What is the OEM part number for the idler pulley mounting bolt - 4.0L Explorer 1995

 

A suggestion,
If you provide the vin # to a Ford Parts Dept, they should be able to provide the bolt and/ or part #
With the dealer you should get the right part the first time.

 

Thanks. Local dealer could not help even with the VIN number.

Does anyone actually know what the dimensions of this bolt are? Can it be an off-the-shelf grade 8 flange bolt? It appears a 3/8" coarse thread bolt will thread in, but not very far so don't want to force it and strip the housing.

 

I believe it is called a shoulder bolt.
That means the shoulder closest to the bolt head is a close fit that is the same outer dimensions as the inner race of the pulley bearing to provide good support. The remaining threaded part of the bolt is the size thread as is in the tensioner. . Sometimes a shop will have an old tensioner that was replaced and the bolt might be the same.
If you are doing any kind of work on the belt system, good practice is to also replace the tensioner assy. They do wear out and present problems at the most inopportune time.
You might give this some thought.

 

Thanks. Concur with your belief. Familiar with this type of fastener. Can you confirm the tensioner mounting bolt is identical to the idler mounting bolt? I have replaced the tensioner several times over the 450k miles we've put on this Explorer. The current one has only about 50k miles on it so I don't intend to replace it - I've routinely replaced this at 100k intervals to avoid an inconvenient failure.

My question remains:

Does anyone know the size, pitch, and threaded length of the bolt used to attach the idler?

 

I do not believe the tensioner mounting bolts have any type shoulder. The pulley bolt is special..

 

The bolt I used is a 10mm 1.50 pitch 40mm long high strength shoulder bolt. Not sure whether the original had a shoulder or not, but this seemed to do the trick. The shoulder fit across the head of the sleeve that inserts into the bearing of the idler and did not interfere with any of the bearing surface nor the idler itself.

To determine the size and thread, I could measure the opening, but not get pitch gauge inside the hole so I resorting to the low tech method of trying several sizes. Be wary that 3/8" (9.525 mm) seems very close, but that is not what I found mine to be. The 10mm was easily threaded in by hand until snug and then tightened easily.

 

I'm in the dark here.
How did you get into this problem?

There had to be a reason and the question comes up what happened to the old bolt ?
If it broke , do you have any means to go anyplace and see who might have one?
Usually just about all hardware on anything over 1985 approx. is Metric.
Shoulder bolts are special and some shops could have one lying around or if your dealership says they can't help you , try another dealership. Some guys are too lazy to go through the trouble to dig out the picture and the part # of the bolt, but you can bet they have the means to do that. I'm sure you aren't the first person to need one.
Last , but not least a salvage yard probably has many out in the yard.

 

It appears that the bearing for the idler seized and came away. The serpentine belt then wrapped its shredded self around various moving bits at the forward end of the engine. Initially, I assumed this was just a failed belt, but as I removed the remnants, the idler simply fell off. There was no bearing in the idler and no partial bolt in the mount so I assume that once the idler bearing failed the partial rotation of the idler spun out the bolt. This then likely found its way to the pavement somewhere along California 33 near my home.

All of your suggestions are useful and were I to live in a large metropolis they would help. The nearest dealer couldn't provide a new bolt. The next nearest was too far away to bother with besides having a staff of ****** in their parts department.

I purchased the bolt at my local Meiners Oaks Hardware store cost $2.34.

I own several other vehicles and was surprised that no one had a knowledge of the bolt size used for this.

Good news is now you all know (10mm, 1.50 pitch, high strength, 40mm long, shoulder bolt) and if the new one is as long lasting as the old one, then it will be somewhere around 2045 if old Bessie (my '95 Explorer) and I are still driving around.

 

Thank you for the update and info. Glad you got it all straightened out.