Accessory/Serpentine Belts and Idler.

Going back in time:

When I got my car late last March, upon startup it made a pretty bad squeaking noise at idle. Then it would go away. Then a couple weeks later it rained outside the night before, started the car up and heard it again. It was worse this time. Drove all the way to college around 20 miles and the noise was still there, really loud. So in between classes I took it to a Midas and had the dudes over there look at it. I have had nothing but good service from them. well one of the guys got a stethoscope or whatever its called and looked for the noise. He then told me it was the idler, and the bearing was going bad. That same day the noise went away. I still have it upon startup on cold days, but it goes away and has never been bad since that one time in April after it had rained.

I tried the online service manual, but it only talks about about the 2.0 SOHC for the Accessory belts.

When is a good time to change the Accessory belts? I am about to hit 60k.

Anyone hear about the "idler" going bad?

I would really like to get rid of this noise.

Any how-to's on the install for the title mentioned?

Thanks a bunch.

 

ya know I get a little squeek when I start up on humid days, sometimes even cold days. It goes away after a period of time (5-10 mins) I have a feeling that the idler isn't really the best designed to keep moisture out. Considering you are in an area that has more humidity than NM I would assume (key word assume) that you may have rust in the run on the idler pully. blast some wd40 in there see if that helps.

 

I have 83K and have the same sound on cold, wet start ups and goes away after 5/10 min
ive changed my Waterpump, Timming belt, and accesory belts
but didnt change the Idler because of lack of funds.
Im probally gonna go back and change it now that im a little better off.

when i changed parts i wasnt thinking of writing up a how to, but i should have.
its a really tight fit and a pain to change the waterpump and my timing was off 1/2 tooth i didnt have to adjust the cam just put the new belt on and the tention pulled it back on line

 

Can someone explain to me exactly what the idler does? I have an idea where it is. I am guessing its that huge thing of rust on my car by my belts. No idea where to spray the wd40. WD40 isn't good for bearings, it locks em up after a bit. I have some bearing lube that might do better.

 

idler pulley have an automatic tensioner which puts tension on the belts which hold them in place to keep them from rolling off or slipping

nothing lasts forever they eventually wear out/lose tension

the Idler pulley on our cars is a B!Tc# to get to
you might as well do a timing belt and water pump also if you gonna change it. along with the rest of the belts
the pully is located under the plastic covering on the timing belt.

 

True but its better that moisture, and its a quick way to see if it is an issue ya know. Idlers are a little wheel that just keep tension on the other pullies, you could replace the wheel with fairly little effort and cost.

 

For safe measure at 60k, you should replace ALL your belts, including your timing belt. So a timing belt job is due which includes water pump, tensioner, timing belt, etc.

Again this is for safe measure. At 60k I'm replacing all of that.

 

Yup i replaced mine except the idler at 63K

 

Hmmmmmm.

Nevin said the idler is a "bi%$3" to get to, while Mains said its easy.. lol

60k for a timing belt job? What?!

The manual says otherwise. I believe its 100k.
I don't really drive the piss out of my car. And also these engines are non-interference. I get what you are saying though for safe measures.

I bet the timing belt job was a PITA, I was looking in the online service manual here and it doesn't look too fun.

 

I had to change mine because my water pump was going out and starting small leaks and the car was running around 220-235deg while driving nicely

Also I drive the $hit our of my car you can ask a couple of ABQ guys im at almost every TYPE of driving event
so i think you'll be ok since you drive nicely :grin:

 

I said fairly easy... because there are are things that are far more difficult (lower heat shield)
It is still not a fun task rop:

the timing belt is a pain in the dickhole.

 

so it was easy but from a different point of view :beer:

 

Easy to him is probably hard for me!

The thing that sucks the most is that you have to remove your upper and lower motor mounts.. The problem is... I used the red loctite on the bolts when I did my solid motor mounts this summer.

 

Just cuss at it.... trust me it works. :zorro:

 

Ugh Red why? Nevermind its beside the point. Just warm up the bolts, get a cheater bar and remember to re-tap the hole.

Timing belts are a bitch no matter what car its on. No matter how good you are its gonna take some time.

 

I kept hearing people losing their lower bolts. So I went to O'reily's and checked out the loctite. Looked at the back, and it looked like the red would be the best. Then I later found out the blue stuff would of been better due to it making it easier to come out. I will really have to re-tap the holes?

I don't think I will do the timing belt anytime soon. Maybe next year.

 

Red is for really high stress shock and vibe joints. In your case the load is carried in shear on the bolt not torsionally. So blue loctite would have worked fine in keeping the bolt in place. But its no biggie just make sure you warm everything up with a heat gun get a decent sized breaker bar and go to town on it. You may not have to tap it but its usually a good idea.

 

Okay cool.

How about the accessory belts and getting to them. My original question. Anyone replace them? Special tools?

 

Yeah I am no help there... my neon has only been driven 15k since I bought it 2 years ago...

 

Go by what the manual says and see if the manual is right. MOST cars is at a 60k interval. You start to reach 100k you end up with the risk of a broken timing belt. I've read enough stories to keep it safe and change things ahead of time. I don't go by what the manual says and if you talk to most people that work at Dodge half the time they don't know what they are talking about.

Just giving you a heads up... I know I wouldn't wait till 100k even if the manual said so. Just like some cars it states you can change your oil between 5,000-7,500 miles because of such and such engine. But if I owned one of those cars I would be changing it at every 3,000 miles or 3 months whichever comes first.

Precautions :thumb2: