Idler Pulley and Belt Tensioner Replacement Bearing Sizes

[tjhaf2007]

For those who are interested, I have the bearing part numbers for those who don't want to replace whole idler pulleys or belt tensioners. Instead you can save yourself the money and just replace the bearing, as long as everything else is still in good condition and doesn't need to be replaced.

So the bearing number for the 3 idler pulleys are all the same, they are 6302 bearings and if you order them, make sure you get the rubber sealed ones. And the belt tensioner bearing is a dual race ball bearing. the bearing part number for that bearing is 5203 and it too needs to have the rubber seal on both sides.

I found a local industrial bearing company in town and they had the bearings there. the (3) 6302 bearings were $5.88 a piece and the other bearing 5203 was $21.56. So in total, i paid $39.20 and i am able to reuse the old pulleys and tensioner.

Rockauto had the whole idler pulleys for about $30 and the belt tensioner for about $60.

So instead of paying about $150 for everything new, i only spent about $40 for the bearings since everything was still in good condition and i was able to reuse the pulleys and tensioner.

I will try to post photos of the process of replacing the bearings.

 

[JB.]

Thanks for posting.

Yes, pics would be cool.

 

[tjhaf2007]

So i ran into a little problem, the stock 6302RMX bearing have a 42mm OD and a 10mm ID. the bearings i ordered were 6302-2RS bearings which have a 42mm OD and a 15mm ID. Apparently you can't buy the 6302RMX bearings because they were a custom bearing for toyota. so i came up with a solution to this problem, I found a 15mm OD with a 10mm ID bearing sleeve on amazon for $4.76. They are made by Bunting Bearings and the part number is CFM010015016. So i ordered three of those and they should be here thursday. I will keep you guys posted on this.

Read #6 post before ordering anything because the No. 1 Idler Pulley and the No. 2 Idler Pulley are different

Bearing Sleeve


6302-2RS Bearing


Stock 6302RMX Bearing

 

[tjhaf2007]

So I finally got all the parts I needed to swap the bearings in the idler pulleys and belt tensioner. Here are some photos of the process of the bearing swap.

Idler Pulley bearing removal and install

 

[tjhaf2007]

Continued....







Belt tensioner pulley bearing removal and install

 

[tjhaf2007]

The only issue I ran into when I was replacing the bearings was with the Idler No. 1 pulley, the difference between the No. 1 and No. 2 pulleys is that the No. 2 pulleys have 1 bearing compared to the No. 1 pulley which has 2 bearing in it. I didn't replace the Idler No. 1 yet, because it was still in good condition and I didn't feel like it was necessary to replace it yet. The only problem with replacing the No. 1 idler bearings is that you can't use the bearing sleeve that was used for the No. 2 idlers pulleys because they aren't long enough to go through both of the bearings because it has two bearings in it. A solution to that would be just to remove the flange on one of the bearing sleeves and use a flanged sleeve on the outer bearing and the non-sleeved bearing on the inner bearing.

 

[lok10013]

For those who are interested, I have the bearing part numbers for those who don't want to replace whole idler pulleys or belt tensioners. Instead you can save yourself the money and just replace the bearing, as long as everything else is still in good condition and doesn't need to be replaced.

So the bearing number for the 3 idler pulleys are all the same, they are 6302 bearings and if you order them, make sure you get the rubber sealed ones. And the belt tensioner bearing is a dual race ball bearing. the bearing part number for that bearing is 5203 and it too needs to have the rubber seal on both sides.

I found a local industrial bearing company in town and they had the bearings there. the (3) 6302 bearings were $5.88 a piece and the other bearing 5203 was $21.56. So in total, i paid $39.20 and i am able to reuse the old pulleys and tensioner.

Rockauto had the whole idler pulleys for about $30 and the belt tensioner for about $60.

So instead of paying about $150 for everything new, i only spent about $40 for the bearings since everything was still in good condition and i was able to reuse the pulleys and tensioner.

I will try to post photos of the process of replacing the bearings.

I recently pulled out the bearing for the tensioner on my 03 V6 4runner and it wasn't a 5203 bearing installed. The one installed was a 6203. I compared the 5203 and the 6203 together and the 5203 was a lot wider. If installed the belt would be slightly off. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[TechWrench]

I recently pulled out the bearing for the tensioner on my 03 V6 4runner and it wasn't a 5203 bearing installed. The one installed was a 6203. I compared the 5203 and the 6203 together and the 5203 was a lot wider. If installed the belt would be slightly off. Does anyone else have this problem?

There was a TSB, EG012-03 - Drive Belt Squealing/Chirping Noise, which was issued to correct an alignment problem with the tensioner pulley which could cause the belt to make noise. Part of this TSB was to replace the tensioner assy., with an upgraded one. I don't know for sure, but the wider bearing may have been part of the tensioner upgrade. If you didn't have this TSB done on your V6, then that may explain the difference in bearings used. I had this TSB done on my '03 early on, (it took the dealership 5 visits to get it right), but since then I haven't had any belt/bearing noise since.

 

[lok10013]

Thanks for the quick response TechWrench. I'll have to check to see if mine was done or not. Although I doubt it. It looks like mine was the original tensioner installed. I just got a complete tensioner assembly from Advanced Auto and noticed that the bearing in that one to be bigger.

 

[TechWrench]

Follow up to earlier post.

I started having bearing/belt noise again, so I decided to replace all 4 pulleys and belt at 120k. I had last changed the belt about 3 years ago, and had replaced the 2 upper pulleys and 1 lower pulley about 5-6 years ago. I have not had the tensioner replaced since the dealership did tensioner TSB sometime in late '04. When I had replaced the 2 upper pulleys and 1 lower pulley, I used Gates parts (36173 and 36174) which use larger inner diameter bearings than the oem Toyota ones, (17mm vs 10mm ID) and use bushings to narrow the ID down to 10mm to fit the bolts. I did not change the tensioner at that time, since it seemed to still be good. When I searched, I found it easy to locate the 2 upper pulleys and 1 lower pulley again, but no one appeared to have just the pulley for the tensioner (all I could locate was an entire tensioner assy. for about $100.00 at NAPA) I didn't see the need to replace the entire tensioner assy., just to get a new bearing/pulley.

As earlier stated, the original (oem Toyota) upper and lower pulleys came with 6302 RMX bearings (one each in the 2 upper pulleys, and 2 (side by side) in the lower pulley). They are 42mm OD x 13mm width x 10mm ID. The Gates replacement pulleys came with 6203 2RSJ bearings installed, which are 40mm OD x 12mm width x 17mm ID, and use bushings to allow them to fit the 10mm bolts. I removed the tensioner pulley (which wasn't the original oem unit, since it had been replaced when the TSB was done), and it also used the 6203 2 RSJ bearing, so I got 2 bearings (1 spare just in case), and after pressing out the old tensioner bearing, I pressed in the new 6203 2RSJ and adjusted the depth until it cleared the tensioner mount properly and bolted it in place. With 2 new upper pulleys, 1 new lower pulley, and a new bearing in the tensioner pulley, and a new belt installed all is again quiet.

In the future, if I need to deal with a noisy pulley/bearing, I will just get some more 6203 2RSJ bearings and install them in all the pulleys for a much less expensive fix. I paid $12.50 each for the bearings at NAPA, and they are probably available for less if you have the time of order ahead someplace.

It wound up costing me $178.00 + cost of new belt to replace all four pulleys, and if I had just gotten all bearings, it would have been $67.50 to repair all 4 pulleys instead.

 

[radlynx]

how many bearings would I need to replace all bearings for the pulley including the tensioner bearing? where can I order it?

I started having bearing/belt noise again, so I decided to replace all 4 pulleys and belt at 120k. I had last changed the belt about 3 years ago, and had replaced the 2 upper pulleys and 1 lower pulley about 5-6 years ago. I have not had the tensioner replaced since the dealership did tensioner TSB sometime in late '04. When I had replaced the 2 upper pulleys and 1 lower pulley, I used Gates parts (36173 and 36174) which use larger inner diameter bearings than the oem Toyota ones, (17mm vs 10mm ID) and use bushings to narrow the ID down to 10mm to fit the bolts. I did not change the tensioner at that time, since it seemed to still be good. When I searched, I found it easy to locate the 2 upper pulleys and 1 lower pulley again, but no one appeared to have just the pulley for the tensioner (all I could locate was an entire tensioner assy. for about $100.00 at NAPA) I didn't see the need to replace the entire tensioner assy., just to get a new bearing/pulley.

As earlier stated, the original (oem Toyota) upper and lower pulleys came with 6302 RMX bearings (one each in the 2 upper pulleys, and 2 (side by side) in the lower pulley). They are 42mm OD x 13mm width x 10mm ID. The Gates replacement pulleys came with 6203 2RSJ bearings installed, which are 40mm OD x 12mm width x 17mm ID, and use bushings to allow them to fit the 10mm bolts. I removed the tensioner pulley (which wasn't the original oem unit, since it had been replaced when the TSB was done), and it also used the 6203 2 RSJ bearing, so I got 2 bearings (1 spare just in case), and after pressing out the old tensioner bearing, I pressed in the new 6203 2RSJ and adjusted the depth until it cleared the tensioner mount properly and bolted it in place. With 2 new upper pulleys, 1 new lower pulley, and a new bearing in the tensioner pulley, and a new belt installed all is again quiet.

In the future, if I need to deal with a noisy pulley/bearing, I will just get some more 6203 2RSJ bearings and install them in all the pulleys for a much less expensive fix. I paid $12.50 each for the bearings at NAPA, and they are probably available for less if you have the time of order ahead someplace.

It wound up costing me $178.00 + cost of new belt to replace all four pulleys, and if I had just gotten all bearings, it would have been $67.50 to repair all 4 pulleys instead.

 

[TechWrench]

how many bearings would I need to replace all bearings for the pulley including the tensioner bearing? where can I order it?

That depends on several things. Do you know if you still have the original Toyota parts? As stated earlier in this thread, the bearings are different between the Toyota parts and the aftermarket replacements. The two upper pulleys use the same bearing, and in my case the tensioner pulley also used the same bearing, but all three of my idler pulleys were aftermarket replacements which use a different bearing than the Toyota oem units. Also, in my case, the tensioner assy., was replaced in '04 under a TSB by the dealer, and I don't know if the replacement unit used the same bearing as the one originally on the engine. And since I don't have the original, I can't compare them. (maybe someone who has replaced the tensioner themselves and still has the original could shed some light here) Also, on my vehicle, the original lower idler pulley had two bearing installed (side by side), but the gates replacement only used one wider bearing.

So, I can't give you an exact answer. You will have to inspect your pulleys first, to see what you actually have. You may have four bearings, or five, depending on what your lower idler pulley has installed.

 

[JeffMerr]

I'm planning on replacing my serpentine belt next month with some other stuff when I hit 90k and have been contemplating replacing the tensioner/idler pulleys while I'm at it, more so to save the hassle of doing it down the road (preventative maintenance) . How long do the tensioner and pulleys typically last?

 

[TechWrench]

I'm planning on replacing my serpentine belt next month with some other stuff when I hit 90k and have been contemplating replacing the tensioner/idler pulleys while I'm at it, more so to save the hassle of doing it down the road (preventative maintenance) . How long do the tensioner and pulleys typically last?

I don't think there is a 'typical' life span on these type of parts. Too many variables come into play. Type of driving style, driving environment, original manufacturing variances, and probably a few more I can't think of right now. It's like any other mechanical/electrical part. Some die quickly, some last 'forever', and the rest fail somewhere in between. Unless you drive in the swamps/mud at lot, I would just wait for one to start making noise, and replace it then.

 

[KrustyOne]

Thank you for posting this! I plan on swapping out my bearings in the next couple of weeks. Spending $50 on parts sounds A LOT better than $170 for the entire Gates kit!

-B

For those who are interested, I have the bearing part numbers for those who don't want to replace whole idler pulleys or belt tensioners. Instead you can save yourself the money and just replace the bearing, as long as everything else is still in good condition and doesn't need to be replaced.

So the bearing number for the 3 idler pulleys are all the same, they are 6302 bearings and if you order them, make sure you get the rubber sealed ones. And the belt tensioner bearing is a dual race ball bearing. the bearing part number for that bearing is 5203 and it too needs to have the rubber seal on both sides.

I found a local industrial bearing company in town and they had the bearings there. the (3) 6302 bearings were $5.88 a piece and the other bearing 5203 was $21.56. So in total, i paid $39.20 and i am able to reuse the old pulleys and tensioner.

Rockauto had the whole idler pulleys for about $30 and the belt tensioner for about $60.

So instead of paying about $150 for everything new, i only spent about $40 for the bearings since everything was still in good condition and i was able to reuse the pulleys and tensioner.

I will try to post photos of the process of replacing the bearings.

 

[iBison]

Thank you for posting this! I plan on swapping out my bearings in the next couple of weeks. Spending $50 on parts sounds A LOT better than $170 for the entire Gates kit!

-B

Here's a thread I made on this subject as well.

 

[KrustyOne]

So what did you end up doing with the #1 idler pulley?

The only issue I ran into when I was replacing the bearings was with the Idler No. 1 pulley, the difference between the No. 1 and No. 2 pulleys is that the No. 2 pulleys have 1 bearing compared to the No. 1 pulley which has 2 bearing in it. I didn't replace the Idler No. 1 yet, because it was still in good condition and I didn't feel like it was necessary to replace it yet. The only problem with replacing the No. 1 idler bearings is that you can't use the bearing sleeve that was used for the No. 2 idlers pulleys because they aren't long enough to go through both of the bearings because it has two bearings in it. A solution to that would be just to remove the flange on one of the bearing sleeves and use a flanged sleeve on the outer bearing and the non-sleeved bearing on the inner bearing.

View attachment 97253

 

[KrustyOne]

Here is a picture of the 2 6302 bearings stacked on top of each other next to the OEM #1 idler pulley bearing.

 

[Nyc-Runner]

It's always like that isn't it:doh: I just went to Napa and bought 4 new pulleys today because my trucking sounds like it has a supercharger in it lol then i come on here and see this thread. Oh well now i know for next time, I can re do my stock ones and have spares. Good info thanks!

 

[radlynx]

I finally replaced mine using the Gates kit a few weeks ago... for me I think after 110000 miles, the pulleys need to be changed too since there's a groove in it already. pulleys with the bearing is the way to go. check this picture out.