Idler Pulley

Hi all. I replaced the serpentine belt on my 1999 Camaro and noticed the idler pulley was "tilted" somewhat. After the belt was on it looked as if it would come off because of this tilt. Is this common? I have ridden with it like this for a couple of weeks but it is disconcerting. Can I replace the idler pulley and if so, how? Thanks for your help.
Tom

it might be the bearing. is it making any loud noises up there? like a grinding or rumbly noise? if its wiggling around then it might just be loose but it would have to be the bearing because it would still sit streight on the bolt if the bearing was fine. pull the pully off and look at the bearing and try to spin the bearing around to see if its smooth and free. if not press it out in a vise with a big socket and go buy a new bearing for it.

Thanks for the reply. No noise out of the bearing. And it spins fine. Just that it is tilted. I will remove it and take a look. What is the trick to removing it? Thanks.

I made a mistake. When I was talking idler pulley, I really meant the tensioning pulley. That is the one that is tilted. I bought a replacement bearing and will see if that make a difference.
Tom

The same thing happened to me on my 98 Firebird. But my situation is a bit worse because now, sometimes when I start the car, the belt comes off and i have pop the hood to put it back on. The belt sits on the very edge of the tension pulley as well.

How exactly do you take the tensioner pulley off or how much would a new pulley cost?

Any instructions would be awesome! Thanks

Octane21. Not sure that I can give you any specific instructions for your vehicle and I did not get any for mine, but I went to Auto Zone and bought the tensioner pulley assembly. I paid $60 for it and considering that O'Reilly's wanted $85 thought I got a good deal. They had to order it but it only took two days. In the instructions it says to remove the alternator and then the assembly is held on by 5 or 6 bolts. The heater hoses connect to the assembly and then go into the engine block, so the cooling system has to be drained. After that it appears that it is bolts out, pull out the old assembly and plumbing and then the reverse to get it back on. Fill it with coolant and we should have the belt at the right angle. Hope this helps some.
Tom