4.0 Idler Pulley Replacement OEM vs Gates Reference

I ended up having to replace the entire tensioner assembly

 

Ive replaced my belt all all pulleys except the tension pulley. I don’t want to buy a tensioner just to take the pulley off of it.

 

You can either replace the bearing or now they make just the pulley.

 

Oh wow, what is the part number for just the pulley?

 

Thank you for posting this. I was recently told by the dealer that I had a tensioner whining (I just chalked it up to these being loud engines) so now I am looking at replacing my pulleys/idlers. I don't really have access to a press so I was mainly just looking at buying it all as one kit. The Rock Auto site lists several but they all seem to share the same part number. I assume this is the kit that you bought, the Gates ACK070834?

 

Easiest thing to do is just replace the bearing on the tensioner pulley. Bearing shop is about 2 miles from my house, including the time to go pick up the bearing (about $15), total start to finish time about 30 mins. and you don't even have the put on your work clothes, lol!

Lay on crawler, loosen the belt, remove pulley... 5mins

Press in new bearing... 5 mins

Lay on crawler, install pulley, install belt... 5 mins

Done it several times

 

$44 Febest 0187-GRJ200 OEM 16620-31012

Febest 0187-GRJ200 is the tensioner pulley/bearing, ready to go. But, it has a made-in-China bearing. I got one as a backup for off-roading. It's better to get a good quality Japanese bearing and replace it. A press is handy but not necessary. You can youtube replacing bearings without a press. The bearing size is 17X40X17.5 (ID X OD X Width). I installed a Nachi 5203-2NS bearing.

Febest on bottom. OEM to the right, with Nachi bearing on bottom right.

 

Honestly I wound up using the OEM pulleys for the replacement and since I had an OEM tensioner I just swapped the pulley over. I'll rebuild the pulleys and just keep swapping them as the time comes. I did buy the gates kit, whatever was suggested by Rock Auto.

I have to figure out what the bearing for the idler bearings is now... thanks for bumping this post I completely forgot about it.

EDIT- just checked - correct ACK070834 was the Gates kit that I purchased.

 

Tensioner bearing

 

Aftermarket tensioner pulleys will eat your belt for lunch. They are approx 1/8" off. Been almost stranded before, 100 miles from home, Luckily had extra belt on hand to get chewed up for the rest of the way home.

 

Idler #2 bearings (idlers next to PS and alt) are 10X42X13, ID x OD x width.
Idler #1 bearing (idler next to compressor) is 10X42X26.

There are no quality bearings of this size on the market, in my opinion. eBay has them, and some are labeled as being made in Japan, but I have my doubts. Enter keyword 6302RMX to view the listings. Why are these Made in Japan bearings only available on eBay and 3rd party vendors on Amazon?

I installed 15X42X13 bearings, a common size, but you need to insert a 15mm-10mm reducer. I bought SKF bearings and reducers from 123bearing.

RE Idler #1 bearing, that is a special size and I could not find a match. Instead, I used two 10X42X13 bearings. Has been working fine so far.

See my thread for more info.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...arings-in-the-idler-tensioner-pulleys.480961/

 

If you have exact OEM bearing part numbers I can bring to my bearing guy and see what he comes up with. Never failed me before.

 

@jboudreaux1965
You mean Toyota part #s? Toyota does not sell just the bearings for the idler or tensioner pulleys.

The marking on the Idler #2 bearings is "6302RMX"; also has "Koyo" and "Japan". I emailed Koyo as to the availability of 6302RMX bearings as they are not listed in their catalog. They replied they only made the bearing cover, not the bearing.

The marking on the Idler #1 bearing is "525"; there are no other markings on either side. Yes, I still have all the OEM bearings I punched out, including the tensioner bearing.

 

Yes, I meant the stamp on the bearings. Thanks!

 

The GearWrench Serpentine belt tool is on massive sale ($32) if anyone wants one

$41 GEARWRENCH 15 Piece Ratcheting Serpentine Belt Tool Set | 3680D

https://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-3...t+tool+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=41f1lF2fnPL&ref=plSrch

 

Why would you need that?

Kind of a joke, I have one, never used it. 16" breaker bar and shallow socket works better

 

I heard a chirp today, n the merry merry month of may (rrrrr it's November, May sounds better in the song, lol), off to the bearing shop to see what they say....


Lol, I'll bring the idler bearings in and see what they come up with.

 

Just received my Nachi bearing today. Waiting on the Febest pulley so I can swap these into it. Any tips on pressing bearings without a press?

 

@TheDevilYouLove
With an assortment of sockets, and/or cups from a BJ or wheel bearing set, you can use a sledgehammer or BJ C-clamp to press out and in. Once you get one out, you can use the old bearing to press in the new one. Alternatively, a 3/4" bolt/nut can be used. The important thing to remember is to press on the outside of the bearing when pressing them into the pulley. There are several utube videos showing how to do this.

 

A 1 and 1/8” socket was perfect for pressing the bearing