EXTREMELY Squeaky pulley

[searcherrr]

1995 Ford Windstar - Has had a lot of work to get her in good shape. After all the work there is this damn squeaky pulley and its driving me insane. It is the smallest pulley wheel that looks like its just there for channeling the belt or possible its the tension pulley..... it is the one at the top of the engine. I took a guess today and sprayed that pulley first (behind the pulley wheel) with belt dressing and the noise got extremely worse. Is a squeaky pulley the sign of it gone bad? Are there bearings in the pulley? I was going to remove it and just clean it up very well and grease it good. So is the pulley at the top (the squeaky one I speak of) the tensioner pulley? or do I need to relieve tension elsewhere before working on this one? Please let me know if you think its bad too..... because the noise is so loud now that its unbearable and screams OLD HOOPTY everywhere I go which pisses me off cause its actually in very nice shape aside from this and the sliding door that needs some grease too.

Thanks to all ahead of time !

[96wWindstar180K]

Searcherr The pulley your refering to is the idler pulley. The tensioner pulley is at the very back of the engine. With the engine off you can use a pry bar to release the tension enough to remove the belt. The idler pulley are available from Auto Zone or other good auto part stores. The bearings are sealed. The part only cost about $14.00. Very easy to replace. Check your serpentine belt also. While its off look for cracks and signs of wear. How many miles? What engine? If the tensioner pulley has not been replaced I would replace it too. The original equiptment is much easier to remove the slack from the after market you have to use a pry bar or large screwdriver. The original uses a half inch or 3/8" square hole for a ratchet or breaker bar.

[searcherrr]

Originally Posted by 96wWindstar180K

Searcherr The pulley your refering to is the idler pulley. The tensioner pulley is at the very back of the engine. With the engine off you can use a pry bar to release the tension enough to remove the belt. The idler pulley are available from Auto Zone or other good auto part stores. The bearings are sealed. The part only cost about $14.00. Very easy to replace. Check your serpentine belt also. While its off look for cracks and signs of wear. How many miles? What engine? If the tensioner pulley has not been replaced I would replace it too. The original equiptment is much easier to remove the slack from the after market you have to use a pry bar or large screwdriver. The original uses a half inch or 3/8" square hole for a ratchet or breaker bar.

3.8 L engine around 145k - I know its the idler pulley for sure. The belts are in good health (recent). It seems like it would be very easy to replace. So are you saying I could just remove the idler pulley without releasing the tensioner pulley tension? It looks like you could. I guess thats what you meant about using the pry bar.. eh? Why would it go bad though? It doesn't wobble or anything... its just a lil wheel.

How much you think a tensioner pulley is? Is it that hard to replace? Is it on the same belt path as the idler pulley?

Thanks dude.

[96wWindstar180K]

Searcherr No you have to use a pry bar or a breaker bar depending on the tensioner you have. The tensioner pulley is spring loaded and applies the correct amount of tension at all times. I replaced my tensioner first and about a year later my idler pulley went. This is why I reccomend doing them both. It beats being broke down and having to do it. Your tensioner pulley should have a sguare hole in the end put a breaker bar in the hole and pull toward the front of the engine to release the tension and slide off the belt. Dont remove the belt all the way if you dont have to. On reassembly just make sure the belt falls in between the grooves of the pullys. By the way there will probably not be much play in the pulley unless the bearings are real bad. However they still will make noise under pressure.

[96wWindstar180K]

Searcherr The tensioner pulley is about $70.00 from the dealer or $35.00 from auto parts store. You could check price on RockAuto or one of the online Ford discount dealers. I actually just told the guy at the parts department I could get it on line from a Ford dealer for X $ and he gave it to me for the same price and I didnt have to pay shipping. Doesnt hurt to ask.

[searcherrr]

96wWindstar180K - First off, Thanks for all your help. I'd like to know though for future reference as I asked above: Does the excessive squeaking usually mean that the pulley is bad most of the time? or would this indicate it just needs lube most of the time? I just want to know for my edification for the future, cause tomorrow I'm going to hand more money to the mighty Autozone and get the pulleys.

[96wWindstar180K]

Searcherr The bearing is a sealed bearing you cannot lubricate. As long as the sound is coming from the pulley and not some other location as the alternator or power steering then the pulley is bad. If it goes to long the bearing will either disinegrate or lock up causing the belt to break. Good luck

[searcherrr]

Originally Posted by 96wWindstar180K

Searcherr The bearing is a sealed bearing you cannot lubricate. As long as the sound is coming from the pulley and not some other location as the alternator or power steering then the pulley is bad. If it goes to long the bearing will either disinegrate or lock up causing the belt to break. Good luck

Thank you so much. Yeah, I don't know what to say, but the sound changed drastically when I sprayed what I shouldn't have (belt dressing) behind the idler pulley as it was spinning. That is when the sound went from somewhat annoying to extremely annoying. In any case I went to AutoZone today and ordered the idler pulley. I have the belt tensioner sitting in the van now waiting for the idler pulley to come in.

Q: 96wWindstar180K - The belt tensioner came with a plastic pulley for the belt. Should I take it back and make them give me one thats metal? I kinda don't like it, but maybe it means nothing.

[96wWindstar180K]

No The plastic one has worked fine for me. I thought the same thing but no problems.

[searcherrr]

Originally Posted by 96wWindstar180K

No The plastic one has worked fine for me. I thought the same thing but no problems.

Thank you for the tip. I was inspecting the seam of the plastic pulley wheel along where the belt will make contact and there is a tiny bit of extra plastic that sticks out where the seam was sealed. I think I will use some very fine grit sandpaper and smooth that out. I don't want premature belt wear even if it is on the side of the belt.

[searcherrr]

I am having some trouble. Apparently the distance between the idler pulley bolt and the frame of the van is not enough to fit a socket wrench in there and I don't even know what size the friggin bolt head is because none of my wrenches fit it. Do you know? Anyone have an idea here?

[96wWindstar180K]

I believe it is 15mm if im not mistaken. Sears sells a ratcheting combination wrench that might work. Im almost sure thats what I used. I will check tomorrow.

[searcherrr]

Originally Posted by 96wWindstar180K

I believe it is 15mm if im not mistaken. Sears sells a ratcheting combination wrench that might work. Im almost sure thats what I used. I will check tomorrow.

Well, I have the Ford Windstar repair CD and the 15mm is listed for the 3.8 engine for the "drive belt tensioner pulley" which I've been calling the idler pulley (front pulley). Whats wrong though is a 19mm or a 3/4in wrench is just a tad bit too big for it causing slippage so it doesn't seem like this 15mm thing is right unless someone has put a bolt with a bigger head in there? I went out tonight and bought a non-ratcheting wrench set from wal-mart that includes an 11/16 long handle wrench in there, but I am not sure this is the right size still. Just guessing cause of 3/4 and 19mm being just a tad too big. We'll see.

Do I turn the bolt towards the front of the van to release the idler pulley bolt or is that just for the square belt tensioner only?

[searcherrr]

I am f*#)ing frustrated beyond belief !!!!!! - I would much rather be doing this opcorn:right now, but instead I've been outside for like 6 hours trying to create a way to remove this idler pulley bolt. I have a micrometer and have confirmed the head of this bolt is not of any size that I have a wrench for in my toolset.

11/16 = .6875 in
3/4 (or 12/16) = .75 in

Micrometer measurement shows this bolt at .72 in which as far as I can tell would be something like 11.5/16 - WTF ? I mean gimme a damn break here. I have tried everything: Vice grips, closed end wrench, adjustable wrench, and even one of those multi-size fitting wrenches that just flops into place. That last one is the only one that will grip it because it can fit to ANY size because of how its built. Still though it is awkward. The power steering pump is in the way of getting a good grip on the bolt and even when I try 1 side over of the bolt all the multi-size wrench eventually does is slip after I have all my f'in weight on it!!!! I just am sooooo sick of how every single time I go to work on my van or car it is always some damn bs out of left field. This should've been a 1 hour job TOPS and now my whole day is gone because of this.

Is there such thing as a 11.5/16 ?????? HELP !!!!

SOCKET WRENCHES DO NOT FIT IN THE SPACE I HAVE TO WORK WITH AND EVEN IF IT DID I WOULD HAVE TO USE 3/4 IN SOCKET WHICH SLIPS EVENTUALLY BECAUSE ITS TOO BIG. AGAIN....... HELP !!!!!

[searcherrr]

Just to be sure I am talking about removing the #4 pulley/bolt shown below: