2006 V8 Idler Pulley?

[Jasonredwood]

From my searches it looks like I have a bad Idler Pulley bearing. High pitch metal bird noise coming from the front passenger side of the engine that increases with RPMs, makes no difference it the AC is on or not.
I haven't found any specific replacement threads for the V8 though.

Any recommendations on how to threads and or what bearing to buy?
It looks pretty straight forward getting in there but its always nice to have a giude to refer to.

 

[ZiaMan]

From my searches it looks like I have a bad Idler Pulley bearing. High pitch metal bird noise coming from the front passenger side of the engine that increases with RPMs, makes no difference it the AC is on or not.
I haven't found any specific replacement threads for the V8 though.

Any recommendations on how to threads and or what bearing to buy?
It looks pretty straight forward getting in there but its always nice to have a giude to refer to.

Idler pulley is really straightforward to replace:
- Optional: remove radiator fan
- Remove acc. belt by relieving tension
- Remove Idler Pulley bolt and pulley
- Put new Pulley and Bolt on, torque it down, and reverse the steps.

You can see how it's done from the Timing Belt Change DIY:
Guide: V8 Timing belt replacement 2UZ-FE VVT-i

I will say though, the idler pulley is pretty much in the center of the front of the engine. The passenger side have the power steering and alternator.

Are you sure it is the Idler Pulley?

 

[gfluff]

From my searches it looks like I have a bad Idler Pulley bearing. High pitch metal bird noise coming from the front passenger side of the engine that increases with RPMs, makes no difference it the AC is on or not.
I haven't found any specific replacement threads for the V8 though.

Any recommendations on how to threads and or what bearing to buy?
It looks pretty straight forward getting in there but its always nice to have a giude to refer to.

I thought I had the same issue. Bought a belt and a pulley, got home, pulled the old belt off, realized the pulley they sold me was wrong. Put the new belt on, drove back to the store and the sound was gone. I didn’t change or even touch the pulley..just the belt..
Rent the belt tool, it makes it really easy. Could be done with a socket and ratchet, but the specific tool made it stupid easy.

 

[nevada]

From my searches it looks like I have a bad Idler Pulley bearing. High pitch metal bird noise coming from the front passenger side of the engine that increases with RPMs, makes no difference it the AC is on or not.
I haven't found any specific replacement threads for the V8 though.

Any recommendations on how to threads and or what bearing to buy?
It looks pretty straight forward getting in there but its always nice to have a giude to refer to.

how old is the belt? I finally change my OEM belt a couple weeks ago. 130k on it. it still looked to be in great shape, no cracks, nothing. but it was dried out, and slipping slightly on the pulley. I had a slight squeak when cold at idle, once warm it went away. a new belt solved it.




to know for sure, you could remove the tension, and spin each pulley by hand. if one has a bad bearing, you will feel it.

 

[MikeinNH67]

This seems to be common at this time of year. On my V6 I removed all 4 idlers, cleaned them, removed the dust cover and lubed them with bearing grease. The cover will probably need to be straightened but I only had issues with one. The bearings were dry as a bone but still tight. It is nice and quite now.

 

[Jasonredwood]

Idler pulley is really straightforward to replace:
- Optional: remove radiator fan
- Remove acc. belt by relieving tension
- Remove Idler Pulley bolt and pulley
- Put new Pulley and Bolt on, torque it down, and reverse the steps.

You can see how it's done from the Timing Belt Change DIY:
Guide: V8 Timing belt replacement 2UZ-FE VVT-i

I will say though, the idler pulley is pretty much in the center of the front of the engine. The passenger side have the power steering and alternator.

Are you sure it is the Idler Pulley?

Thanks for the info, greatly appreciated. Nah I'm not sure what pulley it is. Just jumping to conclusions from other threads I have read but some of those threads lead me to V6 threads.

I thought I had the same issue. Bought a belt and a pulley, got home, pulled the old belt off, realized the pulley they sold me was wrong. Put the new belt on, drove back to the store and the sound was gone. I didn’t change or even touch the pulley..just the belt..
Rent the belt tool, it makes it really easy. Could be done with a socket and ratchet, but the specific tool made it stupid easy.

Ill check into that tool. Thanks!

how old is the belt? I finally change my OEM belt a couple weeks ago. 130k on it. it still looked to be in great shape, no cracks, nothing. but it was dried out, and slipping slightly on the pulley. I had a slight squeak when cold at idle, once warm it went away. a new belt solved it.




to know for sure, you could remove the tension, and spin each pulley by hand. if one has a bad bearing, you will feel it.

The serpentine belt is only 2 years old. Switched out when I had the timing belt done.

This seems to be common at this time of year. On my V6 I removed all 4 idlers, cleaned them, removed the dust cover and lubed them with bearing grease. The cover will probably need to be straightened but I only had issues with one. The bearings were dry as a bone but still tight. It is nice and quite now.

interesting, hadn't even thought about that. Now that you mention it I do recall noticing the lack of the high pitched noise the other day when temps were warm for a day or two.

 

[ZiaMan]

I chased a very odd noise that sound like the power steering going out and turned out it was the alternator. Sometimes would be squealing other times not. Finally got a battery light coming on pointing me to it. I know it doesn’t help and def start with the free cheap solutions above!

 

[Jasonredwood]

I chased a very odd noise that sound like the power steering going out and turned out it was the alternator. Sometimes would be squealing other times not. Finally got a battery light coming on pointing me to it. I know it doesn’t help and def start with the free cheap solutions above!

Always good to hear real world experiences. Thanks.

 

[blackoutt]

I need to do this myself due to a chirping. Remove the belt, check each pulley on all idlers/tensioners/accessories FIRST! Then only buy the pulley you need. I've already replaced tensioner and idler once but will have to go back and see if I used OEM Toyota or not, I'm guessing I didn't. I'm learning that I'm doing everything twice that I didn't to OEM the first time around.