Damaged idler pulley strands me today!

[hheynow]

Like I don't have enough things to worry about and then this happens! I'm on my way to work in San Francisco this afternoon and I notice my alternator gauge needle showing much less than it's usual reading. Then the battery warning light comes on. Then my power steering fails. I pull off to the right and pop my hood only to notice my serpentine belt is off its track. No wonder everything just failed. I called AAA and get towed to the only Ford service location in SF. Ford service told me what I already knew, that the grooved idler pulley had lost its bearings and was wobbling BIG TIME. They also noticed wear on the belt tensioner and smooth idler pulley and my serpentine belt was mashed. Fortunately they had all the parts in stock and they had a mechanic available to do the repairs. I was out of there in less than two hours...but $500.00 poorer. I know that these parts are original and that they do wear out and this kind of problem needs to be repaired A.S.A.P. so I guess I'm lucky that it didn't occur while driving on the freeway or in a remote location where the parts needed to be ordered. The good news is that I got off of work because of this and since I'm on salary...I still got paid.

Geo...Misery loves company!

 

[Roland_Jenkins]

Things can always be worse. I mean, you coulda been on Castro St and wearing your hat

 

[hheynow]

Originally posted by Roland_Jenkins
Things can always be worse. I mean, you coulda been on Castro St and wearing your hat

Quite true, Roland, but damn it...like I said over there...I don't wear it in San Francisco...FOR THAT VERY REASON!

 

[geonc]

I feel your pain!
Did they at least upgrade to the '99-up dual idler?
I did mine for less than $125...and that included a new belt.

 

[Whit]

187k outa an idler aint to bad, These things take some pretty good tension on them and at different rpm's , Tell me is the actual sheiv part of the idler made of plastic? I know the Cummins idler sheiv is plastic and I was figgerin at 100k I was gonna upgrade that dude to aftermkt steel one. Also was wonderin if the Ford idler has a grease zert on it or sealed for life bearing?

Cheers, Kevin

 

[Mike]

Kevy,

Its a sealed brg and the idler is not plastic.

 

[geonc]

Here's aLINKY tocomplete the swap to the '99-up dual tension idler.
I did mine in a parking lot with my cordless sawzall when mine quit.
I got my parts from Car Quest and only paid $58 US for the dual idler set up and $31 for the belt
Using the one from Car Quest, I did not have to grind any clearance for the spring pac, unlike the FORK one that costs 3 times as much.
The dual set up takes alot of tension off the belt and pulleys!

I'll have to dig up the receipt because all my P/N info was lost when I had to re- format the hard drive due to that bloodhound exploit viral crap

 

[hheynow]

Originally posted by geonc
I feel your pain!
Did they at least upgrade to the '99-up dual idler?
I did mine for less than $125...and that included a new belt.

Geo, No upgrade. I was stranded in SF w/o any of my tools and was at the mercy of Ford. Ford sold me stock replacements and charged me retail for them. The new serpentine belt was $74.41 . I was also charged 2 hours labor @ $111/hr. After seeing what the new pulleys look like...my old ones were toast. The smooth pulley and the smooth pulley on the tensioner had a serp belt groove as deep if not deeper than the depth of the belt where the friction of the belt had worn them down over the years. With that problem past me, I know I'll be good for at least another 100K.

Kevin, The pulleys are metal. My truck is so old (8 years old on 9/1/04) that when it was manufactured...
























PLASTIC WAS NOT YET INVENTED...

 

[Whit]

OK after listening to this I am wondering if your water pump may be next in line?? Still OEM??

Speak up senior

Cheers, Kevin

 

[hheynow]

Originally posted by Whitmore
OK after listening to this I am wondering if your water pump may be next in line?? Still OEM??

Speak up senior

OK junior My water pump went out 1.5 years ago and I don't use the SCA product FW-16 that Ford recommends for cavitation protection. I am using a better product called RMI-25 .

This is a quote from their site:

The engines in heavy-duty trucks and other industrial equipment generate enough heat to melt down the engine block and related parts. If an engine's cooling system cannot dissipate that heat because of corrosion or deposit build-up, serious damage can be done to internal engine parts. Repairing that damage costs you money - both in expensive repairs and in lost revenues from downtime.
RMI-25 is a low-cost, effective safeguard against cooling system failure. It cleans while you drive; inhibits rust, cavitation erosion, electrolysis and pitting; lubricates water pump seals and thermostats; and improves cooling. RMI-25 should be at work always in every water-cooled engine. RMI-25 and your water pump make an unparalleled combination for cleaning your entire cooling system.
Vehicle water pumps circulate from 2,500 to 9,000 gallons per hour, depending on the size or make of your vehicle. By just adding RMI-25 to your radiator, your water pump becomes a powerful cleaner, circulating thousands of gallons of cleaning solution through your engine cooling system while you drive.

RMI-25 can be ordered HERE at dieselsite.com

So I believe that my radiator will have rust prevention, my water pump's seals will be lubricated providing it with a longer life and the interior walls of my engine won't get caked with crusty FW-16 which will hinder proper cooling.

BTW, my vacuum pump went out earlier this summer.

 

[geonc]

BTW, my vacuum pump went out earlier this summer.

Might wanna be careful next time you whip out yer schwanze to ****!

 

[hheynow]

Originally posted by geonc
Might wanna be careful next time you whip out yer schwanze to ****!

Geo, soon you'll be my age. It'll be your white woman's problem...not mine.

 

[geonc]

Originally posted by hheynow
Geo, soon you'll be my age. It'll be your white woman's problem...not mine.

She had to do that when both my hands were in casts........

she just never quite got the hang of shaking that last drop out tho

 

[bigbrowngoat]

if the ol gal done your wipeing for ya she must really you

 

[geonc]

Originally posted by bigbrowngoat
if the ol gal done your wipeing for ya she must really you

YES SHE IS! Got a good 'un the second go round