Need New Idler Pulley

[Mossyoakglock]

I need to get a new idler pulley. I'm going to pick one up from the local parts store and they are all about the same price, roughly $20. The brands I have found are Duralast (Autozone), Murray (Oreilly's), Napa brand and Dayco (Advance). From experiences, which of these are shown to be the best? I think I remember hearing that Dayco products are pretty good, but I'm not sure.

[Zembonez]

I need to get a new idler pulley. I'm going to pick one up from the local parts store and they are all about the same price, roughly $20. The brands I have found are Duralast (Autozone), Murray (Oreilly's), Napa brand and Dayco (Advance). From experiences, which of these are shown to be the best? I think I remember hearing that Dayco products are pretty good, but I'm not sure.

I'd use anything NOT from Autozone. Dayco has a pretty good reputation but I have no experience with their idlers.

[SilveradoWV]

I've had good luck with all of the Duralast products from Autozone.

[Spurshot]

Look at the brand of bearing in the pulley. Any Chinese bearings should be avoided. Japan is one of the best suppliers of bearings today.

 

Frankly, I would change all the idler and tensioner pulleys if one went bad. My 99 6.0 has a total of 3. 2 tensioners (1 for A/C , 1 for the main belt) and 1 idler on the main belt. I used dealer parts since these went nearly 200,000 miles and didn't fail (but were a bit loose and dry).

[C. Charles Hahn]

I refuse to shop at Murray's (O'Reillys) now that they've been swapped over to O'Reilly. I'd go to a NAPA or CarQuest for a part like that, myself.

[KENNHON]

I refuse to shop at Murray's (O'Reillys) now that they've been swapped over to O'Reilly. I'd go to a NAPA or CarQuest for a part like that, myself.

 

I have '96 454. with 50,000 mile mark my idler pulley came OFF while driving on interstate... Went to Chevy dealer,they didn't have B/B one in stock---so i went to Napa-- i now have 134,000... and this pulley is just starting to make noise. I don't trust autozone... Advance Auto Parts[which was Parts America-and before that Western Auto SEEMS to be ok-all parts I've bought there SEEM to be ok---[but Napa is hard to beat-still ya haveta look to see whether part is made in china!]

[Mossyoakglock]

Well, according to Dayco's website, they are made in Springdale, AR. Looks like I'll buy American Made.

[Zembonez]

Well, according to Dayco's website, they are made in Springdale, AR. Looks like I'll buy American Made.

That's good to know!

[Wingnut]

Bust out your Yellow Pages and find a local bearing joint. Just put new bearings in it. It'll cost like $5. And it'll only cost that much because those stores usually have a minimum $5 purchase.

[1990ss]

My opinion is go with the Napa pulley. 95% of all my parts come from Napa and I've never had a problem with any of them. They have economy grade parts and top-of-the-line parts. I always get the better, more expensive ones. I've heard the cheaper ones are the ones that are made in China, etc. and probably won't last as long.