weird pulley noise coming from front of engine

[rpm]

i recentley had to replace my idler pulley, the bearing was worn out. A another way to check what pulley's bearing is busted is using a long screwdriver and hold it on the bolt which bolts a pulley on and listen at the other end. The noise of a busted bearing rattles through the screwdriver. The busted one will make a louder noise.

Becareful not to place the screwdriver near the fan belt though:thumbsup:

 

[muney]

anyone know where the cheapest place to buy the pulleys from??
coventry's had a genuine for abt $50 and they had a aftermarket for about half that..they reckon the aftermarket is metal while the genuine one is plastic??
i havent tried repco/autobahn yet
any help would be appreciated

 

[accentstencil]

I don't think you'll get one cheaper than $25.

 

[VPRob]

Hey guys
try using a short length of garden hose as a stethoscope and pointing it towards the different components without actually touching them. It's much safer and more effective to boot. I recently used it to track down a similar noise on a VR motor (in my VP). Turned out to be the waterpump.

 

[gungazza]

my mate changed his alternator the other day, after a few hrs it was making a noise,had a look ,and the nut ,on the front of the alt was missing, making the pully loose lucky we saw it could have made a big mess

 

[Bryce_VS]

I replaced my idler a while ago, 20 bucks from Repco. I had the same noise, kept driving, until one day the belt came off, lost my power steering but luckily i was able to just go straight through a roundabout and into a small side street, bit a shock to not be able to turn the wheel though lol.. (it does take a bit of grunt to turn the wheels without power steering!!)
The originial ones from Holden are plastic and do wear out, the ones from Repco are metal and last longer. I'm gonna replace the others that are plastic. One of my concerns is: a friend who is a mechanic said that if I have vibration in the steering wheel it may be the biggest one at the bottom on its way out. Unfortunatly to get it off requires some skill and should not be attempted unless you know what you're doing since you do it while the engine is cranked.. idk, engines aren't my forte so can someone elaborate