ChuckP

My tensioner pulley is making a squeaking noise. I shot some lube in it and it quieted it down as well as puled the belt and ran the engine without it, no noise. So i'm fairly certain that pulley is the culprit.

I found a set of bearings for both pullies on ebay for $10. Has anyone pressed out the old ones and replaced them? Looks like a significant savings over buying new pulleys.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

I've done it many times, not on the TL, but on other cars. Pretty simple, just press out the old and in with the new. Most don't want to be bothered so they just purchase the entire assembly.

ChuckP

That is what I assumed. Seems like a cheap fix. I stopped by O'reilys to price out new pullies and the guy said that i cant press them out because it is a sheet metal pulley and the new bearing would just spin in place. I kinda chuckled and figured I would confirm with you all who actually wrench on these cars. Appreciate the advice. I'll give new bearings a shot.

mzilvar

iTrader: (3)

you can buy the pulley with a bearing in it separately from the entire tensioner assembly from one of the OEM parts suppliers, I think they're like $10 or $13 each

WDPanda

New Tensioner with pulley + idler pulley is not that expensive from Rock Auto. I would throw on a new belt as it is very cheap. Gates brand is good from my research and experience. Their Micro V serpentine belt is excellent quality.
These are maintenence items and cheaper if you order at once to offset the shipping.

ChuckP

Seems like a waste of money to replace all those items, when it's just the tensioner pulley, more specifically the bearing that is causing the noise.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

seems like a waste of money to do the job a second time because you didnt replace the belt the first time

btw, "pulley+idler pulley" is 1 part

ChuckP

The tensioner comes with a tensioner pulley and an idler pulley, so that would be 3 parts, plus a belt. My belt is fine. If it wasn't, it takes all of 5 minutes to swap belts. Still not following your logic, but I appreciate your insight.

mzilvar

iTrader: (3)

I think people pretty much got it.

On rockauto the tensioner assembly with the pulleys and bearings attached is like $50 - $63, if you bought OEM it's more like $143.

On Rockauto the idler pulley with a new bearing in it is $22-$30 each & the tensioner pulley is $11-$16 each.

OEM it's $15 for the idler pulley with a new bearing in it and $12 for the tensioner pulley with a new bearing in it.

So if your tensioner assembly is good you can replace both bearings with new pulleys for $27 + shipping (OEM) and save about $25 instead of replacing the entire assembly with an aftermarket unit.

There's actually a procedure in the FSM to test the spring in the tensioner assembly as well.

The tensioner pulley bolt holding it to the tensioner (the one on top) has left handed threads (left tight, right loose) in case someone does change them.

So if it's isolated to a bearing and the tensioner is good, it makes sense to just replace the pulley with a bearing (OEM) for less than replacing the entire assembly.

Here's some links, this is for '05..

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,c...e,Belt%2BDrive

Acura Parts @ AcuraOEMparts.com - Genuine Acura OEM Parts from Delray Acura

Coupon code acurazine on delray acura gets 5% off as well, and I favor OEM parts over aftermarket most of the time anyhow lol.. in this case OEM is cheaper unless you're replacing the entire tensioner assembly.