tensioner pulley question...

[homer63]

i have a '01 corolla with the vvt-i 1.8 motor. i am attempting to remove the accessory belt tensioner. the one big bolt that runs thru the middle of it, is that a left or right handed bolt?

it is very tight and dealing with aluminum i dont want to pull any threads out by turning it the wrong way!

i have the rattle which i read about elsewhere. removing the belt it stopped so i know the tensioner is the cause. hopefully i can lube it and get it to quieten down.

thanks in advance!

[Milky]

Originally Posted by homer63

i have a '01 corolla with the vvt-i 1.8 motor. i am attempting to remove the accessory belt tensioner. the one big bolt that runs thru the middle of it, is that a left or right handed bolt?

it is very tight and dealing with aluminum i dont want to pull any threads out by turning it the wrong way!

i have the rattle which i read about elsewhere. removing the belt it stopped so i know the tensioner is the cause. hopefully i can lube it and get it to quieten down.

thanks in advance!

its the normal right hand thread. lefty loosey righty tighty. there just in there kinda tight sometimes.

[homer63]

thanks milky!

i feel much better pullin on that wrench now!

[homer63]

i resolved my rattling underhood sound. it was of course the belt tensioner.

here is my, as best reduced, problem discovery/resolution.

i had a bad rattle/chatter underhood.

taking the belt loose, moving the belt tensioner i noticed the same type sound when moving the tensioner. it doesnt take much movement of the tensioner to get it to make the sound. like a door hinge, just wiggle it ever so slightly and it will ekk ekk!

i take the tensioner off. 1 bolt, 1 nut.

locate the spring which compresses the belt. it is covered by a plastic shroud. there was a nut at the top which you took loosen to remove it. now there is another bolt on the bottom which connects the spring to the pulley part. take the bolt off. you will find there is a plastic sleeve/metal bushing on both ends. i cleaned both ends, sanding and greasing to remove wear marks. then reassembling.

now the good part.

where the bolt mounts the pulley assembly, that is a greased/sleeved part.

pulling the tensioner off, where the bolt goes thru, it is a sleeve. there is a thick collar on one side (engine) and a thin side(bolt head). this is the part that spins separate from the tensioner frame! takin it apart if you get this wrong on reassembly your pulley will be out of alignment!

on the side with the thick collar, i took a small chisel and was very easily able to knock off gradually. now i could take the whole sleeve apart. cleaned all the old grease out and replaced with moly grease. tapped the collar back on.

reassembled all. i now have a quiet motor once again.

what a difference! not a cent of outlay. and it is quiet as a new motor.

if i left something out, lemme know!

mike

[Milky]

Originally Posted by homer63

ok. so maybe the moderator will want to relocate this thread. so be it.

i resolved my rattling underhood sound. it was of course the belt tensioner.

here is my, as best reduced, problem discovery/resolution.

i had a bad rattle/chatter underhood.

taking the belt loose, moving the belt tensioner i noticed the same type sound when moving the tensioner. it doesnt take much movement of the tensioner to get it to make the sound. like a door hinge, just wiggle it ever so slightly and it will ekk ekk!

i take the tensioner off. 1 bolt, 1 nut.

locate the spring which compresses the belt. it is covered by a plastic shroud. there was a nut at the top which you took loosen to remove it. now there is another bolt on the bottom which connects the spring to the pulley part. take the bolt off. you will find there is a plastic sleeve/metal bushing on both ends. i cleaned both ends, sanding and greasing to remove wear marks. then reassembling.

now the good part.

where the bolt mounts the pulley assembly, that is a greased/sleeved part.

pulling the tensioner off, where the bolt goes thru, it is a sleeve. study it. there is a thick collar on one side (engine) and a thin side(bolt head). this is the part that spins separate from the tensioner frame! takin it apart if you get this wrong on reassembly your pulley will be out of alignment!

on the side with the thick collar, i took a small chisel and was very easily able to knock off gradually. now i could take the whole sleeve apart. cleaned all the old grease out and replaced with moly grease. tapped the collar back on.

reassembled all. i now have a quiet motor once again.

what a difference! not a cent of outlay. and it is quiet as a new motor.

if i left something out, lemme know!

mike

glad to hear it worked out for you.

[Steve40th]

I just greased the pulley, took the bearing covers off and regreased it.
The tensioner is new, 70 bucks, from Toyota, as you dont need the whole assembly.
Do you need to grease the bushing on the part of the tensioner which bolts to the assembly?

[homer63]

Originally Posted by Steve40th

I just greased the pulley, took the bearing covers off and regreased it.
The tensioner is new, 70 bucks, from Toyota, as you dont need the whole assembly.
Do you need to grease the bushing on the part of the tensioner which bolts to the assembly?

yes that is where my noise was coming from. there were, in my case, metal sleeves inside fiber bushings. they had dried out and the rubbing of the metal against the fiber sleeve caused the noise. the pulley and bearing were actually in good shape on mine at 60,000 miles. this is on the tensioner which looks kinda like a shock absorber.

i might add also that taking this off may not require full removal of the idler assembly. try this (i have not yet)

- release belt from tensioner to free up tensioner

- there is a bolt on the bottom of the spring tensioner (shock looking thing). it is accessable from the back side. remove it.

- remove the nut at the top.

- swing the tensioner up and then pull off of the stud.

this will leave the main bracket and pulley still on the engine but you will have the spring assem in your hand. clean and regrease the bushed ends.

hope this helps!

mike