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Unplanned Tourist · 09-28-2021, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Schweikle

New tensioner & idler installed. The tensioner bearing appears to be a little wobbly, so I'm hoping that was causing the noise. The idler was a problem in that it locked solid when installed

I re-installed the old idler and it worked fine. So... I removed the old idler to compare to the new one, and they appeared to be functionally identical. However, I then tightened each idler against a piece of flat steel to simulate installed condition, and the new idler would not turn. This is not rocket science since a simple part is just bolted to the front of the engine. However, something in or at the bearing or spacer is interfering so I will have a conversation with Brazel's when the time zone allows.

It sounds like a spacer is missing for the idler.

The wobbly tensioner bearing sounds like what happened to me. The extra stress put on the belt when turning the steering wheel made the idler work harder. This made the bearing complain louder, so naturally I thought it was the PS pump. Finally the bearing gave up, and Voila! There it was! New bearing and off we went.

George Schweikle · 09-28-2021, 01:09 PM

Correct. Thanks for the hint!. The idler pulley has sort of a front dust cover that contacted both the inner and outer bearing races. When the mounting bolt was tightened, it pushed this part against both races which prevented the pulley from turning (since the inner bearing race is locked against the engine by the bolt and the outer race is pressed into the pulley; which needs to turn). A thin spacer washer between the bolt head and dust cover assured the cover didn't touch the outer bearing race that is pressed into the pulley so now it now spins freely.

Next, another drive this Sunday to see if replacing the tensioner with it's wobbly bearing eliminates the noise I have been chasing

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unplanned Tourist

It sounds like a spacer is missing for the idler.

The wobbly tensioner bearing sounds like what happened to me. The extra stress put on the belt when turning the steering wheel made the idler work harder. This made the bearing complain louder, so naturally I thought it was the PS pump. Finally the bearing gave up, and Voila! There it was! New bearing and off we went.

Kxbronco · 09-15-2022, 08:18 PM

So was it the tensioner? Mine has a pretty good growl been turning the wheels.

donr103 · 09-15-2022, 09:16 PM

Get out the stethoscope and listen.. use all safety precautions.. you arre dealing with hot moving parts
Good luck and keep us posted

George Schweikle · 09-16-2022, 05:39 AM

Sorry for late response. After all of the changes, the intermittent sound remains. After listening during a recent 2000 mile trip I'm now thinking it may be one of the tail pipes contacting something and resonating.