First of all, you need to unplug your treadmill, insert the wrench in the left round bolt and rotate it rightwards, repeat the same procedure to the right round bolt. 

Place your hand beneath the belt and lift it slightly upwards, you must have a couple of inches of space between your hand and the surface.

If you still feel the need to tighten it a little bit more then you can do it according to your need, but always keep in mind that the belt must not be too much tight for the treadmill to run smoothly. 

Fixing a Slipping Treadmill Belt

As discussed earlier, tightening the belt too much can also cause it to slip, and losing it to the lowest limit can cause the same problem.

However, the most important factor on how to fix a treadmill belt that slips is to lubricate it, just grease it a little bit more and you are ready to run. 

Other than that, the belt can wear out with each passing day and you can’t stop that from happening, or the least you could do is replace it after a certain point in time.

To find out if the belt is worn out step on the belt and if it stops but the motor is still running, check the roller and the pulley if they have stopped too then you will need to change the belt. 

How to Tighten a Proform Treadmill Belt?

The procedure to tighten is not the same for a proform treadmill belt but you need to take some extra steps to tighten it. Let’s find out how to tighten a proform treadmill belt, it needs to be centered correctly for it to work properly.

A belt that is dislocated or not in the center has much more chances to get damaged.

Now the question arises that how to fix an off-center treadmill belt, it is not necessary that the causes of an off-center belt can be technical every time.

Sometimes the treadmill is put in a position that is not leveled so it can cause the belt to move from center. So next time you worry about how to tighten the belt on a proform treadmill, keep these tips in mind. 

To place it right in the center it needs to be tightened correctly and sometimes it gets too tight to run smoothly and tears.

How to tighten treadmill belt

So, before you google about how to fix treadmill belt tears, there are a few things you will need to learn because using duct tape wouldn’t help. You should replace the torn belt with a new one.

Repairing a torn belt is quite risky because it can break easily while running and can cause severe injuries, hence replacing is the only suitable solution. 

Tightening the treadmill drive belt

Many treadmill companies equip their machines with stretch drive belts which helps in maintaining tension while running.

However, if you feel slipping motion while running it means the drive belt may not be properly tensioned. How to tighten treadmill drive belt depends on two major things;

1. Fixing the drive motor

It just requires adjustment of some bolts and nuts; however, this method only applies to models which allow for adjustments of the motor.

2. Adjusting the idler arm 

This method requires the need of needle pliers to grip the spring as it is required to adjust the spring to fix the belt.

Tightening the belts on life fitness and NordicTrack treadmills

Before learning about how to tighten the belt on the life fitness treadmill, you need to know that unlike other treadmills life fitness treadmill has access holes on its backside into rear roller guards.

It allows access to the bolts which then help to tighten the belt. Always keep in mind that whatever adjustments you make to one side, the same should be done on the other. 

Moving on to how to tighten the belt on the NordicTrack treadmill, first locate the bolts which can be found on the rear roller.

Move the wrench clockwise, until 3 to 4 inches of space is left between the belt and the rollers then repeat this step on the other end to make sure that the belt is at the same level on both sides to assure smoothness.

The bottom line

Considering how much they help in losing weight, treadmills do require regular maintenance checkups too to run smoothly.

So, next time you think of buying one do keep that in mind that you have to be extra careful in its servicing because fitness comes with its perks but you have to pay a price.

So before deciding on buying a treadmill, keep all the above-mentioned issues and their solutions in mind because we’ve covered each and everything one needs to know about a treadmill and how to tighten a treadmill belt.

Keep these points in mind and if you see the loosening of the treadmill belt, you do know what are you supposed to do in that case. Regular checkup is necessary, it’s for your own safety.