Noisy V6 idler pulley or air con bearings?

[fragmoider]

Hi,

My VR ute has a really annoying whine coming from the engine bay. I have had 2 people give differning opinions.

1) idler pulley
2) a/c compressor bearings

Now If i listen is sounds like it's coming from the a/c but it doesn't seem to matter if the air con is engaged or not. The whine is always present and increases as revs increase etc.

I would have though when the a/c was off the noise should stop but I'm no mechanic so I have no idea what I am talking about here.

I think there is tons of stuff the idler pulley and how to replace that's fine but is the a/c bearing expesnive to get repaired?

Thanks

[steveoo]

Might be a silly question but have you heard the sound when your outside the car. since some times you can get engine noise through your car sterio.

[RX25SE]

Noisy A/c pulley bearing will be noisy with A/c on or off. Noisy compressor is only with A/c on.
Grab a long handle screwdriver (or metal bar) and stick one end on the compressor housing (a/c off) and the other end to your ear. You should be able to hear the bearings quite clearly.
Same for idler, tensioner, alternator etc.

BE CAREFUL OF ROTATING PARTS!!!!

[XCPTOR]

i wash my VS motor yesterday its now making the same noises as described by fragmoider

[The1]

holden say you can't grease the idler pullys but for years ive sucessfully just used wd40 on them to make them spin more easily and less noisy, i just give them some more when they go noise again and check there still spining freely.

[Barto76]

Noisy A/c pulley bearing will be noisy with A/c on or off. Noisy compressor is only with A/c on.
Grab a long handle screwdriver (or metal bar) and stick one end on the compressor housing (a/c off) and the other end to your ear. You should be able to hear the bearings quite clearly.
Same for idler, tensioner, alternator etc.

BE CAREFUL OF ROTATING PARTS!!!!

I've got a noisy idler pulley at the moment and just pulled the belt off and spun the different pulleys by hand. Too nerve wracking for me to try it your way

[MR_VX]

i have the same problem not sure which pullie it is tho. ebay sells a kit of 3 pullies for a vx for $66 plus $11 for postage pretty cheap i think. im gonna give it a go.

[The1]

i have the same problem not sure which pullie it is tho. ebay sells a kit of 3 pullies for a vx for $66 plus $11 for postage pretty cheap i think. im gonna give it a go.

not knocking your call but there maybe nothing wrong with the bearings in them and it's only dust causing the noise, check my post above you may just save yourself $70, if they spin ok then wd40 will kill the noise from the dust.

I replaced mine, the new ones only last a year before they went noisy again.

[Adds_05]

get a big long screwdriver and stick it on the bolt of the idle pulley.put you ear against the handle of the screw driver and listen,it will either be quite or very noisy in the bearings.try silicon spray,wd40 etc into the idle pulley,if the noise goes away then thats your problem. it will come back so just replace it.
this time last year i replaced one and it cost me $30 dollars so they might be a little bit dearer now. if you replace it,to undo it it is reverse thread,so to undo it is clockwise and to tighten it up is anti clockwise

[Adds_05]

another thing you could do is take the belt off,engine off of course and while ithe idle pulley is still on the engine,spin it by hand quickly. you'll hear and probably feel it as you spin it if the bearings are buggered

[fragmoider]

thanks guys.. I will give those suggestions a try..

[scorus]

Upper idler in VY2. Will try WD 40.

[Brett_jjj]

If you have the metal pulley on the tensioner and metal idler pulleys,you can replace the bearings in them for around $7 for each bearing.Only takes 15 minutes to do.I did mine 2 months ago.A lot quieter and smoother.Im pretty sure the plastic type pulleys are throw away once the bearing is buggered.It cant be replaced as far as I know.

[immortality]

using WD40/CRC5.56 on bearings is a double edged sword. it "may" quieten the bearing temporarily, however there is a good change that any grease remaining in the bearing has now been washed out which will stuff the bearing completely.

once you have used WD40 on a bearing you will find you will need to keep spraying it on a regular basis to keep it quiet and replacement is the only real option.

using the screw driver stethoscope is the best way to diagnose noisy bearing as suggested above. unfortunately even a new bearing will get noisy relatively quickly because a single row deep groove ball bearing was never designed to carry a load like this through the vertical axis

[Brett_jjj]

using WD40/CRC5.56 on bearings is a double edged sword. it "may" quieten the bearing temporarily, however there is a good change that any grease remaining in the bearing has now been washed out which will stuff the bearing completely.

once you have used WD40 on a bearing you will find you will need to keep spraying it on a regular basis to keep it quiet and replacement is the only real option.

using the screw driver stethoscope is the best way to diagnose noisy bearing as suggested above. unfortunately even a new bearing will get noisy relatively quickly because a single row deep groove ball bearing was never designed to carry a load like this through the vertical axis

Exactly that,the WD will wash out the grease thats packed in around the bearing...Anyway,at $7 for each pulley bearing,why would you bother stuffing around spraying WD or whatever.Also the new bearings make a fair difference to how the car sounds and feels.A lot quieter and smoother.

[wortus]

We fixed some of these belt wheels the other week on a mates VT, the ones on his car were plastic and the replacement ones were metal just like the ones on my VY. As a temporary measure I took the dust seals out of the bearings and refilled them with grease however the seals did not come out cleanly so they stil needed ot be replaced, it just got rid of the noise for the time being. WD40 is a dispersant and will wash grease away as everyone has said however I don't understand how it could get into the actual bearings anyway?
I had a metal pulley on my VN and was able to take the bearing out, remove the seals without breaking them and refill them with grease, it was fine after that and I have done that to alternator bearings in the past. If you get them soon enough you can just regrease them. I know new ones are cheap and I'd recommend replacing them as soon as you can as well but this is just something you can do to get yourself out of trouble and stop the noise.
I'd also check the price fro genuine pulleys from Holden, they are around the $20 each so $66 plus postage is more expensive.

[mark b]

I agree with Brett jjj & Immortality - DO NOT USE WD 40 ON ANY PULLEYS
The preferable choice is High Temperature grease.

[patskies]

just replace the idler pulley. they would only be around $15.. if the noise is still there then look at your other option being the aircon

[JAAV]

WD 40 is only a temp fix as it evaperates and makes tings worse.. Only use it for water displacment.. Used to use it on my RC plane engines untill I found it making the bearings rust due to it leaving no protection..Also it soften rubber (belts)...

Power strring pump noise??? They can do some strange thing...Just get a long driver and use your ears like it says above.

[justbad4you]

sure does..>>>

WD 40 is only a temp fix as it evaperates and makes tings worse.. Only use it for water displacment.. Used to use it on my RC plane engines untill I found it making the bearings rust due to it leaving no protection..Also it soften rubber (belts)...

Power strring pump noise??? They can do some strange thing...Just get a long driver and use your ears like it says above.

[Dummy]

Hi, would somebody mind advising how to remove the pulley and replace the bearings. My bearings are definitely gone. Spitting sparks.

[Brett_jjj]

Hi, would somebody mind advising how to remove the pulley and replace the bearings. My bearings are definitely gone. Spitting sparks.

Which pulley do you mean,the idler pulleys,the tensioner pulley or the A/C compressor pulley?

[Dummy]

Sorry, A/c.

[Brett_jjj]

You will probably need to see someone to replace the compressor bearing if you dont have the right tools for the job like the special pullers they use to remove the compressor clutch etc..I had a similar problem a few months ago,a noisy A/C compressor bearing,but the A/C still worked excellent,so I was just gonna get the compressor bearing replaced.I looked at doing it myself but didnt want to attempt it without the right tools,so I took it to this place who charged me $100 to supply and fit the new compressor bearing, and they totally stuffed the compressor,it wouldnt even spin up when the A/C was turned on,I dont know what they did to it,so I got up them about it, and went and fitted a second hand compressor,then I took the car back and made them regas it for me.The bloody compressor I had to fit is just as noisy as the old one they were supposed to fix,so im back at square 1 now with a noisy compressor,but at least its all working again.Im gonna get through the rest of the summer and then replace the compressor with a brand new one from ebay,they are around $450 on ebay. Around town here they wanted over $1000 for a new one.Id take it to an A/C specialist to get it replaced.If its beyond repair,then ebay is the cheapest alternative besides second hand,which as I found out, can be just as bad as the old one.

[Dummy]

Thanks Brett. I got a quote for $950. Will get more tomorrow. Thans for your time and input mate.