Hello all! Still working on my 98 GT to get it up to where I feel comfortable. I am replacing the belt tensioner pulley and idler pulley to combat some light squeaking noises I heard when the car was running, and they had a little wobbling play.

I bought a Duralast "belt tensioner/idler" pulley from Autozone today as they believed it could be used in place of the current idler pulley. However, after putting the pulley on, I noticed it was definitely rubbing the engine when I spun it by hand. The previous pulley didn't do that as far as I knew.

A quick search online found two suggestions, either a new tensioner or thin washers to add some gap. Would thin washers (1mm or less) be safe to use in terms of belt alignment? I am trying to be cost effective due to lack of funds but don't want to risk my health either.

I should note that the tensioner has plenty of "tension" still in it so I don't want to lose an otherwise perfectly good part.

 

Is it the right pulley? What's the part number?

 

I bought part number 231107 at autozone.

 

Hm. Yeah, that should be the right one... Do you still have the old pulley? Can you spot any major differences between the two?

 

At first they looked exactly the same but now that I placed them on an even surface, the original pulley looks slightly thinner. I read that the tensioner pulley is 30.5mm and the idler is 31mm so i guess that half millimeter could be making that difference. But to use washers or buy something else... I think Napa has the pulley, it said 30.5 mm width. Maybe I'll try one. But at $30 and no Napa stores nearby to me, paying $45 for the full assembly is tempting. .