Lower idler pulley replacement

So I changed out my Serpentine belt again yesterday and this morning still had a nice chirp going with the belt in some rain. I did inspect the pulleys and tensioner when I took the belt off and they all spun great except the lower idler between the crank shaft & the AC compressor. It had some resistance to it. I did use a Dayco aftermarket belt in hopes it was better than the stock one but still chirping today. So I ordered a Gates idler pulley to replace the lower idler tonight. Can anyone tell me the torqe specs on this and should I use thread lock on this bolt? Any other assistance would be helpful. I do a lot of my own auto work but I have never replaced one of these pulleys. I cant imagine its too hard though.

Hopefully this finally resolves my squeaky chirping tacoma!

 

You should'nt need any thread locker for the idler pulleys. If anything, and it makes you feel better, throw a small amount of blue loctite on it. Definitely not the red though.

FWIW The idler pulleys are a fairly common part to fail. As for torque specs, we cant help you on that without any information on your truck. You could always put your vehicle information in your user profile to help other assist you when you ask questions like this.

 

Thanks guys, Yeah its the 1GR-FE 4.0 liter. Oh and its the #1 Pulley on the bottom. The #2 is the top two pulley's according to the PDF file I have. There are 2 #2's on top and a #1 on the bottom. Guess I should update my profile.

Chris

 

Let me know how you make out. I held off on replacing my tensioner, since the squeak/squeal went away for a few days, but now it's back again. I think I may pull the belt one more time, and rock the pulleys up and down and side to side to see if I can pinpoint which pulley might be bad (I couldn't tell simply by spinning).

 

Thanks I will let you know how it goes. I have to wait for the part to come in though. I checked everything when I changed the belt and everything seamed to spin ok without an real wobble with the exception of the lower #1 pulley that seamed to have some resistance to it. It was only $50 shipped from RockAuto for a Gates Pulley so I figure start there first. I am on my 3rd replacement belt since I got the truck less than 2 years ago and still its chirping away! So agravating!

 

Well I replaced the lower idler pulley today and the noise is still there. After removing the old pulley it seamed ok so I had a feeling it was not going to fix the problem. So anyway I sprayed some silicone into the shaft of the tensioner pulley and the noise went away. I am thinking about replacing that next. Anyone replace this part and how easy is it? Looks like its really packed in there behind the hoses and all.

Thanks

 

Do you have a schematic of how to do the pulley replacement? I've had it done twice under warranty so far, expecting it to happen again, and not sure how many more times I can get it under warranty.

 

I have a PDF file that I found on here but the bottom one was easy if you remove the skid plate. I also took off the top one next to the power steering pump and cleaned it and sprayed silicone into it. Reinstalled it and the noise seemed to be gone for a moment then it cam back. I am going to order the top two pulleys now I am just debating on ordering the tensioner too. On rockauto its $70 for the tensioner but no increase in shipping costs if i buy it with the other idlers.

 

Could you PM or link the PDF? That would be very helpful to me in the future the rate I'm going! Thanks

 

So I replaced the two upper number two pulleys tonight and put the belt back on and still I had my squeal/noise going. So I also had purchased the tensioner assembly but I realized that this part is behind the alternator and the AC compressor so I did not want to tackle that job tonight. What I did do is remove the pulley from the tensioner assembly and installed that in place of the pulley on my truck. It seamed to line up fine and I actually think its the same as the number 1 pulley on the bottom. Anyway as Im sure you guessed the noise was still squealing away. Now the belt I have on there is a Dayco aftermarket belt thats less than two weeks old. Just for the heck of it I took it off completely and put my stock Toyota belt back on that the dealer installed last March when they said I had only a bad belt. I know, total BS!! Anyway, after putting the old Toyota belt back on the noise is gone. For now anyway. We will see for how long. Might be back tomorrow morning. It seams to come with the cold.

So I am at a total loss now! I plan to return the tensioner assembly as I took that pulley right back off I also plan to return the crappy Dayco belt if I can. So what next? I think I might take it back to the dealer later this month since I have an extended warrantee and its only a $100 deductable but last time that cost me $200 and I got a new belt out of it that lasted for a few months. Anyway, I have never had so much trouble with any of my trucks even the Ford I owned. Toyota's are just not built like they used to be.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? AC compressor? Power steering pump? Alternators? Not much else but the water pump/fan.....

 

Mine Started bout three days ago and would describe it as a chirp! replacing the number 2 pulley on the passengers side tomorrow. i belive thats where its coming from.

 

I ended up replacing all idlers and the tensioner assembly. My chirp did not go away until I replaced the tensioner and it was a PIA to do. So far so good though.

 

I have exactly the same noise till 3 month. I changed the belt and it still there. Last summer, I saw someone insert a small shim rear the lower idler pulley and the sound gone. I'll try it when I'll have time. The guy told me that the shims aligned the idler pulley and it's an accurate job to do. How many shims? It's always different he told me. Try and you'll see.

 

There is actually a service bulletin on the 4runner with the same engine and it describes shimming the pulley on the tensioner assembly. I think that might be why my chirp is gone, as I used an aftermarket tensioner from Rock Auto. I can say that its been a month and so far so good and it has been very cold and I have been through heavy rains also. I also put the year old stock belt back on. The aftermarket parts are cheaper and they have sealed bearings so I would recomend them over the stock parts.

nice truck by the way. How do you like the bull bar? I have the nerf bars and have always though about adding the matching bull bar. Is that Westin?

 

Is the tensioner pulley the same part and part# as the lower idler?

I know that the upper idler's are the same part#

Thanks for any info...

 

There are replacement pulleys available at NAPA that are manufactured by Gates.

#36173 replaces the two upper idler pulleys.

#36174 will replace the lower idler pulley as well as the tension pulley. Toyota doesn't sell just the pulley for the tensioner, instead asking you to purchase the whole unit for a ridiculous price - and the installation is a pain. If you do try and replace the tension pulley, remember that the bolt thread is reverse so the whole lefty loosely / righty tighty doesn't apply.

Four idler wheels in total:

2 x #36173 for the two upper pulleys.
2 x #36174 for the lower and tension pulley.