6301 bearing as idler pulley bearing

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medtro

medtro

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I replaced my idler pulley bearing with 6301 bearing and 2 washers. The washers are needed because 6301 isn't as thick as the original OEM bearing.

Idler_pulley1.webp

Idler_pulley2.webp
 
bucfl said:
Local parts store sells whole pulley rather inexpensive. Mines held just fine after 3 years.
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pulley i was quoted was almost 60 dollars for a non oem part. online Toyota part is about the same. a bearing is like 5 bucks and it presses out easily. after spending over 600 bucks on timing belt change and related pulleys etc. i was hoping for an easy and cheap fix.
the bearing is an nsk bearing but I've not been able to find it and people who have replaced it with different bearings have not had success very long with it. many report aftermarket parts store pulleys fail relatively quickly too. Amazon sells the whole pulley as either the oem part for 60 bucks or as an nsk part for about 30. i was going to do the latter but wanted to see if someone found a solution yet.
medtro said:
I have done a few more since the I posted this, so far so good.
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thanks.
 
bearing and pulley NSK $36

time is money. NSK bearing, time saved of pulling and pressing a bearing and chalk up the pulley for free.
 
Thank you! Great post to save someone on the road that can't get the full pulley. 6301 is an ultra common bearing that should be readily available.
 
i found this info on the interwebs and found it very helpful. I'm reposting it here for research sake. this one was on an 80 series but surprise, the bearing is the same. it's also the same bearing for my 1st gen tacoma a/c bearing which also needs replacement.

quoted from:A lesson in Ball Bearings for 1993 Land Cruiser A/C idler pulleys

Inukshuk said:
My AC Idler bearing failed because I bought the wrong bearing two years ago. The original was a “6301” and I got the numbers right. The problem was in the letters. I got a “6301ZE C3” Nachi bearing from Napa.

The “6301ZE C3” looked great, it was Japanese and had these nice metal sides (I now know to call them “shields”). Industry wide, shields may be designated by a “Z”. Nachi uses “ZE” for one shield, but mine has two. Each side has the “ZE” label so the box probably said “ZZE”. Per NSK bearings, “C3” means “LOOSE FIT, AFEMA CLASS 3.” Extra clearance is for high vibration and applications requiring thermal expansion (like a hot engine)

“Shields” are not “seals.” A 63012NSE Nachi would have been good. 6301 size, and two (2) rubber seals.

http://www.industrialbearings.com.au/uploads/catalogs/NACHIDeepGrooveBallBearingsB.pdfexplains Nachi bearing nomenclature
http://www.skf.com/binary/30-61889/TT08_006.pdf explains bearing nomenclature for SKF. They are different. Concepts are the same.

I just now learned all this because the nice NSK Japanese “6301” bearing I received today in the mail, you guessed it, open. No seals or shields.

DDU are the best seals (from NSK)

I would have now ordered a “63012RS” – a 6301 with two rubber seals, but I decided that the pulley I have has a lot of wear so a new Toyota assembly is in the way.
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i found this bearing on Amazon for 13.50 including shipping.

6301-2NSE Nachi Bearing 12x37x12 Sealed C3 Japan Ball Bearings: Deep Groove Ball Bearings: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

6301-2NSE Nachi Bearing 12x37x12 Sealed C3 Japan Ball Bearings: Deep Groove Ball Bearings: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.com
 
what is the thickness of the washer?

One thing to note is that you can pull these bearings apart. If your bearing feels a little crunch and hasn't seized, you can pull the shields off (carefully with a razor blade), clean the bearing (I use WD40), and repack with a high quality grease of your choice. Just did that on the 80 when I couldn't source a bearing in a reasonable amount of time (lead time was around 2 weeks and a new assy was about $50). Only cost me the 20 minutes of rebuild time.
 
Somebodyelse5 said:
what is the thickness of the washer?
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Sorry for the late reply. I just saw this today.

I requested them to be 1 mm thick but I never measured them.

Somebodyelse5 said:
One thing to note is that you can pull these bearings apart. If your bearing feels a little crunch and hasn't seized, you can pull the shields off (carefully with a razor blade), clean the bearing (I use WD40), and repack with a high quality grease of your choice. Just did that on the 80 when I couldn't source a bearing in a reasonable amount of time (lead time was around 2 weeks and a new assy was about $50). Only cost me the 20 minutes of rebuild time.
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Good luck knocking it out with no damage.
 
medtro said:
Sorry for the late reply. I just saw this today.

I requested them to be 1 mm thick but I never measured them.



Good luck knocking it out with no damage.
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Doesn’t need to come out to remove the shield.
 
medtro said:
Did another one. I used Koyo 6301 this time. There isn't much grease in the new bearing. I packed more grease before install.

Picture of grease in new Koyo sealed bearing.

View attachment 2815076
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You should leave factory grease level in there. Over packing will lead to overheating and damage.
 
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