Thread: Tensioner Pulley Melted! Help!

i have a stock 98 GTP, 103,000 miles on it. Heard rattling yesterday and today while warming up heard a clank followed by squeaking and squealing. immediately turned off the engine and took a look. my accessory belt was off almost completely (part of it was lodged beneath the power steering pulley), so i got a ride to work instead. at the time i assumed it was the alternator bearings locking up because when i bought the car in oct. they had to jump it for my test drive and ended up replacing the battery. the dealers service dept. ran a diagnostic on the alternator and it came back fine so we thought it was just the batt.

got off work tonight and went about removing the alternator to have it bench tested at autozone tomorrow morning. i find my tensioner's pulley semi-melted, on the bottom of my engine compartment and the bearings are nowhere to be found. the tensioner itself has a bit of melted plastic from the pulley. i took some pictures:

http://i45.tinypic.com/15i2pea.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/ffahr8.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/2432ejt.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/2chl52.jpg


so can anyone tell me: is it definitely not the alternator? do i just need to replace the tensioner pulley (plastic part)? or the whole assembly? what exactly caused this? as of this moment my drive belt (the one with the supercharger on it) is totally fine but should i have the tensioner on it checked out as well?

is this the part i need?
AutoZone.com | | Belt Tensioner | DURALAST PULLEY

any help or answers is greatly appreciated as this car's my daily driver and i'm stranded without it. thanks in advance everybody!

I would get the metal replacement instead of the plastic pulley.

it happens. the thread for that tensioner is reverse thread so dont try and go lefty loosey on it because youll break it off (done it). if you break it off then youll need to buy the whole tensioner bracket (which is what most would do). at least your pulley stayed put, mine completely broke off and the belt went bye bye.

your alt isnt the prob donnie, your tensioner pulley bearing went bad and was starting to seize up and the resistance, with the belt forcing it to spin made the bearing get super hot and melt the pulley, get a metal replacement.

Your bearing seized.

Replace with a metal one, made by Gates.

This same one went out on the GF's GTP, broke the pulley off, belt got trashed, and when it went loose, it fell off the power steering pump pulley and went between the pulley and resv. and was spinning fast enough sawed a hole through the resv.

Like Bio said, reverse direction, I forgot, and broke the tensioner, which is pretty much the entire alternator bracket. Lucky I had a extra for a '97 off mine because I installed a newer 2001 set up, so she got my used part installed. Power steering pump...and resv. from O'Reillys, the seal on the shaft kept leaking, and ended up swapping it out two more times with them, then gave up cause the new "re maned" ones sucked so bad, returned it, and ordered a good used one from ED, problem solved.

All this...because GM used plastic pulleys with inferior bearings.

The metal Gates Brand ones have Timken bearings in them I believe.

If you have not done so, I'd swap out the supercharger tension, and idler pulley with a metal one too. Only one you cant get replaced is the grooved plastic idler for the supercharger belt, that it bolted to the coil bracket. But you can get them aftermarket made from billet aluminum.

~F~

thats y im replacing all my pullies with lighweight polished aluminum, some r underdrive.

if you still want it ill go 45 shipped? 40 piccked up?

replaced it with that steel pulley from autozone and it seems to be running fine now. replaced the serpentine belt too cause it got a little nick in it when it broke loose. had the alt. bench tested and it's alright. my other belt with the s/c on it looks ok though. i'll pass on the alternator joe but thanks anyway man.