First of all, the idler pulley between the compressor and the alternator FELL OFF the other day. It was replaced by a guy I wouldn't trust within a mile of a wrench, but he tries.

Is this even a California truck?







Now it's making this horrendous clicking/ grinding noise. It sounds very, very much like it's coming from the tensioner. It goes away entirely if you give it a couple hundred RPM and then comes back when you drop it to low idle.

http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/Begle1/?action=view&current=MOV03073.mp4
Anybody ever hear that before? Tensioner? Or is something routed wrong? Can it just be taken apart and lubed perhaps?

 

The video won't play.

The belt tensioner could be weak or something like the ac compressor could be causing tension on the belt and making the tensioner go ape nuts.

 

Come on Photobucket, how the hell does an 8-second-long grainy video of a belt tensioner violate terms of use?

Please see attached video.


I can de-tension the tensioner with a ratchet and spin the pulley on the end; it's spins great. All the rest of the pulleys feel good. I think the noise is coming from the spring-loaded side of the tensioner. If I push down on the tensioner, it stays down...

 

maybe try replacing the tensioner?

 

Sounds like the spring side of the tensioner is getting weak. $60 for a new tensioner is good insurance either way. I've had a few Dmax's play hell on tensioners.

 

Should it only be $60? The guy working on it says its $200.

Why do they play hell on tensioners? I just don't see how a pulley falling off would wreck a tensioner...Unless it was just the initial slam-bam that did it.

And is that pulley falling off a common problem?

 

According to my wholesale company I use, a Goodyear belt tensioner part # 49278 is $57.49. A regular auto parts should be comparable and Delco might be a tad more, but not $200.

Edit: Gates from O'Reilly $82 List: Search for '38172' | O'Reilly Auto Parts

For some reason, the ac compressor plays hell on the tensioner. Look at the ac lines on the compressor, it has 2 'mufflers' on there. That was to help with the constant vibration, but it still hammers the tensioner.

I've had a few pully problems on my work trucks, but usually it's on vehicles over 200k.