Going to replace all the pulleys I can for some preventative Maintenance. Alternator is brand new, and I may even do the water pump as preventative Maintenance.

Main question, some of the pulleys are smooth and some are ribbed. I was trying to figure out what I need on rockauto, but figured I'd check here to be safe.

 

If you want to shoot me your VIN I can give you a list of part numbers and the best prices you'll find on OEM parts.

Typically the only reason to replace a pulley is if it freewheels and has a bearing in it, other pulleys such as power steering, water pump and alternator will typically outlast the entire vehicle.

-Steve

 

Thanks for your time! Great that yours on the forums. Mind if I PM you with a couple questions?

 

Basically, I just want to replace any and all of the idler pulleys that I can. One of them is making a very faint noise.

Alt is new as I said, which pulleys do I replace? 2008 4.2 with a/c. Some are grooved, some aren't. Tensioner seems fine, but should I replace while I'm at it?

Has anyone does this recently?

 

From the following pic there's only 2 that standout as needing to be replaced.....

accessory tensioner pulley
idler pulley

all the others are afixed to a shaft or electronically controlled...don't bother with those....

 

I need to narrow down where the sound is coming from. If it's not the tensioner or that one idler you speak of, can any of the others be replaced? It also cannot be the ac because it was not on when I heard the sound.

I read the how to on replacing pulleys on the 3v 5.4 in the 2004 - 2008 section. It seems that replacing all of those idler pulleys is a simple job. Does the 4.2 only have one serviceable idler pulley??

 

I posted a diagram of the motor to make sure that's how yours is...

yes..... here's the idler with ac ....http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...726&cc=1441659

for the tensioner assembly.... http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...803&cc=1441659

 

Thanks. I started at rock auto and that's what brought me here haha. The image you posted shows an upper and lower idler pulley.

I do appreciate your time.

 

I updated my previous post for the tensioner assembly.....thanks

 

Sure looks to me like it has an upper idler, lower idler, and tensioner. That's 3 pulleys.

My 03 has those 3.

You MIGHT be able to figure out which one is making the noise if you pull the belt and spin each pulley by hand, listen for noise and feel for roughness or stiffness.

 

That's why I was confused. The image above shows three as well. I'm guessing mine would have the same amount of idler pulleys as yours since not much changed in the engine from your year to mine.

 

If it helps, the lower idler is what seized up on mine last year, and the other 2 weren't in very good shape either. However, that was after 10 years and 165k.

 

Thanks glc. I'm going to do at least both pulleys. I'm 99% certain my tensioner is fine. Just put a new serp belt of recently and it seemed fine (put belts on older cars where is was extremely stuff, mine is not like that).

Did you get the smooth or grooved idler pulleys? I'll go out and see which mine are tomorrow.

 

I don't know, it seized up out on I-80 in Nebraska and I had to get towed to Ford. They fixed it.

Give the Tasca guy a PM with your VIN, he can look them up for ya.

Going by the pic, it looks like the lower is ribbed, the upper and tensioner are smooth?

If you are going to go to the trouble to replace the pulleys, do the tensioner too.

 

Cool, thank you. I'll also go out and check my upper and lower tomorrow. As far as the tensioner, if you think it's a good idea to replace,
I trust your judgement and will do so while I'm at it.

Thanks again.