I have an idler pulley bearing on it's way out. Anyone know a part # for the sealed bearing only? Ford wants $25.00 for the assy. I know there is a suitable bearing out there I can press in for lots less. Already spent $15 on a Gates replacement idler and it only lasted 5 years before beginning to squeal.

 

Hi Paddy,
Don't get fooled by thinking it is always the bearing. If the tensioner is not functioning 100 per cent the bearing is the fall guy ! Alt and others also get worn.

When replacing the belt , the tensioner should also be replaced. You will find the bearings go south quicker and quicker because the problem is with the tensioner.

 

used a stethoscope and all other components are quiet and normal. When I touch the mounting bolt for the idler pulley it screeches and howls. I'm pretty confident that's the source of my issue.

 

Took it off this morning and removed the seal. Half of the grease was hard and not much usable grease left in there. Injected some Ariens snowblower moly grease in it and pushed the seal back on. MUCH quieter. I'm thinking that IF we take these off once a year and shoot some grease in them they will probably last forever. They spin billions of high speed revolutions over a years time of driving and like any lube it gets hot and worn out.

 

I hope you realize you are doing a band aid job The right thing is to replace the tensioner. You are fixing the result and not the root cause.

 

I replaced the tensioner as a unit about 4 years ago. There is nothing at all wrong with the tensioner. or it's wheel bearing It is within it's range. Besides, as the tnsioners age the spring gets weaker and actually imparts less stress on component bearings. If it gets too weak the belt will slip on high load components, but not a free wheeling idler. Like I said, I took the seals off the bearing and the grease had started to dry up and cake. That was what was causing it to howl. On a cold startup all other components were quiet when checked with a stethoscope except this particular bearing. It howled till warm then had a low growl to it/ After the fresh moly grease, it is as quiet as the rest. I fail to see what the tensioner has to do with that.

 

As you know the tensioner ,when installed with the belt, is under constant spring tension and is designed to move. That part is not lubricated and it wears,AND eventually freezes up and no longer allows it to flex. That is the real problem.They didn't come up with a way for the correct tension to be applied and released just to stick another part in there. There is a definite benefit to the entire belt drive system when the tensioner works as designed. Next time you have one off, take a look at the dry mechanism and the picture should become much clearer. It is your call and you can do whatever you choose. I'm sure you also know that when a bearing starts making noise it is on it's way out. Lubrication will help temporarily make it less noisy,but the bearing has already been damaged. Use your own judgement.

 

Well then I removed the belt, this one moved as easily as it did when I put it on so it is not frozen in place as you say. Also I respectfully disagree about the tensioner not easily flexing causes bearings to dry up and go bad. I believe the bearings go bad because when manufactured, the quality and quantity of grease inside is lacking.. If the spring is up to par you won't see the tensioner moving when the engine is running, even on a new car. with a new unit from the factory.. Thinkng about it, IF it ever did freeze in place, and not able to exert pressure on the backside of the belt, as the rubber wears, the ID of the belt grows and eventually becomes too loose to grip the loaded accessories .If the tensioner is not able to maintain tension, how exactly does this cause the bearing in the upper idler pulley to go bad?

 

I agree with you completely !
Now, how about telling us where you bought the tensioner you installed ? Most of the time OEM parts cost a little more, but last a lot longer !

 

Belt tensioner was purchased at Advance Auto and is a Dayco product. I need to add that that same tensioner and pulley has been on the car for going on 5 years now and is still in service without any issues. The idler pulley that gave me trouble was also a Dayco, but it was the upper stationary ribbed idler , not the one on the tensioner and like I stated earlier, the issue with it was that when I used a pick to remove the seal the bearing was nearly dry. Once I packed it with some moly grease it too is quiet. I'm convinced that these sealed bearings are only given the least possible amount and the cheapest quality grease when new. If I ever buy another new I'll get the one from NAPA which is warranted for life. The Dayco parts are 12 month/12,000 miles This idler probably only went about 10,000 miles before starting to squeal on real cold mornings. The Motorcraft idler from my dealer looks exactly like the Dayco part. I went there looking for a replacement and the Motorcraft was about $35 for the wheel with bearing and a 12 month warranty, which is why I decided to try to grease this one. If I ever need to take this car out of state I'll go get the $20 NAPA idler just so as not to have to be worrying about it, but for now all this car does is run around town.