missing Idler for alternator belt . '96

[miked]

i did the belts on my friends '96 last night. as i'm loosening the alternator, i'm thinking "hey, wheres the the idler?.. holy crap it's gone!"
he leaves for VA on sunday and i don't have time to get back under the hood to replace it.

what are some thoughts about running without this part?
will it over stress the other bearings? will it simply decrease belt life?

we have no idea how long it's been gone but certainly since he bought it about a year ago. he's had no known belt issues in that time.

 

[NorCalDoug]

on the 80 I used to own (a 94), I had an idler pulley with a bad bearing. The shop I took it to suggested either replacing the idler or removing it all together. The only problem I was having with it at the time was some bad squeeking -- so I left it in. I recall posting a similar question on the 80scool list. Although no one seemed to have a good reason, most seemed to imply that the pulley was there for a reason and that running without it wasn't a good idea.

 

[landtank]

IMO that pulley is there to compensate for slight length differences in the 2 belts. Even though they are matched they are different. I had a bad bearing and there was a tension difference between the two belts. Af6ter I replaced the pulley the belts seemed to be tensioned the same.

 

[landtoy80]

My pl=ulley ws gone when I bought my 80. I ran it that way a couple years. I installed a new only for the reason that dan's dogs were hungry and I had extra $$$. I see no change in anything after I installed it.

 

[powderpig]

What I think this idler is for is to put less tension on the alternator (less wrap around, less tension). I too have seen this on a couple of 80 now and then. Usually with out the toyota belts(non OEM). I beleive in the long run it may add more stress to the alternator bearing, but in the short run I do not think it will kill any thing. Maybe in the future put it in . later robbie

 

[landtank]

I'm pretty sure that to provide the same amount of driving force to a pulley with less wrap around you need more tension. If you look at a new pulley you'll notice a certain amount or "bobble or twist" to it. It's not like what you would think a true running bearing would be.