I have a Procharger kit for my 99 F-150. I'm looking to replace the idler pulley bearings the next time I change my head unit oil.

I know some of you guys have changed out the bearings in your idlers...

Can anyone give me a part number for a good quality high speed bearing for these idlers? If you replaced yours, where did you get them from?

Also if anyone knows what to torque the idler pulley bolts down to, when I reassemble everything?

Thanks a ton!

 

I believe they are a 6203LU but I'm not 100% sure and I can't find my spare. I am sure one of the others will know.

Nice truck by the way! Looks a little familiar

 

They should be available at most auto parts stores. I just took one out and had it matched, then bought a few.

 

Thanks man, I appreciate the part number. I ride moto-x and sleds too, looks like we have similar tastes in fun!

Hey Crash! how you been?

I actually bought this kit from you guys at Trixters a few years ago. The idlers all rotate smoothly by hand.

The smooth non-ribbed idler at the very bottom of the bracket is in a bad alignment at the moment. Basically the belt is riding on the raised "shoulder" of the pulley (side towards the front of the truck)...which chews one side of the belt over time. It is to the point that the shoulder on the pulley is actually getting sharp from the belt riding on it for so long. You can shim these pullies with washers right? All others idlers are in perfect alignment except for this one.

I figured since I have to pull the entire main bracket to get that lower idler off, that I might as well replace the bearings on all the 3 idlers while i'm at it.

It would be nice if Procharger replaced the pullies, but I figured they would consider them a "wear item" and charge me an arm and a leg for them. Would they even replace all 3 for me if I called? Would it be out of the ordinary to claim that all 3 idlers failed and I need new ones? lol

 

You can put washers behind the idlers. I put them behind all of mine to line up the belt properly. The bearing are very cheap and easy to swap out. If ATI will send you new ones, I would go for it!

I have removed all of mine with the bracket still on the motor, but the bottom isn't too much fun.

 

Thanks i'll probably just replace the bearings.

Cool. I was hooked on this stuff from the very beginning over at Trixters, and I now must say that I am a boost addict

I wouldn't call and expect new pullies from Procharger, that is why I originally considered replacing the bearings. Customer service has been excellent so far so I thought you meant Procharger was that cool about replacing them or something lol.

I'll try loosening the bolts to the bracket like you said. Seemed like it would be a pain to get to the nut on the backside of the smooth idler with the main bracket still mounted.


Oh and is there a torque spec for the pulley bolts?

Thanks!

 

Gotcha. I just hate stripping out fasteners, torquing them to spec always seems easier. I'll try to use a small ratchet and "cinch" them up securely.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

The belt is riding on the outside shoulder of the smooth idler at the bottom? Easy fix for that, I had the same problem and found that if you put a single flat washer between the bracket and the spacer on the bottom most mounting bolt closest to that idler pulley it will fix the belt alignment problem. I did this fix on mine back in October and have not had any belt throwing issues since.

 

Hmm.. I may try to put the washer in that location but I haven't had any issues with the belt getting thrown off. If you looked at it, it looks like the belt is ready to ride right off of that bottom smooth idler, but it has been fine for a couple years like that.

Since the other 2 idlers, and the tensioner pulley are all in perfect alignment at the moment, wouldn't it make more sense to shim just the single pulley that is out of alignment?

If I put a washer behind the bottom mounting bracket bolt, it would mostly shim out the bottom idler, but i'd imagine it would have a small effect on the remaining idlers as well wouldn't it?

 

When I first did mine it threw the belt the very next day. But after I installed a new belt it looked exactly like what you're describing. All of the pulleys were in line except for that smooth idler at the bottom. Putting in the washer centered the belt and it's been perfect ever since.

Also to note, shimming that pulley won't help, i tried that and it actually caused the belt to ride even more out of whack to the point you could see the belt riding at an angle between the crank pulley and the bottom idler.

 

Alright, thanks for the heads up on that...much appreciated.

I took some pics of how it is right now so you guys can better judge what is going on with the alignment.

Bottom smooth idler...belt a **** hair away from jumping off, but never has!



Supremely chewed up belt, this was a new Gates belt a few months ago..



Both other idlers seem ok on the alignment



Again, the current alignment. I shimmed out the tensioner arm at the top of the pic since it was too far inward and riding the edge of the belt, but it needs to come back in a tad

 

Might I suggest you flip the belt so the worn edge is towards the bracket. This will allow better eyeballing because the fuzz will be on the other end of the pulley.

 

I had a belt do that once, it was a gatorback, I switched to a dayco cogged poly belt and have been fine ever since

 

Yeah I know it makes it a little hard to see. It's right on the edge of the pulley though....I know where it's at.

So from the pics I posted does it look like a washer on the back of the lower bolt on the mounting bracket will fix the alignment?

 

Just you can put a washer behind it and it should solve your issue. I would also get a straight edge and make sure the whole mounting bracket is in alignment with the lower pulley. This way you know it isn't being caused by the top of the bracket where the blower is mounted to be farther out than the bottom of the bracket close to the crank. Your belt won't ride right on the pulleys if this is the case.