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Honestly, I got no idea as I'm not familiar with international bearing standards. I'm only interested in this topic as I prefer to repair used parts and keep them just in case rather than thrash them
However I'm sure that the original bearing has two rows of ***** inside
Just my luck . . . . . that wasn't the problem, anyway. It was the water pump. Well, I could do it, but it's not something I want to get into. My time is worth money, too. Took it to a mechanic.
Revisiting this since the tensioner pulley in our '97 began making noises. Was doubtful the 1.5 ton press was adequate. Oiled up the edges of the bearing on both sides, let it sit for an hour. Came back with a 2' bar to the press handle and this made it pretty easy to push out. Will see what the local bearing shops have on hand.
What was amusing is that the bearing is "Made in Canada". Dealer quoted $68 and the various complete import pulleys were $22-$32.
Maybe this could be in the tech section or somewhere sticky, because I am listing the two bearings here that I just replaced on a 1996 LS400: Neither of the part numbers are listed here on clublexus accurately, as far as I could tell. Their part numbers are off the original bearing shields.
Both bolts are 14mm, but NOTE that the tensioner bolt is a left-handed thread and undoes to the right (clockwise).
These are for the serpentine (accessory) belt, NOT the timing belt:
=====================================================
Tensioner pulley bearing: 6203. There are different letters that follow, but basically you want a bearing sealed on both sides:
For Shaft Diameter 17 mm
Outside Diameter 40 mm
Width 12 mm
Torque on bolt: 12 ft lb (Note left hand thread - your torque wrench may not work in reverse).
McMaster-Carr part number: 5972K44
Cost: $5
See: http://www.mcmaster.com/
=====================================================
Top idler pully bearing: 6301. This is the very top pulley on the belt system, about 3 inches diameter:
For Shaft Diameter 12 mm
Outside Diameter 37 mm
Width 12 mm
Torque on bolt: 27 ft lb
McMaster-Carr part number: 5972K86
Cost: $7.80
See: http://www.mcmaster.com/
Both bearings can be pressed out using a shop press and an appropriate socket of just slightly smaller diameter. I could not see that hammering a socket would work, as it needed at least a ton of pressure to get out the tensioner bearing, and 2 tons for the idler bearing.
The tensioner bearing had disintegrated: on removal of the pulley, the ***** fell out and the cage was left half empty. But even like that, the bearing was only noisy when the engine was cold - when it was warmed up the bearing was quiet.
I could not remove the belt unless I removed the top idler pulley - just turning the tensioner pulley I could not remove it, as it was still too tight. Also, there is no belt diagram on my vehicle, so you might want to marker-pen the belt diagram onto the engine cover in case you get it mixed up.
Hi
I have also exchanged these. It was necessary. Really dry sounding. If you change for bearings designed for this car they should be ok.
These bearing are standard mm size. You can pick them up from many vendors cheap. I paid 8$ However if you do see to that you get known brand, double sided rubber seals and C3 play at least. C3 or other similar designation means bigger then normal play in the bearing. This is needed since the bearing have a press fit outer ring and will loose play when mounted. I made that misstake and it was tight and rotated a bit heavy. Not a good idea. Did it again with a C3 type and could feel a small play which is fine. Risk for fast wear out when too tight. I used a bench wise and sockets to press in/ and out
Picked up a Koyo 6203 RDC3 for $6.13 including tax. Looked at NSK versions and those came in at $12.XX. Didn't ask about Timken though the Koyo should be fine. Some of the bearing shops can charge a lot!
Thanks for the link Python. No auto parts shops were on my drive back so next run I'll pick up some of the sleeve retainer. Can see the residue on the old bearing so that gave me a hint that there was something applied during the process.
Has anyone notice the idler pulley being out of line after doing a 6301 bearing? The way mine is setup on my 99 is the inner bushing it what makes contact with bracket and by replacing it with a bushingless bearing it will space the pulley out a little over a 16th of an inch. Here is a picture of the difference on the bushing to bearing.
On another note I order a Hayden idler pulley thinking I was getting one with a NSK bearing as pictured. It turned out to be a Chinese bearing with more lateral play than my OEM bearing with a 150K on it. The new ones come with a 6203rs and different bushings. I mounted that one up and measured it and it spaces the ribs on the pulley almost 3/32 of an inch out away from the engine. STAY AWAY FROM THESE! I can't see this unit lasting more than a couple years.
With Int'l S&H their total is still LESS than Amazom for the same Koyo bearing. I haven't priced the Tensioner bearings yet...
I replaced the idler pulley in my 1st LS at around 245,XXX i think. My 99 is fine but it would be nice peice of mind to have these bearings leaying around in the garage!
Has anyone notice the idler pulley being out of line after doing a 6301 bearing? The way mine is setup on my 99 is the inner bushing it what makes contact with bracket and by replacing it with a bushingless bearing it will space the pulley out a little over a 16th of an inch. Here is a picture of the difference on the bushing to bearing.
On another note I order a Hayden idler pulley thinking I was getting one with a NSK bearing as pictured. It turned out to be a Chinese bearing with more lateral play than my OEM bearing with a 150K on it. The new ones come with a 6203rs and different bushings. I mounted that one up and measured it and it spaces the ribs on the pulley almost 3/32 of an inch out away from the engine. STAY AWAY FROM THESE! I can't see this unit lasting more than a couple years.
Did you transfer the sleeve from the old idler bearing to the new one?
With Int'l S&H their total is still LESS than Amazom for the same Koyo bearing. I haven't priced the Tensioner bearings yet...
I replaced the idler pulley in my 1st LS at around 245,XXX i think. My 99 is fine but it would be nice peice of mind to have these bearings leaying around in the garage!
Should be plenty of local shops that can get these bearings for you. Going international seems a bit much for some sub $20 parts that are common in industry. Have to be careful of fakes too. Cheap Chinese bearing with faked dust seals, boxes etc,
Have read about liquid nitrogen but going that far was a bit much. I wasn't about to use the propane torch on the pulley since that would ruin the finish. Put the bearing in the in the freezer and whatever it would get me in terms of any ease to install I'd take. The fridge in that part measured at 10F and FWIW it went in with far less handle pressure on the press. Runs quiet and smooth again.
Did you transfer the sleeve from the old idler bearing to the new one?
No, the 6301 bearing shares the same i.d. as the sleeve, so for a factory pulley that wont work to use it. The Hayden pulley comes with 6203rs which has a different i.d. than the rest and it has its own two part sleeve. Here is a picture of the Hayden pulley with a 6301 bearing below, effectively both sharing the same i.d.
No, the 6301 bearing shares the same i.d. as the sleeve, so for a factory pulley that wont work to use it. The Hayden pulley comes with 6203rs which has a different i.d. than the rest and it has its own two part sleeve. Here is a picture of the Hayden pulley with a 6301 bearing below, effectively both sharing the same i.d.
Which Hayden pulley is that? I ordered the 5021 from amazon last year and had to send it back because it did not have the sleeve in it.
10-19-15, 07:57 AM
No auto parts shops were on my drive back so next run I'll pick up some of the sleeve retainer. Can see the residue on the old bearing so that gave me a hint that there was something applied during the process.
