New Tensioner, Idler Pulleys with New Belt?

doitmyself

doitmyself

Joined
Jun 3, 2002
Messages
9,589
Location
MI
I never thought about this before. I usually just replace the serpentine belt and leave the rest until they fail. The belt is just starting to get a bit of chirping at startup, only during very damp, wet weather, heater on, etc.. Goes away in seconds.

Does it make sense to replace the tensioner and idler pulleys (2) with a new serpentine belt? 2013 Jeep Patriot, 102K miles, 2.4L FCA GEMA engine. About $150 for all (OEM).

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I only replace when needed. When you have the belt off, you have a chance to inspect the bearings and make a decision. If they're not bad, don't replace, especially if it is an easy job. Now if it is something that is buried and a pain in the rear to do, then I could make a case for replacing everything at one go. Tensioners USUALLY don't fail catastrophically, you usually have some warning before they go. Of course, someone will have had one blow up and leave them stranded, but IMO you're just as likely for that to happen with a replacement part anyways with the crapshoot those seem to be these days.
 
I do agree with others about replacing the tensioner(s) however IMO, it depends on the level of difficulty for the job of replacing the tensioner(s) after the fact. I've replaced many serpentine belt w/o replacing the tensioner and was fine for many years. But the difficulty of having to go in later(in my instance) wasn't too bad. If the whole job is a royal pain, "DO IT RIGHT!
 
This one looked fine from above, little belt chirp when wet. Life in the salt belt.

IMG_0599.JPG
 
If the belt only needed replacing due to dry rotting from age then I'd just do the belt but when from mileage around 100K too, replace all.
 
doitmyself said:
I never thought about this before. I usually just replace the serpentine belt and leave the rest until they fail. The belt is just starting to get a bit of chirping at startup, only during very damp, wet weather, heater on, etc.. Goes away in seconds.

Does it make sense to replace the tensioner and idler pulleys (2) with a new serpentine belt? 2013 Jeep Patriot, 102K miles, 2.4L FCA GEMA engine. About $150 for all (OEM).

Thanks!
Click to expand...
At 60k miles I replaced belt, tensioner, and idler pulley. The belt, which last 100k-150k miles, was fine but it was cheap to replace. The bearings on the idler pulley were dry and noisy. At this point I figured the bearings on the tensioner weren't far behind so I replaced it. I saved money on shipping by doing it all at the same time
 
Thanks everyone! Definitely not a consensus here. I will take a very good look at everything to see if there is evidence to sway me one way or another, but I am leaning towards replacing everything.
 
I know thia post is kinda old but my honda started a faint chirp on cold starts or after its been sitting more then 3 hours. Just started doing this last week when the weather dropped under 30 degrees.
 
doitmyself said:
I never thought about this before. I usually just replace the serpentine belt and leave the rest until they fail. The belt is just starting to get a bit of chirping at startup, only during very damp, wet weather, heater on, etc.. Goes away in seconds.

Does it make sense to replace the tensioner and idler pulleys (2) with a new serpentineelt? 2013 Jeep Patriot, 102K miles, 2.4L FCA GEMA engine. About $150 for all (OEM).

Thanks!
Click to expand...
On cars I've driven they all lasted for 150k+ miles. And often gave advanced notice the bearings were dying with constant noise. If it's a car you road trip with and want it tip-top shape, definite yes. If you think the tensioner is part of the reason for belt squeal, definite yes. If used in a way that a tow isn't a huge inconvenience you could probably just check for play and grinding and bearing noise when you have the belt off and decide then.
 
Thanks, HowAboutThis. Ironic that I just brought this question up to the top of my list again for tentative holiday vacation project. I just successfully installed new tires a few days ago and I was over thinking the need for an alignment (suspension/old tires inspection indicated no need for alignment).

I'm still on the fence about tensioner/idler replacement. Belts are relatively cheap and the tensioner/idlers usually give warning instead of immediate failure.........maybe? I do not see the tensioner "dancing" - idlers seem o.k.. LOL. Sucks to have (managed) OCPD. I will give this a bit more thought for another week or two. Not a big dilemma either way, but still leaning towards changing everything.


Having said all this, I'm going to share a VERY controversial practice I do. I once read an article or two that recommended treating chirping belts with silicone, of all things. Silicone! Usually thought of as making things slippery! The article(s) claim that the silicone conditions the belt in a positive way, not like the sticky, gooey belt sprays.

I use Aerospace 303 and it seems to work. I've used it successfully on farm tractors and greenhouse fans too. Yes, I accept that it is a "fix in a can" covering up a symptom and should only be considered temporary. Let the flaming commence.
 
Last edited:
Started greasing the bearings this summer and seems to have worked out. I don't drive far so I'm not so absolute about getting new. Obvious after seeing this video I may have to review my choice of grease. When first doing this I had the replacement already just in case.

I cleaned the bearings with ether or carb cleaner, than blew them out with compressed air and let them dry a spell before blowing them out once more and repacking with grease from a old white tub that I'll have to check but I'm thinking it was wheel bearing grease. This video shows both greasing and bearing replacement, if disclaimer is needed it's up to the budget, even if I had all the money in the world and a new idler right beside me, I might still re-grease the old one...


Adding a couple of comments from the video, see the rest for full context.
I do this now and then to my idler and tensioner bearings too. Word of advice, don't try to remove the bearing seals by prying on the outer edge. Always pry them from the inner edge. Centrifugal forces drives the grease to the outer edges when spinning, so a damaged seal there will leak. Inner edge, not so much.
Click to expand...
I tried #2 grease also and it didn't work out so good. I have been using #0 grease made by Stens or Sterns that I got at a small engine parts house and it seems fine. But I'm going to get some of that John Deere corn head stuff because it looks like it will fit in a standard grease gun.
Click to expand...
I like the corn head grease because it's thixotropic - meaning, it acts like a grease when everything is sitting (so it won't leak), but acts like a gear lube when everything is moving, so it gets into everywhere it should. Holds up in crazy temp swings too, from -30°F to 330°F. Pretty impressive stuff. I've had good luck with it in lawn tractor transmissions, and snowblower auger gear cases.
Click to expand...
One more detail, on one I had the cover off and some of the bearings fell out, got them all installed back in the proper place but you really do need to be careful when considering this task. Trust your gut instinct and if something isn't happy, happy; just get a new one. The inner bearing frame, not sure what else to call, seems to be made of some kind of plastic on the one I was dealing with, a few hundred miles on it now and seems to not be asking for any extra attention, meaning I haven't noticed a problem yet.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

I
  • Question
Wobble Noise at Idle
Replies
4
Views
242
JavierH19
Number_35
2009 Nissan Versa - alternator repair, and questions about belt and tensioner
Replies
4
Views
699
Number_35
mclasser
Timing belt job fixed off-the-line lag
Replies
6
Views
2K
meep
D
My findings with AISIN timing belt and replacement saga
2
Replies
21
Views
6K
rcs
W
Belt squeal on acceleration 06 Ram
Replies
11
Views
1K
jjblbi
Back
Top