Idler pulley stripped
08-08-2013, 10:13 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Idler pulley stripped I just stripped this damn #50 hex screw thing. Its on the air condition side and it's the top pulley (idler).I know about a easy out, but have never done it. I was going to try and drembel by either grinding slits in the washer till I could hopefully remove pieces of the washer till I could get a pair of vise grips on it. I figure it will be harder to locate that specisal washer but it's damaged already. All input on ideas are welcome. It is for my 02 trans am hawk.Thanks
Mike
Mike
08-08-2013, 11:28 PM
#2
I ran into the same problem when replacing those pulleys to try and fix a horrid squeal on the A/C belt side of things. I just left it alone for now but it's getting bad enough that I am about to go back in there to try and get it off again. My plan is to probably tack weld a bolt to the head of that T50 and try to get it off that way.
08-09-2013, 04:20 AM
#3
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Thread Starter
I'm waiting on a guy who welds for the company I work for now to do exactly that, but he's so backed up I don't know how long it will take him. I'm off today so I'm just going to buy a small cutting disc to put on my grinder or see about the easy out kit. Thanks Decadence75!
Well my son came over and after 5 min of using the easy out I bought, he got it out! Now having problems with the new bearings working right on the air con side.
Well my son came over and after 5 min of using the easy out I bought, he got it out! Now having problems with the new bearings working right on the air con side.
Last edited by sleepinghawk; 08-09-2013 at 02:10 PM.
08-11-2013, 05:00 PM
#4
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Thread Starter
Still have to wait for the dealer
to send my tension pulley because they forgot to put it on the truck Friday morning to be there Friday afternoon. Nobody had this one because I needed that #50 hex bolt thing! Then they wanted over $120 for the idler pulley which I got at a parts store right behind them for $24. I hate buying anything from them.
to send my tension pulley because they forgot to put it on the truck Friday morning to be there Friday afternoon. Nobody had this one because I needed that #50 hex bolt thing! Then they wanted over $120 for the idler pulley which I got at a parts store right behind them for $24. I hate buying anything from them.
08-11-2013, 06:31 PM
#5
Still have to wait for the dealer to send my tension pulley because they forgot to put it on the truck Friday morning to be there Friday afternoon. Nobody had this one because I needed that #50 hex bolt thing! Then they wanted over $120 for the idler pulley which I got at a parts store right behind them for $24. I hate buying anything from them.
to send my tension pulley because they forgot to put it on the truck Friday morning to be there Friday afternoon. Nobody had this one because I needed that #50 hex bolt thing! Then they wanted over $120 for the idler pulley which I got at a parts store right behind them for $24. I hate buying anything from them.
08-12-2013, 06:36 PM
#6
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Thread Starter
You might want to check out RockAuto as opposed to the dealer, they have some good prices on OEM parts and ship pretty quickly. Both pulleys are the same but most places will try to sell you the entire tensioner if you ask them about one. I had planned on using a standard bolt to replace the torx bolt on the idler, hopefully that will work without having to use another T50 specialty bolt.
08-13-2013, 07:58 AM
#7
if there's anything i learned about those POS A/C drive idler pulleys, it's that you want the Torx bolt to be COMPLETELY clean when you go to remove it.
mine was doing the same thing, squealing like a pig, and when i went to remove the Torx bolt, the little fingers inside the head of the bolt kinda twisted on me when my wrench slipped, so every time i would try to turn it after that, it would kinda...."unscrew itself"....for lack of a better term.
i kinda gave up on it for a few weeks, partly due to time constraints & partly due to lack of motivation.
but then when i finally got back to it, i sprayed brake parts cleaner inside the head of the Torx bolt and brushed it out with an old toothbrush to get all the grease/dirt/grime out of it....then i put the Torx socket in the head of the bolt and lightly hammered it in as far as it would go, and that sucker broke like it was nothing.
i gotta do it again, though, because now the new one is squealing, too, even though it's brand new. there's a write up somewhere on here that shows how to take the pulley apart and re-pack it with grease, which should solve the problem for good....just gotta get my tools & rhino ramps back from my parents place so i can do it.
oh, and yes....you can replace that goddamned POS Torx bolt with a regular hex head bolt, i did, and it fits just fine....just make sure you get the correct hardened steel bolt, and a short head on the bolt will make sure you have enough clearance for the belt...whoever made the decision to use a Torx bolt for that, i wanna kick 'em really hard, square in the junk.
mine was doing the same thing, squealing like a pig, and when i went to remove the Torx bolt, the little fingers inside the head of the bolt kinda twisted on me when my wrench slipped, so every time i would try to turn it after that, it would kinda...."unscrew itself"....for lack of a better term.
i kinda gave up on it for a few weeks, partly due to time constraints & partly due to lack of motivation.
but then when i finally got back to it, i sprayed brake parts cleaner inside the head of the Torx bolt and brushed it out with an old toothbrush to get all the grease/dirt/grime out of it....then i put the Torx socket in the head of the bolt and lightly hammered it in as far as it would go, and that sucker broke like it was nothing.
i gotta do it again, though, because now the new one is squealing, too, even though it's brand new. there's a write up somewhere on here that shows how to take the pulley apart and re-pack it with grease, which should solve the problem for good....just gotta get my tools & rhino ramps back from my parents place so i can do it.
oh, and yes....you can replace that goddamned POS Torx bolt with a regular hex head bolt, i did, and it fits just fine....just make sure you get the correct hardened steel bolt, and a short head on the bolt will make sure you have enough clearance for the belt...whoever made the decision to use a Torx bolt for that, i wanna kick 'em really hard, square in the junk.
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08-14-2013, 07:22 PM
#8
TECH Fanatic
Thread Starter
if there's anything i learned about those POS A/C drive idler pulleys, it's that you want the Torx bolt to be COMPLETELY clean when you go to remove it.
mine was doing the same thing, squealing like a pig, and when i went to remove the Torx bolt, the little fingers inside the head of the bolt kinda twisted on me when my wrench slipped, so every time i would try to turn it after that, it would kinda...."unscrew itself"....for lack of a better term.
i kinda gave up on it for a few weeks, partly due to time constraints & partly due to lack of motivation.
but then when i finally got back to it, i sprayed brake parts cleaner inside the head of the Torx bolt and brushed it out with an old toothbrush to get all the grease/dirt/grime out of it....then i put the Torx socket in the head of the bolt and lightly hammered it in as far as it would go, and that sucker broke like it was nothing.
i gotta do it again, though, because now the new one is squealing, too, even though it's brand new. there's a write up somewhere on here that shows how to take the pulley apart and re-pack it with grease, which should solve the problem for good....just gotta get my tools & rhino ramps back from my parents place so i can do it.
oh, and yes....you can replace that goddamned POS Torx bolt with a regular hex head bolt, i did, and it fits just fine....just make sure you get the correct hardened steel bolt, and a short head on the bolt will make sure you have enough clearance for the belt...whoever made the decision to use a Torx bolt for that, i wanna kick 'em really hard, square in the junk.
mine was doing the same thing, squealing like a pig, and when i went to remove the Torx bolt, the little fingers inside the head of the bolt kinda twisted on me when my wrench slipped, so every time i would try to turn it after that, it would kinda...."unscrew itself"....for lack of a better term.
i kinda gave up on it for a few weeks, partly due to time constraints & partly due to lack of motivation.
but then when i finally got back to it, i sprayed brake parts cleaner inside the head of the Torx bolt and brushed it out with an old toothbrush to get all the grease/dirt/grime out of it....then i put the Torx socket in the head of the bolt and lightly hammered it in as far as it would go, and that sucker broke like it was nothing.
i gotta do it again, though, because now the new one is squealing, too, even though it's brand new. there's a write up somewhere on here that shows how to take the pulley apart and re-pack it with grease, which should solve the problem for good....just gotta get my tools & rhino ramps back from my parents place so i can do it.
oh, and yes....you can replace that goddamned POS Torx bolt with a regular hex head bolt, i did, and it fits just fine....just make sure you get the correct hardened steel bolt, and a short head on the bolt will make sure you have enough clearance for the belt...whoever made the decision to use a Torx bolt for that, i wanna kick 'em really hard, square in the junk.
The night before I had just put the 2 new belts on and never checked the pulleys. I by mistake torqued the upper pulley on the air side which after running for 20 sec, it smoked and busted the new belt! Yea, what I dumb *** I felt like. That one isn't to be torqued!That's when I checked all the pullies and noticed they were bad. Not making any noises yet. Yea, I saw the thread on here where you can repack the bearings, but $25 bucks and it last another 65,000 miles is more important than saving a small amount of money. But it's a good plan to check down the road to repack the bearings.
08-15-2013, 10:04 PM
#9
Man you sounded like me, I had the hawk on ramps for days cause of the rain, but my mistake was going under the car at 6am and not having glasses on and I somehow had a #45 on a angle which started the whole problem of screwing up the threads! The night before I had just put the 2 new belts on and never checked the pulleys. I by mistake torqued the upper pulley on the air side which after running for 20 sec, it smoked and busted the new belt! Yea, what I dumb *** I felt like. That one isn't to be torqued!That's when I checked all the pullies and noticed they were bad. Not making any noises yet.
Yea, I saw the thread on here where you can repack the bearings, but $25 bucks and it last another 65,000 miles is more important than saving a small amount of money. But it's a good plan to check down the road to repack the bearings.
The night before I had just put the 2 new belts on and never checked the pulleys. I by mistake torqued the upper pulley on the air side which after running for 20 sec, it smoked and busted the new belt! Yea, what I dumb *** I felt like. That one isn't to be torqued!That's when I checked all the pullies and noticed they were bad. Not making any noises yet. Yea, I saw the thread on here where you can repack the bearings, but $25 bucks and it last another 65,000 miles is more important than saving a small amount of money. But it's a good plan to check down the road to repack the bearings.
