Lightweight idler pulley update, not pretty..............

bldegle2 · 02-17-2006, 09:57 PM

i wuz drivin to work today, when i heard this noise, pulled over, damn if the lightweight idler pulley installed back in Dec 2005 hadn't disintegrated, so a $175 tow job later, i found the main part lodged down by the sway bar when swapping in the stock one.

so now i have a small hub with a good bearing, and the outer part is in one piece, but just completely separated from the center part, with one of the radial fins missing............

after a bit of a search, i ran down the guy's phone number and left a message for him, also sent him an email. i have a bid in on another one, but i now have serious concerns over the reliability of this part. i don't hammer the car hardly at all, so this is very annoying.......

i will keep you up to date on what is......

here is a pic, plus another

baldy

http://home.comcast.net/~bldegle2/P1010154.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~bldegle2/P1010153.JPG

PurdueGuy · 02-17-2006, 10:55 PM

I thought I saw on the e-bay auctions for those that they had a lifetime gurantee on everything but the bearing. Looks like everything but the bearing failed...

Sleeper SL2 · 02-17-2006, 11:06 PM

UGLY! Makes me wonder if i need to take mine off and put the stock one back on.

bldegle2 · 02-18-2006, 01:19 AM

the vendor got back to me via email.

he assured me the only ones that have failed were a couple that came with the bearing not pressed in flat.

he is going to call me shortly, sounds like it is going to be no problem with a replacement, i was getting a second one for the tensioner pulley (i already swapped the stock ones and it ran just fine), that way i can go back to the stock 5k780 serpentine belt, i am running a 5k775 to compensate for the main underdrive pulley's slightly smaller size, so........

by putting a second one on the tensioner (it is slightly larger in diameter than the orginal, but exact same bearing), the stock belt can be used again, woohoo......

baldy

Drprelude · 02-18-2006, 02:30 AM

thank goodness!

Has anyone ever used or bought the set that saturnmotorsports sells?

bldegle2 · 02-19-2006, 04:19 PM

they are sending another one on Monday. according to them, this is the first one to fail in the 'wild'.

i am still a bit suspicous, their testing data starts in November 2005, so there is not very much data on failures, but this could be an omen...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Has anyone ever used or bought the set that saturnmotorsports sells?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

i am getting this set, i need the waterpump and alternator pulleys, gonna sell the underdrive pulley on Ebay as i have that already.

then, the only pulley not changed and lightened will be the PS pulley, of which none have been made to my knowledge....

i went all in silver, was thinking red or blue, but couldn't get a complete match colorwise.

baldy