[PIC/VIDEO]: Serpentine belt tensioner markings. What does this mean? Squeak noise

[Pyrenees]

I've got the FSM and I've searched here, but maybe it's right under my nose and I'm not seeing it.

I'm getting a minor low-volume, high-pitched "wheeeeee" sound from what I assume is the V-belt, only on a cold start. It goes away within 30 seconds and never comes back.

I just had the TB done a few months ago and the mechanic spun all of the idlers/pulleys and seemed to think they were ok. He replaced none because he said they were good (I had asked him to replace and charge me if they needed anything). This issue came up a few months after the TB change (which happened right after I bought the car) and based on the previous owner's service records, the PO seemed to have encountered the belt squeak before (before I bought the car and before the TB change). They replaced the serpentine belt less than 10k miles ago. I also pored over the records back to when the car was new, and it seems nobody has replaced any tensioner/idler/fan bracket.

VIDEO:

Pic is below. It looks like there are some tick-marks on the tensioner, but I cannot find any reference for what it indicates. This is with the belt installed.

Here's what I'm thinking: replace the top idler ($75) and and tensioner+idler ($79) all in one shot. Time is money, so I don't mind shotgunning both of these into one job since the parts aren't too much.

Am I on the right track? Is this a good idea? If I've already removed the stuff for the two things above, is the labor involved in that well enough into the fan bracket that I ought to do the fan bracket at that point?

I wish I demanded the mechanic do all of the external s*** along with the TB. I asked him but he said it seemed ok. Now I have this noise, of course.

 

[kruisinkid]

i just replaced my alternator and while i was in there i replaced the tensioner pulley bearing (timken) and the idler pulley+bearing (NSK from amazon came as a unit, easy decision). also replaced the belt. you will find the markings in the FSM under the alternator replacement instructions. the engine still has a quiet weak whine to it. i think its the original fan clutch and original AC compressor everything. im going to assume its the AC clutch bearing.

but its very easy to pop off your belt and replace the bearing and pulley. $50 and you are done. but might still have the whine.

tensioner is right hand LOOSEN

 

[Pyrenees]

Bought the genuine Toyota top idler pulley (non-tensioner pulley, P/N 16604-0F010) and swapped it out today. Torqued to 27 ft-lbs per the FSM and good to go. Easy ten-minute job.

Just need to wait for one more cold morning to see if the noise comes back, since that's when it happens. If it comes back, I'm going to swap the tensioner+pulley assembly.

I spun the bearing on the old one and it sounded crunchier than a bag of smashed crabs, so I probably dodged a bullet even if this doesn't fix the noise.

 

[primetime4]

I am about to do this too and do not have much experience around an engine. Did you have to remove the serpentine belt to do this? If so, do I just crank the tensioner counter clockwise to loosen and pull it off? I hope this fixes my noise issue too. Thanks.

 

[Pyrenees]

I am about to do this too and do not have much experience around an engine. Did you have to remove the serpentine belt to do this? If so, do I just crank the tensioner counter clockwise to loosen and pull it off? I hope this fixes my noise issue too. Thanks.

You are correct, crank it counterclockwise to loosen tension, then slip the belt off the top idler pulley (you don't have to undo the whole belt from everything, just slide it off the pulley).

Both the tensioner pulley and idler pulley use a 14mm socket.

One really important thing to keep in mind is that when the belt is off, the tensioner travel is longer than when it's on the belt. So if you use a long bar, it's going to get pinned against the fan clutch when the belt comes off. Use a ratchet and if it gets stuck, flip the orientation of the ratcheting to back it off.

This is a one-banana job (out of ten bananas).

The tensioner+tensioner pulley looks to be somewhat more involved but doable.

The Fan bracket looks like a pain in the ass; I hope I don't end up there.

 

[kruisinkid]

I can attest the tensioner bearing is just as easy. 24mm impact socket to drive it out

 

[Pyrenees]

I can attest the tensioner bearing is just as easy. 24mm impact socket to drive it out

24mm socket... I assume that's to push out the bearing from the removed pulley and put it back in? I'd read about some folks doing that. It's a lot cheaper. My 100 is my DD and I have zero room for error on that kind of thing, so I just sucked it up and bought the whole OEM pulley+bearing assembly.

 

[kruisinkid]

Yes sorry. 24mm to press the bearing out and into the pulley. There is a video on the youtube. A bench vise is necessary. But very very easy.

There is a complete NSK (hq japanese) idler pulley with bearing also on amazon for 36$ i was only gonna swap the bearing but saw this for an extra couple bucks. It all works great!

 

[abuck99]

Idler can be replaced anytime- that's a 10min job the Tensioner pulley is another story. Pressing in a bearing is a temporary fix and worth a try, but if the bearing is shot the return spring in the tensioner is probably near end of service life at 175k. Best practice is to spend the extra $65 and replace the serpentine tensioner when doing the TB, otherwise you have to tear it back down to the TB to replace this part. If you are still on original parts at 175k- Do the fan bracket, Tensioner Pulley, and Idler and be done.- peace of mind.

For reference there is a section in the FSM that describes the tensioner spec-yours indicates "in-spec" as the hash mark is with in the range of the three hash marks. Even though mine looked similar to yours, the return spring mechanism wouldn't return when removing the belt, I had to wrench it into position and then it would stay- so not good. That was @ 185k.

 

[kruisinkid]

 

[Pyrenees]

Thanks. Tensioner markings correlated with “ok” but if the noise returns the tensioner/pulley are next up.

 

[Pyrenees]

^^ Well, here I am again. Same noise is present. It went away because the weather warmed up (notice I'm bumping this thread from April) but once we hit the low low temps in the morning it started happening again.

It only squeaks on the first cold start of the morning when it's <40 degrees outside. The squeak stops within 30-45 seconds, presumably when something heats up a little bit and gets back in spec. No other noises.

Last time I checked, the tensioner markings showed within the hash marks. So I'm not sure if it's the tensioner, the tensioner pulley (the part I replaced was the top idler pulley), the fan bracket or what. It doesn't matter if the AC compressor is turned on or not, so I think it's not that.

Thoughts?

 

[katit]

Sound like one of the rollers to me. Not belt.

 

[Pyrenees]

I should add that the following parts are new within the year: serpentine belt, top idler pulley, timing belt and all of the timing belt rollers/water pump.

As far as I know, the fan bracket, serpentine belt tensioner and tensioner pulley are original (179k).

 

[katit]

As far as I know, the fan bracket, serpentine belt tensioner and tensioner pulley are original (179k).

At 195k tensioner pulley was definitely shot on mine and fan bracket was replaced by PO(it failed!)
So, not sure if it's good news or not but fan bracket is something that is common on those engines.

 

[Pyrenees]

Given how many steps are involved in replacing the tensioner, I do wonder how much extra work it would be to just do the fan bracket - but that seems more intense - and I'd hate to waste my time on a huge job unless I had my suspicions. Mechanic checked the pulleys 1 year ago when i had the TB done.

 

[primetime4]

I would definitely change out the tensioner pulley since it is such an easy job similar to the idler. I had the same problem as you and changed out both around the same time. The tensioner bearing I would say was worse than the idler so that is more likely to be it. The noise has not returned but it also has not gotten that cold yet for me to confirm. Will update as the temps drop.

 

[Leandro]

have you checked/flushed you PS pump lately?
I had a whine on cold starts and was because the PS fluid was old and too thick. after flushing the PS the whine went away.

 

[Pyrenees]

have you checked/flushed you PS pump lately?
I had a whine on cold starts and was because the PS fluid was old and too thick. after flushing the PS the whine went away.

I've been doing the lazy swap with the turkey baster at each oil change (since it wasn't in the maintenance history). PS fluid looked ok though and the steering has been perfect/quiet.

 

[kruisinkid]

i 2nd the tensioner pulley bearing. cheap and easy to swap.