FAQ: Fragged Tensioner/Idler Pulley Reports & Questions

They didn't take anything, but I am not about to pull ALL of the stuff in my center console out for that. There's a ton of stuff crammed in there.

AA, it is a low drone-like sound. Not harsh, it almost sounds like maybe if I took the resonator off or something but not quite as loud. It's an exhaust noise, I'm positive. It's not a belt or anything making the noise. The only noises it made before were some S/C noise due to the coupler but that was it.

Hey, Shintsu, the noise might be co-incidental. Even with the best of maintenance, in higher mileage cars someting is always 'going.' It's as likely not something the mechanic did as it is that it is.

IF it was the supercharger belt that was replaced, might want to look and see if the bolt and ferrule were inadvertently not replaced or not tightened all the way in teh bottom right corner of the passenger side engine mount.

Also might want to check the motor and transmission mounts.

Albertj

Found out that it sort of was something they did - but not really something they could be blamed for. The noise is apparently coming from the tensioner pulley. Fix one thing (torn up belt) and break another doing it. Bullshit...dealer says $158 for the part and no telling what labor would be.

The tensioner pulley is about $35-50 if you shop around. The mechanic should fix it for you, since the problem was almost directly related to the area they were working in. If the pulley was bad, they should've noticed and offered to fix while they had the belt off. If it was good, it should not be making noise now. This is looking like more than just coincidence.

My dad is the one who took it back up and had them look at it and they even when he took it up there took a wrench to it and showed my dad that's what was doing it. It's funny that this pulley can make what sounds like an exhausty sound. It's not like there's a squeaking or anything under the hood, it's an exhausty sound for certain.

Hmm.... wonder if the pulley fragged the belt?

Albertj

Well, the belt managed to ride up on the lip of the supercharger pulley and that frayed the edges of the belt. That's what caused the belt to get torn up in the first place. What caused that to actually happen though, I don't know.

The wifes car started making a racket Monday. It was the pulley on the SC tensioner. Since it was dark by the time I get off work and I dont have time to fix the problem I let a local AC Delco certified shop repair it. I have used them several times before and they try their best to do good work.

They replaced all the pulleys for the Supercharger belt. $192.15 I thought that was a fair price.

Bert

ibmoses wrote:

The wifes car started making a racket Monday. It was the pulley on the SC tensioner. Since it was dark by the time I get off work and I dont have time to fix the problem I let a local AC Delco certified shop repair it. I have used them several times before and they try their best to do good work.

They replaced all the pulleys for the Supercharger belt. $192.15 I thought that was a fair price.

Bert

That sounds like a bargain.


By the way, I just this afternoon replaced my SC belt without removing that cast iron engine mount bracket that attaches to the block.


I removed the nut off the top stud, removed the nut and stud from the bottom one and was able to wiggle that spacer out.
The tough part was getting the spacer back in place since the crank sensor harness is right there, and you have to feel your way around blind.

These different engineering departments should have gotten together for coffee now and then.
There is no excuse for making belt replacement such an ordeal.

ibmoses wrote:

They replaced all the pulleys for the Supercharger belt. $192.15 I thought that was a fair price.

Bert

Bert, are you sure they replaced the lower idler pulley, the one that is TRAPPED by the engine mount? I'm surprised they did it that cheap, even though it was only the SC system.

1998 Riv wrote:

ibmoses wrote:

They replaced all the pulleys for the Supercharger belt. $192.15 I thought that was a fair price.

Bert

Bert, are you sure they replaced the lower idler pulley, the one that is TRAPPED by the engine mount? I'm surprised they did it that cheap, even though it was only the SC system.

Yep, I checked.

I asked the shop manager if he knew what he was getting into when I carried the car to get it fixed.
He had already told me it would be no problem, so I said what are we looking at here... $300 to 400.00 ?
He told me it should be less than $200.00, maybe they gave me a break because they did not realize it would be harder to do than a SC Regal or PA.
I will call next week and ask the guy, he is a friend from my dirt track racing days and this is a really good shop, or so it seems to be...

Bert

im a college student and dont know much about engines ans so forth. And my car has been making a terrible loud sound for the past two days. I thought it was my supercharger since ive been trying to get it rebuilt for like 2 years. but when i brought it in to the auto repair shop he just said the i need a new bearing since it's chipping away. I dont want to get jipped off by him,

Does anyone know a reasonable price for a bearing to be replaced by a mechanic?

you can check on ebay for rebuilt superchargers and kits; it would take a couple hours to properly remove and reinstall teh supercharger. Add $70 or so for miscellaneous gaskets and shop supplies.

one thing that might frustrate you about the Riviera is that it's a luxury car and unless you are doing the repairs yourself they get real expensive real fast. If you are not doing the work yourself you might set some time aside to learn.

Albertj

What bearing did they say needs replacing. ???
Supercharger bearing or something else ???

Rickw wrote:

What bearing did they say needs replacing. ???
Supercharger bearing or something else ???

it was a bearing that was connected to the belt. there was residue from it since it was chipping and grinding off.

Is that a bearing or a pulley? You got a picture (cell phone snapshot?)

Sound like a pulley bearing. Can't tell which one from your description but they are not expensive. I just changed a tensioner pulley with bearing and the part cost me $20.00 and 10 minutes to change it.
I don't know which one of your's is chirping but any one of the pulley's are not expensive.
If they are talking about the bearings inside the supercharger then that's a different story, but it doesn't sound like it from your brief description.
Bring it to someone else for a second opinion and write down what they tell you specifically so we can help you.

If it is a bad idler or tensioner pulley bearing, you'll need to fix it soon. They tend to fail quickly after they start making noise. The pulleys are easy to change except for the one inside the engine mount. If it's that one, you might want to let the mechanic do the job.

I've never heard of a bearing going bad in the supercharger. Very unlikely unless you're out of supercharger oil (also unlikely).

there saying to install a new bearing they want 200$ for them to buy it and get it shipped to them. and 100dollars to install the new bearing.

There are lots of bearing on the car. Did they say which bearing?

he said it was an ac clutch that was making the noise

OK, that explains things better.
The whole clutch mechanism is replaceable and that price seems about right to me.
Mine was replaced a few years ago, don't remember the exact cost but that seems close.
That's a job that requires special tools and is better handled by a competent shop.

thanks a lot. i appreciate it.

my tensioner pulley fragged on me in december. It was at like 155k miles. I replaced it with a smooth metal one, but that's all I could find at any of the autoshops. AutoZone and Advance didn't even carry a 3" idler pulley. Luckily it's an easy fix

Well - the metal one won't frag like the plastic ones, but is somewhat higher drag on the engine. You can get billet aluminum pulleys for lots of $$. Plastic ones should be available from RockAuto.com among other places.

When you replace a pulley, be sure to check the others and replace all that have any binding,.. and use a silver or white Sharpie to write the date somewhere on the face of each pulley you replace.

Albertj