Urgent help on lower idler pulley!!!

[blast7]

I have been having this recurrent belt shreeking while I drive my Explorer. This is RPM based and starts at 1500RPM whether parked or driven. I have replaced the belt and belt tensioner which have done nothing to alleviate the problem. I believe what may be happening is with respect to the lower idler pulley. A couple of weeks ago mine seized up and it shredded the belt. I replaced the pulley and then is when my belt started making noise although it was not as bad as it is now. Upon inspection of the pulley I noticed that it does have some excess motion front to back. I now believe that I may be missing something when I put it on. I hope that someone here can either show me a diagram or picture of the lower idler pulley assembly. I need urgent help because I only have today to fix the problem. I work every single day and go to college as well.

 

[410Fortune]

So far you have replaced the lower pass side ldelr pulley and the tensioner pulley correct?

You say the one you installed has too much play in it? Have you tried tightening the bolt up a bit?

Where did you get the new pullies from? With the aftermarket pullies there is nothing that goes between the new pulley (bearing) and the block. You may just not have it tight enough, or you may have gotten a bad pulley

How do you KNOW the squeeking is coming from theis pulley?
Does your truck leak any fluids? (coolant can get on belt and cause slipping and noise)

Also it might just need to break in a bit, it is common for a new pulley to squeek a bit.

 

[blast7]

So far you have replaced the lower pass side ldelr pulley and the tensioner pulley correct?

You say the one you installed has too much play in it? Have you tried tightening the bolt up a bit?

Where did you get the new pullies from? With the aftermarket pullies there is nothing that goes between the new pulley (bearing) and the block. You may just not have it tight enough, or you may have gotten a bad pulley

How do you KNOW the squeeking is coming from theis pulley?
Does your truck leak any fluids? (coolant can get on belt and cause slipping and noise)

Also it might just need to break in a bit, it is common for a new pulley to squeek a bit.

I tightened up the bolt and it did nothing to reduce the play. This pulley is from the Ford dealer and the correct part was verified by me. I am not sure the squeeking is coming from this pulley but I don't know where else except teh upper idler pulley which spins nicely. My truck does not leak any fluids. I do have one more question though. I have just noticed this on the pulley I bought. It has a plastic ring in the middle that fills the hole of the pulley and keeps the bolt stable. It basically stays on by screwing onto the screwing until it fits inside the pulley opening. Should this ring be kept in place or was is just for storage purposes?

 

[410Fortune]

its a dust cover the ford pulley likely requires it while aftermarket ones do not.

These pullies are typically available at auto parts stores for like $10-15 each.

it is difficult sometimes to find the source of the squeek, especially with the fan spinning. If you are careful sometimes you can spray lubricant (like WD-40) on the backside of the pulley in question and see if it goes away.

 

[blast7]

OK now I feel like an idiot. I am going to put the pulley back on but I need to know which way faces the engine and which faces the front. There is one side with a lip that extends out. I would imagine this faces the front of the car.

 

[410Fortune]

OMG now you are confusing me/us

This pulley is not symetrical?

If you look at the picture above you can see there is the bolt head, then the metal dust cover (looks like a washer), then the pulley, with nothing between the pulley and the engine on the back side. this is how the factory setup is.

The aftermarket pulley is the same, jsut the dust shield is not needed, or at least thats what they say. It iwll not harm it to put it in there if your bolt is too long to snug the bearing up to the block.

Now back to your lip question. Your pulley only has a lip on one side??
Any grooved pulley should have a small lip on both sides of where the belt rides.

 

[blast7]

Alright here's an update from a very FRUSTRATED man. I put the pulley back on and when I tighten it up the pulley will not move. That is why I was wondering if there should be some sort of washer on the block to allow it to spin. Does anyone have a picture of what the block looks like without the pulley on. I can see some evidence that some metal has been ground together in this area. I don't know if it is from the previous pulley seizing or what. I wish I had a digicam to show you. Thanks for the help so far!

 

[410Fortune]

When you tighten the bolt it should puinch the inner race of the bearing and cause the bearing to spin when the pulley is spun.

If you go too tight then the bearing will not spin at all.
Loosen the bolt just a bit until the pulley spins freely with VERY little front to back play.
Then you should be okay.

the torque spec if I remember right is like 28 ft lbs, which to me is just snug.

 

[410Fortune]

oh and relax, when I get frustrated (happens ALOT) take a break, this is when mistakes happen and you will spend more time on it then you would if you jsut take a short break.

 

[blast7]

Is it possible the smog pump has seized? I have read about this over at www.corral.net on the 5.0 board.

 

[410Fortune]

You have no smog pump on a GT-40 5.0L

If you are concerned you should remove the fan shroud and belt, fan as well if needed and check the rotation on all the pullies by hand.
You will not be able to turn the crankshaft pulley, but all the others should spin with little/medium effort.

 

[blast7]

The end result was that the pulley, from Ford, was not spinning as freely as it should. The idler pulley was replaced with an aftermarket part and it works great.

 

[410Fortune]

Excellent!

Thanks for posting back, might help somebody with a similar situation in the future.
Where did you get the new idler pulley and was it the same size as the OEM unit it replaced? (I have seen various sizes of the idler pullies sold for the same application, on my 5.0L the idler pulley in Pep Boy's computer is WRONG, it would not fit over my tensioner, they call for the same part # as the 4.0L tensioner and 5.0L upper idler)

just curious