Serpentine Belt Replacement vs. Idler Pulley Replacement
07-25-11, 11:05 AM
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Serpentine Belt Replacement vs. Idler Pulley Replacement
About a week ago, my SC300 (1993) started to squeal upon start up, and would also squeal loud, when moving at slow speed and turning the wheels sharply. I am completely NON-mechanical. Then it started to make a weird noise when driving in general.
I thought my power steering pump might finally have reached it's last legs. I was told 2 years ago that it is leaking, but the fluid level stays fairly high, with just a minor topping off on my part every so often.
My serpentine belt looked to be in very good shape, although 2 guys (on the internet) told me that it was probably causing the problem. After reading about 1000 threads here, I became convinced that my idler pulley was probably needing replacement.
I was stressed, because I am out of work and broke, so this is SERIOUS stuff to me. Long story short, my cut rate mobile mechanic changed the idler pulley with a new one from AutoZone. Note, these replacement pulleys are not exactly a perfect fit as the old one, as some member here have pointed out in previous threads.
When we removed the old pulley, I inspected it, and it seemed to spin OK. He installed the new idler pulley and reinstalled the OLD serpentine belt. The noise was still there.
He said he thinks changing the belt would solve the problem, as he cleaned the old belt while it was running and the noise decreased dramatically.
He said : Let's remove the new idler pulley, put on the old one and exchange the new pulley at Autozone for a new serpentine belt. Once I made the switch, he took off the old sepentine belt, and put on the new belt.
The car was as quiet as a mouse! EUREKA!!
Bottom line, if I had any skills, for just the cost of the serpentine belt, I could have solved the problem. But I had to pay the mechanic for his time, and he was very helpful, so I have to be grateful.
I thought my power steering pump might finally have reached it's last legs. I was told 2 years ago that it is leaking, but the fluid level stays fairly high, with just a minor topping off on my part every so often.
My serpentine belt looked to be in very good shape, although 2 guys (on the internet) told me that it was probably causing the problem. After reading about 1000 threads here, I became convinced that my idler pulley was probably needing replacement.
I was stressed, because I am out of work and broke, so this is SERIOUS stuff to me. Long story short, my cut rate mobile mechanic changed the idler pulley with a new one from AutoZone. Note, these replacement pulleys are not exactly a perfect fit as the old one, as some member here have pointed out in previous threads.
When we removed the old pulley, I inspected it, and it seemed to spin OK. He installed the new idler pulley and reinstalled the OLD serpentine belt. The noise was still there.
He said he thinks changing the belt would solve the problem, as he cleaned the old belt while it was running and the noise decreased dramatically.
He said : Let's remove the new idler pulley, put on the old one and exchange the new pulley at Autozone for a new serpentine belt. Once I made the switch, he took off the old sepentine belt, and put on the new belt.
The car was as quiet as a mouse! EUREKA!!
Bottom line, if I had any skills, for just the cost of the serpentine belt, I could have solved the problem. But I had to pay the mechanic for his time, and he was very helpful, so I have to be grateful.
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