Belt tensioner?

[crazymjb]

Aright, so I have had this sound on my Sierra which has been slowly getting progessivly worse in the month I have owned it. At idle there is a grinding/mushing sort of sound that happens every second or so. It doesn't sound frequent enough to be a bearing, and I remember somone mentioning the tentioner pully may need replacing in a little while.

 

Is this, in fact, what I am hearing, and do I need to replace it immediatly, or will the belt start slipping when it needs replacment?

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[drumset5994]

I replaced my Idler pulley, and it went away...

 

...for about 30 seconds.

 

I guess my tensioner is going too...i have the exact same symptoms...so does my dad.

[crazymjb]

The tensioner assembly, which is what I think it is, has an arm and spring. When the spring wears out I believe it is pulled back with the belt and then recoils back, creating the longer duration between the noise. As long as its not a bearing and my belt isn't slipping I think I won't fix it immediatly.

 

Mike

[Wingnut]

Keep in mind that there's a second belt (good luck finding a parts store with it in their computer though) down on the bottom that has it's own tensioner. THAT'S the one that was making that particular racket on my '02.

[Bish]

I've replaced both tensioners in the past along with the idler pulley. They seem to start making noise around 50K in my experience. Since replacing them once, I've taken to removing them, pulling the bearing out, pulling the seals out, and throughly cleaning and re-greasing them. I do it every 50K when I replace the belts. I've got over 130K since I started re-greasing them and they are all quiet.

 

Having said all that, as others have said, there are times the tensioner is worn and should be replaced. If you observe lots of movement on the tensioner when idling, it may be time to replace.

[crazymjb]

I took a look under the hood to see what was making the noise and fortunatly it is not the entire tensioner assembly. The Pully on the end of the tensioner arm, however, is wobbling, and that is where the noise is coming from.

 

Does one need any special tools to remove this? I remember my auto instructor having a really long runch with a wierd end. But that may have been for something else.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[Bish]

I took a look under the hood to see what was making the noise and fortunatly it is not the entire tensioner assembly. The Pully on the end of the tensioner arm, however, is wobbling, and that is where the noise is coming from.

 

Does one need any special tools to remove this? I remember my auto instructor having a really long runch with a wierd end. But that may have been for something else.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

 

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Probably the bearing in the pulley is toast. You can pull the bearing and get a replacement locally (bearing house) for pretty cheap. I don't think you can buy the pulley without the tensioner. For ease of replacement, I would replace the tensioner as it's only around $45 and comes with a new pulley. Socket on end of bolt us used to relieve tension while you remove the belt. Once the belt is removed, it is easy to remove/replace. I would also replace the idler pulley (one to left of alternator) as it is likely ready to go as well. New belt too of course.

 

Good luck.