Is it possible to repack belt pulley bearings?

[njohnson]

Hi everyone,

Is it possible to repack the grease on the bearings of belt tensioners? We have a 2001 Isuzu Trooper, and we have been blest because we have had no issues with the belt tensioner and pulley. I replaced the belt once already and am thinking of doing it again. That got me thinking of the belt tensioner, it has given us no problems, so, have not thought about it much.
Doing some reading on forums, and some people are saying aftermarket belt tensioners are not as good as the OE.

This has me thinking of trying to prolong the original tensioner bearings longevity. Is it possible to repack the bearings with grease, and try to extend their life? The original grease has to be about dry by now, right? Thankfully, there is no noise right now, so, maybe the bearings are not totally dry yet.
The SUV has 150,000 miles on it, so is it too late?

I have repacked the front wheel bearings, they are NSK bearings, made in Japan. They seem like good bearings. I was reading about some of new pulley bearings being made in China. If the original bearings have lasted this long, they probably are good bearings, maybe better than what be available as a replacement. That is why I am asking if it is possible to repack the original bearings. If I were to use a synthetic grease, like Mobil 1 grease? Maybe I wouldn't have to replace it any time soon.

Thanks,

 

[Chris142]

You can carefully pry the seal off and stuff grease in them.

 

[Donald]

I would say no. If you could get it apart, I think you will find the bearings worn. You may damage it getting it apart for re-packing.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

The belt idler pulleys I have seen use a sealed double row precision ball bearing that is part of the design. Doubt you'll find anything like that on a shelf at your local bearing vendor. Can't ever tell though.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Probably, but 16 years and 150k miles is a lot for an idler pulley bearing regardless of it's ability to be cleaned and repacked. Best bet if you're going to take the time to remove it would be just to replace it in my opinion. I installed a Canada-made Gates belt idler on my Subaru a few years ago. The bearing was larger and the pulley itself was metal as opposed to the OEM plastic one. It was all of $10 or something.

 

[Dyusik]

I used chain lube on a pulley for my jeep. It comes out like water, seeps in past the seal, and sets nice and tacky. No more crunch or grind. No fussing with seals or any other nonsense.

 

[6starprez]

There are some things you should just replace and this is one of them.

You have to disassemble, cleanup, inspect and repack the right amount of grease. Too much or too little grease and it will fail. Not worth it to save $20.

 

[dlundblad]

Can you remove the old bearing and replace it with new?

I replaced the idler pulley bearing on the Blazer. $4 for the bearing or $20 for a pulley with a bearing.. I took the cheaper route and kept my OE pulley. I believe this can be done with the tensioner, but I haven't looked that close yet.

My truck takes a 203 ff bearing. All parts stores carry them.

 

[buck91]

It is possible on many, even the "sealed" type... and I have done it multiple times! If you catch them soon enough it adds a lot of life but if you let it go too long the bearing is too worn to really help. I've had good results with both Mobil 1 and Triflow synthetic grease although I'm sure any half decent grease would do the trick.

One tip, other than being careful to not damage the lip seal is to repack with grease from either an injector or use a syringe. Not necessary, but helps push the grease into and through the ball bearings and cage.

 

[barkingspider]

I repacked one on my escalade and it's on there now. I used Valvoline multi purpose GM grease. I packed it pretty good as I checked after about 100 miles later and there some grease splattered around from it. The only reason I repacked it was because the replacement was on back order 30 days. I received the new one but haven't felt like installing it cuz the repacked is working fine. I wiped up the grease an no more splatter. I say try and repack urs but get a new replacement just incase as they are not too expensive.

 

[JHZR2]

Probably would try to use some spray grease to creep it in there and then solidify inside the bearing...

 

[Kestas]

The seals aren't meant to come off. The act of removing damages them, allowing water and contaminants in and grease purge out, leading to a shortened bearing life.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Can you remove the old bearing and replace it with new?

I replaced the idler pulley bearing on the Blazer. $4 for the bearing or $20 for a pulley with a bearing.. I took the cheaper route and kept my OE pulley. I believe this can be done with the tensioner, but I haven't looked that close yet.

My truck takes a 203 ff bearing. All parts stores carry them.


I've done this too. 6203 bearing on mine. If you carefully measure your old bearing you can get the part number and look it up online.

I just put my idler pulley on two 2x4s spanning the center and pounded the old bearing out with a hammer and a 34 ish mm socket. Took 2 minutes. If you freeze the new bearing before putting it in you won't have to bang it very hard at all.

 

[Y_K]

Originally Posted By: HosteenJorje
The belt idler pulleys I have seen use a sealed double row precision ball bearing that is part of the design. Doubt you'll find anything like that on a shelf at your local bearing vendor. Can't ever tell though.

yes, that's the case in a lot of good vehicles. You can find the part number for the bearing, but will never find the actual part..

 

[eljefino]

With bearings the part numbers are an industry standard. So any 6203 is guaranteed to be 17mm ID, 40mm OD, and 12mm "deep". Pluck out the old one and put a micrometer on it if the number wore off.

 

[antonmnster]

I've done it. Just carefully pry the cover off with a sharp blade, pack it up, and put the cover back on. It was fine for the few thousand miles until I replaced it.