Rattle - tension ARM or tension PULLEY ???

[rocco555]

hi guys,

when at idle, my vs ecotec makes a rattle noise that i have narrowed down to the tensioner assembly.

the pulley is definitely not as smooth as it should be, but i also noticed that every 10 seconds or so the arm will flick up/down about 5mm or so and cant seem to tell if its the pulley itself making the noise or if the arm is the thing that is rattling.

is my tension arm stuffed? or is this normal and what it should be doing (possibly adjusting the belts tension when the stuffed pulley momentarily chokes)

any info/advice would be much appreciated... and thanks in adance

[chrisdoesitbetter]

you can buy a new pulley from any holden dealer for $38 (price may differ between dealers, or you can go to supercheap etc.) try changing that first as it could just be the bearing/pulley face thats knacked. however, if you replace the pulley and the noise persists good chance is the tensioner itself my be farkqd and they only sell it as an assembly ($329) unless you want to go to a wrckers or sumtin. i know on my old pulley one side was worn down more than the other and when i took it off and rolled it over my finger the bearing sound rooted.

[rocco555]

yeah was thinking thats about all i can do at this stage, thanks for the help mate...

but can anyone verify if that kind of movement on the tensioner arm is normal?

and can a tensioner arm even make a rattle sound?

[dons vs]

i bought one of these kits the other day on ebay COMMODORE,VN,VP,VR,V6,GATES,Pulleys,RACING,Micro-V,Belt - eBay, Other Car Parts, Accessories, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 23-Jun-09 03:34:27 AEST)
comes with new gates racing belt, idler pulley and tensioner pulley and was only like $100 to my door.
mine is making a slight rattle wind noise so i thought i would change them over now cause its damn annoying.

here is the one for the ecotec's as im guessing there different cause its more expensive.
COMMODORE,VS,V6,95-97,GATES,Pulleys,RACING,Micro-V,Belt - eBay, Other Car Parts, Accessories, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 26-Jun-09 13:58:12 AEST)

[hako]

I noticed the same symptoms - the tensioner arm would move up/down about 5mm every few seconds - I figured it was one or more pulley bearings starting to fail and replaced all 3. There was also a grinding sort of noise which I figured was the spring loaded tensioner groaning. With the new pulleys all was good again - that was 4 years ago and are still OK....so I'd replace pulleys first. Cost then was about $60 for the 3 pulleys.

[rocco555]

will keep that in mind donsvs

cheers hako... i'm hoping when i replace all 3 pulleys i'll have the same result
out of interest, did you buy holden pulleys or an aftermarket type?

[dons vs]

while your doing your pullies you will be made not to replace the belt man.
those gates racing kits are best bet imo, there belts are good.

[hako]

will keep that in mind donsvs

cheers hako... i'm hoping when i replace all 3 pulleys i'll have the same result
out of interest, did you buy holden pulleys or an aftermarket type?

I used aftermarket steel pulleys from Cheapa Spares in Townsville as they have replaceable bearings which cost about $7 each - the genuine ones are made of plastic and non-replaceable and probably a lot dearer. Remember when you replace them the tensioner pulley bolt ONLY is left handed...other two are normal right hand threads.
I bought a new belt when I replaced the pulleys but didn't instal it (120,000km later it's still in the boot). Unless the belt is cracked or has chunks missing and is otherwise OK you could probably get away with the old one but that's just my opinion. New ones are about $30.
Good Luck.