FridgeFreezer Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 Per the title really - somehow both my trucks have dodgy belt tensioners and it seems like the pulley/bearing part could be improved with better bearings and/or a seal or mud flinger feature or something. When the new ones turn up I'll have the old ones apart to see if it lends itself to being violated - in an ideal world I'd push new bearings into the plastic wheel but I'm not holding great hope of it surviving that operation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 6202 or 6203 rings a bell but don't quote me on that! I have done a few although it seems to be wear in the large aluminium part that causes the chirp, well certainly on a 300 but that's of little concern to you... Get some proper circlips aswell to replace the stupid endless one that they fit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 I've tried something similar on VW tensioners, idlers and viscous fan. Failed miserably, loads of bits of busted aluminium and plastic....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 Not for a LR, but I did make a couple of pulleys on the lathe for an old colleague. Not too difficult, just spent a bit of time grinding a tool to the right profile for the grooves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 I've replaced a couple of those tensioner bearings, but not ones with plastic pulleys. I don't recall bearing removal being a problem, just use common sense and care. Maybe you can replace yours with an earlier (think mine is steel) pulley? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 I’ve a seized one from my old td5 in a drawer - ready for a gap to try just this ! I haven’t run sufficiently short of projects yet to try it yet though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSD Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 I've swapped bearings in the 300tdi version of those (which has a metal idler). Easy to do, but often doesn't solve the squealing problem that 300s often suffer. I suspect the spring tensioner part no longer moves smoothly over the very small angular range it travels during belt vibration, so doesn't hold the tension properly. If that's true, I'd expect a short life for replacement bearings in all similar designs, due to the repeated loading/unloading. I did replace the bearings in a Ford tensioner (fixed, not sprung type) with double sealed version, on my old hybrid, and it never failed again. There were lot's of features of the Ford V6 in early Capris that would lead you to think that Ford engineers never really considered serious off-road use 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 Bearing change here but unfortunately the photo links are dead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 31, 2022 Author Share Posted July 31, 2022 1 hour ago, TSD said: There were lot's of features of the Ford V6 in early Capris that would lead you to think that Ford engineers never really considered serious off-road use That's because they're designed to go through the hedge backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 I remember doing the bearing change on a 300TDi pulley when I was still young and green. Lesson learned: they're tapered, don't push it out the wrong way 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulcan bomber Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 I've got a load of them tensioners from the 300TDi's that have died in my possession... if the pully wheels the same, could you swap? Bearings in the plastic wheel should change if there not molded. But you want all the support you can get around the hole to stop it shattering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 3 hours ago, vulcan bomber said: I've got a load of them tensioners from the 300TDi's that have died in my possession... if the pully wheels the same, could you swap? It looks like the TDI ones tension on the back of the belt so the pulley is smooth not ribbed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said: It looks like the TDI ones tension on the back of the belt so the pulley is smooth not ribbed? On that note.... would it actually matter as it's just a tensioner rather than driving something with any load? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 1 hour ago, landroversforever said: On that note.... would it actually matter as it's just a tensioner rather than driving something with any load? Not sure, my usual approach is that someone bothered to put grooves in it so it's probably for good reason. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 6 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: Not sure, my usual approach is that someone bothered to put grooves in it so it's probably for good reason. I wonder how much of that is so the component can be used in other assemblies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 Calling on distant memories here - the plain pulleys are steel, whereas the ribbed ones are plastic. If you have a A/C compressor the pulley runs against the back of the belt, therefore a flat faced pulley. If a non-A/C arrangement the pulley runs on the ribbed side of the belt, therefore a ribbed pulley. This is at least true for 3.9 serpentine engines a la Disco/RRC. I have not looked at a P38 engine bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 Mine's the P38 AC arrangement but with the AC compressor removed So: as standard becomes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulcan bomber Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 On 8/3/2022 at 10:47 AM, FridgeFreezer said: It looks like the TDI ones tension on the back of the belt so the pulley is smooth not ribbed? I've got a lathe.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 looking at gigglepins new ultra 4 car at the weekend, jim did mention that some of the idlers were metal td5 ones with the ribs machined off, could be an option of they are a similar diameter, i do have a manufactured pulley to make into a tensioner but havent got round to it yet as i found the replacment pulleys on amazon for £12 each from febi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 4, 2022 Author Share Posted August 4, 2022 1 hour ago, vulcan bomber said: I've got a lathe.... So have I - bit it's easier to not have to whittle your own pulley if you can avoid it. As it is, something like @RedLineMike's suggestion of a TD5 pulley could be a goer, although it's diminishing returns as a decent quality pulley is nearly the same price as a complete decent V8 tensioner... I'll probably pull my old unit apart and see what the state of play is, if I can find some decent bearings to go in I'll give it a go but there's only so much time & effort I want to spend on a £30 tensioner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 Don't know about the V8 ones but the 300Tdi are cast steel wheels (at least all the ones I've got) so would be a bit of a sod to machine down. Mean to order a new bearing (think they were £3.50 from RS 6302R possibly) and swap one over as its still 10x cheaper than a replacement tensioner. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 So... for you, @FridgeFreezer, speshully for you... my tensioner was notchy too as it happens... So I set to. Press, 30mm and 1" 5/16 and a few moments later: Note the swirl of plastic.... not my fault, it appears the bearing is sited between two shoulders: One of which happily gave way under some pressure. Unfortunately it did result in a couple of small cracks: So, it appears it is possible to get the bearing out, but only with destroying the pulley. The double shoulder thing kills it -seems like they may injection mould it with the bearing in situ, cant see any other way to do it? You could carve it out on a lathe and then push it out, but would then need a circlip groove machining, or some other of retaining the bearing. Hope that helps... 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 8, 2022 Author Share Posted August 8, 2022 3 hours ago, Bowie69 said: Hope that helps... Immensely! Probably saved me a load of p***ing about right there I did have the pulley off my old one so my current thinking is that I can replace the pulley only - doesn't save much and so far I've not found any poly-grooved pulleys that are any better quality than what came off, so I'm semi-parking the idea unless a nice pulley crops up that would suit. Sort of one to remember if you ever need a field fix but not super handy when the genuine part is available next-day for £35 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 To add, they are 6203 2RS C3, a high speed variant (C3) so there will always be play in the bearing so as it warms up it doesn't sieze... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Can you not just pop a new bearing in there with some suitable locking compound/glue? I doubt those cracks will cause any issue's... Might not be further serviceable the next time but you will get another lifetime out the pulley? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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