idler pulley

[cskinner89]

I just did seafoam to my 93 X and it now is squeaking and ticking, not a high pitched squeak but like a low pitched whine.

I did some research and found that the idler pulley causes this...

BUT my idler pulley doesn't even spin!

The belt just rubs against it.

Is it time to replace the belts and idler pulley and maybe the tensioner pulley?

any help would be great considering I'm kinda freaked right now.

Also this is the first time in 1 1/2 years that the truck has been ran this long (idling)


UPDATE

I just checked again and the idler pulley is now spinning that tells me the idler needs to be changed or maybe just greased?

also there was a wire harness under the idler pulley that was touching the belt and its almost cut in half.

any idea what it's for?

It plugs into the bottom of the engine just below the idler.

 

[yellowcat]

The pulley is like 25 bucks, or you could replace the bearing if you have a bearing store in your town. You will need to take the harness apart and make sure no wires were cut, then re tape and reroute if necassary.

 

[Willard]

You are best off just replacing that pulley and the belt. Not exactly sure which harness you are referring to, as there are a couple right there. My guess, however, is that it's one of the main engine harnesses. Unless it's just a couple wires, then it's probably the one for the crankshaft position sensor.

So, in other words, you need to pull that harness back and fix any messed up wires.

None of this would be affected by the seafoam, but if the noises are still there after you get this straightened out, it would probably be lifter tap causing the ticking noise, in which case it may go away after a couple of oil changes since the truck has sat for so long.