Loose Power Steering belt pulley? Belt noise

I've had some belt noise that comes and goes for maybe 1 year or so. For the past few days it has been more persistent. I thought it might be the Power Steering belt and the culprit being the adjustable pulley for the belt tension.

The bearing seems a little loose (video below). I'm not sure if that amount of play is permissible.

I replaced the belts when I got the truck - at 133k. Currently at 156k. I used dealer Denso belts.

***note. The pulley wasn't torqued down in the video - I'm not sure if it is supposed to be torqued to begin with.

 

Did you have the right tension on belt. Is the tensioner squealing? That pulley should spin easily. And the center bolt should be tight.

 

Bracket torqued to the block, set tension, then lock the pulley slider in place with the center bolt torqued. Don't get crazy on the center bolt,,overcrush and it will toss the new brg and possibly belts right ouutta there. If the center bolt loosened,,or was possibly left loose on the last setup, the brg has walked in the pulley, the inner race has walked/vibrated on the bolt,, uglyness ensues.

Fresh belts on a used pulley,,it happens sometimes. Easy fix on that piece.

Toss it in the back for a spare,,it was working when it came off. Good backup piece till the new one proves out. If it has been making noise for a year, I wouldn't gamble.

 

I'm not sure, thats what I'm trying to figure out.

Are you suggesting I get a new pulley or a new belt?

 

Pretty sure you need new power steering tensioner. If it's been that piece making noise for a year, it could lock up and then toast belt. Then no power steering. Fairly inexpensive part to replace.

 

A new pulley assembly for now. The belt took a bit of stress over the year keeping the idler pulley aligned as that got worse, but it should be ok to run. I would do a quick inspection of the belt before putting it back on.

 

tensioner the same thing as idle pulley? number 16 on the link below..

https://parts.olathetoyota.com/2001toyotatacomaparts.html

and should I get the mount as well or just the pulley wheel?

 

Yeah the right name is power steering idle pulley. I'm known to call things by slang terms sometimes. Don't see why you would need bracket though unless bolt hole got wallowed out. Also make sure adjusting bolt works good. GL

 

bracket seems to be good. I think its just the pulley that is loose and thus causes the whole belt to have a angle.

For a part like this; is it worth getting an OEM part, or get something by another company? - which will cost less. I looked online and most toyota OEM parts dealers only sell the pulley with the bracket, so an added cost.

 

Never had to buy one so I'm not familiar with how it's sold. I try to stay oem when I can. I got 280'000 on my original now! Maybe someone else here knows more about parts.

 

So long as the long tensioner bolt is good and the threads work smooth, you should only need the pulley.