Squeal? Try this...

Seems that some folks believe the only way to eliminate a squeal from a pulley is to replace the the pulley. Not so, read on.
Once you've determined which pulley is causing the noise, remove it drom the vehicle.
Start by wiping off the dirt from the race seal.

Use a small screwdriver to gently pry up the seal. Work it in carefully so you don't damage the seal.

Carefully remove the plastic ballbearing spacer with the same screwdriver you used previously.

This bearing uses a plastic spacer to keep the ball bearings in the proper location, other bearings may use a none removeable metal spacer.
At this point you can see the old grease is packed around the outer race but there doesn't appear to be any broken ball bearings or metal fragments so a little Brake Parts Cleaner or Carb & Choke Cleaner can be used to clean things up.

Repack the race with grease.

Reinstall the plastic spacer.

Reinstall the race seal. Make sure it fits back into the the recess on the outer and inner race.


That's it, nice and easy, plus you saved a few bucks...and no more squeal!
The pulley in the pics is from a Chevy belt tensioner but the same process can be used for any pulley that uses sealed ballbearings.

what pulleys on the 4.0 can this method be used for? ive never pulled any besides the one for the PS pump

I've done it on the tensioner and on the A/C compressor pulley.

Hey Frank!
What Chevy is that pulley from? I've been looking for a pulley like that to build an A/C eliminator bracket for my 2000 XJ.

Thanks!

Tall Shadow :roll:

2003 5.3L Vortec out of a Tahoe.

Frank Z said:

2003 5.3L Vortec out of a Tahoe.

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Haha, that was going to be my guess... Wonder why?

I've done this with some success on XJ idler pulleys. Don't expect 100 percent normal life expectancy. Remember that if you've heard it squeal, it's already been suffering some damage. If you catch it early enough, you can get a long remission, though.

General bearing lore says you shouldn't pack it tightly with grease, and don't use moly or other grease with solids in it unless it's already shot and you're just trying to stretch it until you get home or get around to buying a new one.

Frank Z said:

2003 5.3L Vortec out of a Tahoe.

Click to expand...

Thank You Sir!

It narrows my search down a little......

Tall Shadow

Hallo Frank Z. I did that too, but it was too late.
The bearing was damaged too much.. There was a little axial play..You can replace only the bearing, but the price of the whole unit is low.



Thanks for the tip.

Wim, '92 XJ

A 96 Ford Explorer with 5.0L has both the ribbed and smooth idlers that will work depending on which side of the belt you need to run against.

Lotta work for a $20 part..

As I stated earlier, this repair can be done on other than just idlers. I did the exact same on my A/C clutch......saved a lot more than $20.

For how long? Repacking a fubar'd bearing.. interesting. I like the nick in the grease seal, too, how's that greasy serp belt treating you? :wierd:

I did it a few days after buying the heep with 89k on the clock, it was still doing fine at 131K when I yanked the motor.

Doh!