Noise in the engine bay
Just curious guys, but anyone here remember what the mileages were on your cars when you first started noticing the bearing noises? I don't have this problem yet, but I want to be ready for it if/when it occurs. Thanks
Taka: I didn't change the other bearing. but i DID change the drivebelt and the noise is still there. to see where the noice is comming from i shot some WD-40 into the other bearing and the noise went away and came back so i know which one it is. So I will change that one out soon. My car is in the shop getting a supra TT brake upgrade so its going to be 2 or 3 weeks until i get it done. I'll let you know.
Right hand threads tighten (screw in) when rotated clock-wise.
Left hand threads loosen (screw out) when rotated clock-wise.
Left hand threads are often used on rotating parts where the natural rotation of the part will tend to loosen a right hand thread. Chrysler used them for lug nuts on the passenger side of some of their cars back in the 60s (I think). This little trick produced a surge in sales of lug nuts and studs to replace the many ones twisted off by non-Chrysler garage mechanics.
current part number for the tensioner bearing is 6203-2RSJ at NAPA
the only listing they have on a 6301 for the idler shows an open bearing,, is there another part #?, or is this correct? (haven't taken it off yet to check)
Can someone describe this noise?
I have a noise from the engine bay, it sounds like it's from the belt. Whenever I rev my engine I hear a ticking and whirring noise. The ticking has a little bit of flapping to it.
It basically sounds like my motor is ricey. But of course it's not!
My old Celica did the same, but I expected that from a 1992 230K car. It always sounded like the throaty noise of my car was all exhaust and no engine, even though I was running on stock exhaust.

EDIT: My ex-girlfriend always called my Celica, a toy rocket ship. From the interior when I"m driving agressively all I heard was a whining high pitch noise. My poor little 4 cylinder.
Last edited by DarchMage; Jan 11, 2005 at 10:32 AM.
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Can someone describe this noise?
I have a noise from the engine bay, it sounds like it's from the belt. Whenever I rev my engine I hear a ticking and whirring noise. The ticking has a little bit of flapping to it.
It basically sounds like my motor is ricey. But of course it's not!
My old Celica did the same, but I expected that from a 1992 230K car. It always sounded like the throaty noise of my car was all exhaust and no engine, even though I was running on stock exhaust.

I have time tomorrow to get this resolved if this is the issue.
ticking and flapping noise to a whirring noise doesn't sound like the noise I heard.
I eventually had to replace the the whole idler pulley and the noise went away. I bought an OEM replacement made by a company called Dayco. This came with the pulley and bearing and the whole thing. I think it cost me under $60 for the unit and installation took about 20 minutes by my mechanic.
Has anyone replaced just the two bearings?
The info on this thread motivated me to pull off the tensioner pulley, and even though the bearing looked and felt new (after 93K miles!), I gave it a squirt of white lithium grease, put some light oil on the threads of the center bolt and reassembled.
That didn't help, so I tried installing a new bearing, and that didn't help.
So if you have the same problem I have (noisy in Drive, quiet in Neutral), changing the tensioner pulley bearing may not resolve it. It's the easiest and cheapest part to try changing, though, so give it a shot. But my problem must be in the tensioner itself, or the bearing shown in the upper right corner in Dennis' pic (below). That bearing is the next thing I will try replacing.
Thanks to Dennis and others for sharing.
Last edited by PERRYinLA; Dec 7, 2006 at 12:57 AM.
save yourself a couple hundred bucks and do the fix yourself. i just experienced the same problem and plan on getting it fixed this weekend.
yep- it worked. got it out, got the new one in, got the belt on, and all in all - saved myself several hundred bucks.
the bearing you'll want to get is the 6203 2RS - the 2 meaning that it is sealed on both sides. this is very important. picked it up at napa for $20 bucks or something.







