Replacing the Belt Tensioner / Idler Pulley on a Ford Taurus

Replacing the Belt Tensioner / Idler Pulley on a Ford Taurus

by

I show you something fantastic and you find fault.
Published on November 12th, 2007, 11:52 am
Rift: Advice

So Saturday morning started with a bang. The flu had fully taken up resident in my upper respiratory tract, and no amount of cough drops and tissues was going to make getting to work any more fun. I get up, evacuate as much of the alien virus who has taken my body by siege through my nose as I could, and get in the car. 2 miles later it sounded as 20 midgets are under my hood throwing rocks at the car. I make the quick assumption the valves went (expletive) and are banging up against the valve covers. It's at this point I look up at God, "Ask Why", I lift up my hands and start singing "Jesus, take the wheel". It was at this point the vehicle started meandering into a lake, and I pushed God back into the co-pilot seat, and took control of the devil machine. Pulled over, and popped the hood.

The belt had shredded itself. The noise was little rubber strands of the belt slapping up against the inside of the hood. It was game over for me, and I gingerly drove "the bull" back to the pit, otherwise known as the stone drive-way on the side of my house. I went inside grabbed some benadryl and disappeared for about 1.5 days.

This morning I had to fix it. I also have been having a tensioner pulley noise for sometime. The squeaky wheel sound, a bad bearing. This may have been partially to blame for the destruction of the belt, but both where going to be replaced. Luckily Dad delivered the parts to the house yesterday, and all I had to do was figure out how to put them on. Replacing the belt and pulleys on a 3.0 ford is simple and straight forward. If your vehicle whines, it's time to replace the idler or tensioner pulley. On the Taurus they're the same part, and cost about $17.00 a piece. The belt costs about $25, and you may want to figure in some washer fluid and antifreeze, since you're going to move those reservoirs out of the way.

Basically the tensioner and idler pulleys are nothing more then metal or plastic wheels with bearings pressed inside that rotate with the belt and allow proper tension against the engine accessories.

So lets begin.

First take a picture of the engine. No matter how good your memory is, the moment you remove the drive-belt, you will by some unknown property of mental relativity forget the proper routing for the belt. Do not, by any means proceed without a digital picture or a diagram of the belt routing... Trust me.

You may need to remove the washer / antifreeze reservoir (one piece on my 95) before taking the picture. It's held in by one screw on the radiator frame and you'll need to unplug a small hose held on by friction and time to the washer assemply.

Here's mine:

As you can see, I've already disengaged the tension on the belt by prying on the tensioner with the tire iron in the trunk. Note to the wise, make sure you pry on something metal, not plastic (like the nearby power steering pump, which is made of plastic)

Removing the belt indicates exactly what was going on. The belt was shredding itself. It wasn't stoning midgets, it was common maintenance issues which I should have taken care of the moment I heard the bearing whine.

Basically it's pretty simple from this point. Find a socket to fit the idler pulley if you're removing it, and loosen, and replace. The replacement might be plastic while the OE might be metal. If you live in a normal climate, I doubt it makes that much difference. The tensioner pulley is a different story, since you won't be able to get a socket around it, you're going to have to use a wrench. It's metric, not Standard. Go figure? American cars...

Here we've removed the tensioner pulley, not much to say other than "Shiny, Shiny, Pretty, Pretty."

Here you can see the new pulley installed. Now all that's left is to re-install the belt on the accessories. By now you've completely forgotten how to route it. So break out the picture, and carefully make sure everything is back in the grooves.

Replace any lost fluids in the reservoir that were lost and reconnect the small washer fluid line. Start the car, and your done.

Thanks for this post Liv. You are a woman of many talents. Do you know how often one is supposed to change the belt on a Taurus? I have a 2000 model with 80,000 miles. No whining from any pulleys yet.

I've never much worked on anything with the engine sideways in the car. When changing this belt do you have to be careful not to move certain pulleys? I thinking here of the timing.

If we're talking about the accessory belt, I'm not sure what ford suggests but for $25.00, every other year on belts and hoses is good preventative maintenance. Nothing to worry about any of the accessory pulleys.

Now on Timing Belts... You shouldn't have one if you have a 3.0... It should be a chain.... and therefore can be pretty much considered unserviceable, or non-serviceable.

If you do happen to have some odd offspring of another motor, Generally timing belt replacement is based upon whether or not it's an interference or non-interference motor. If it's interference (the valves will hit the cylinders if fired out of sequence) then most recommend 60-80,000 miles. If it's not interference then despite what they recommend, you can drive it till it breaks and then push it home, slap another one on it.

Which brings up a good point. I generally won't buy interference engines on timing belt motors. But then again, like my Cavalier which had a bad tensioner on a timing chain.... it even smacked up a few valves.

Nfidel wrote:Do you know how often one is supposed to change the belt on a Taurus?

Just before it breaks. Seriously they will last for years if they are not damaged. A damaged tension pulley will kill one pretty quick though. Just look for obvious signs of damage or wear.

I believe in inspections rather than routine replacements and I haven't replaced anything on my Subaru and it's at 180,000 miles/8 years. Timing belts are another issue. If your engine is free running - i.e. the pistons won't hit the valves at any point in the engine's cycle then you can afford to drive it until it breaks. If you can't tolerate a breakdown or don't have a free running engine you you need to replace when the manufacturer says (usu. every 100,000 miles). I've had over 250,000 miles on a timing belt, again it's usually an oil leak or worn out tension pulley that kills them.

Just before it breaks. Seriously they will last for years if they are not damaged. A damaged tension pulley will kill one pretty quick though. Just look for obvious signs of damage or wear.

The only problem with this, is some people will break a belt and keep driving, without the water-pump turning. The overheat the engine, blow the head gasket, and a $20.00 preventative maintenance item has turned into $800.00

Regular inspection is the key. A belt seldom fails without warning. If there's no oil on the belt, no obvious signs of wear and he tension is correct then there's no need to replace it. Since manufacturers went away from the V-belt to the micro V belt, they last so much better and stretch is virtually eliminated.

A cooling failure is unlikely to cause a head gasket or engine failure unless someone keeps driving after all the water has boiled out. Most newish cars will shut down if the on-board computer registers overheating.

But I agree, I 'm amazed at what people will drive on. I say a BMW being driven with a flat tire - it was in no danger where it was but the driver presumably thought he could get home on a flat tire. So he'll have the bill for the tire and then a bill for a new wheel.

A cooling failure is unlikely to cause a head gasket or engine failure unless someone keeps driving after all the water has boiled out. Most newish cars will shut down if the on-board computer registers overheating.

Did not know that... never owned a new one....

I seem to be stuck at the year 1995.

Nfidel,
Your vehicle has a timing chain and doesn't require periodic replacement. 2000 Ford Taurus came with three different engines all of which use a chain. (Connects crankshaft to camshaft(s)) These sprockets are important not to move while the chain is removed. Front engine disassembly is required just to access these sprockets. If you have the DOHC 3.0L (8th VIN # S) it isn't a clearance engine. If you have the standard 3.0L (8th VIN # 2 or U) you should be ok, if my memory serves. The belt that is out in the open is a serpentine accessory drive belt. This should be inspected every time you change the oil, top off fluids, etc. (Anytime you open the hood). Once this belt is removed, you should rotate all the things it turns except the crankshaft to see if they are turning correctly. Any noise I hear under the hood that sounds like a belt or pulley problem, I snatch the belt off and turn everything by hand and twist it sideways to check for radial freeplay. The AC pulley is sometimes not as easy to turn as the rest as the clutch in front turns the compressor but the belt rides on a pulley which should be real easy to turn. The tensioner has little marks on it to tell you when the belt is worn out. There should be a pointer on the mounting and three lines. the pointer should rest between the two outside marks. Drive belt rib cracking across the groove is ok until chunking occurs, pieces of the grooves coming off. Replacement is required for chunking. If any fluids are leaking on the belt, repair of the leak and belt replacement is required for expected service life. I normally recommend and perform drive belt replacement every 60K miles but the service literature I have doesn't specify a periodic replacement. I have pictures but this is a new thing and I messed up and blah blah blah.

Thanks for the info Jack. I'll inspect the belt Sunday, as it seems it will be a vehicle repair day. I think I screwed up the starter on my truck and will have to replace it. Both the car and truck need oil changes, too. When I get greasy I like to accomplish as much as can if only to prevent me getting greasy again anytime soon.

Thanks for the picture! I was going to replace my belt, last minute before going away to relatives for Christmas. I did "get lost" as the belt was stiff and hard to get out (more time than I thought). I remember when every car hard the chart right under the hood. Not so, and I neglected to draw one. If it wasn't for this picture, I'd have been sc____d.

Liv, I have exact same car with you. I've replaced both idler and tensioner pulley. Now I can't install the belt. I spent a week try to figure out how to release tensioner so I can sneak in the new belt into idler pulley(diagram under the hood shows belt under idler pulley must be last).

Could you give me advice on exactly how? I figured it must be the same way to release the old belt but unfortunately mine was cut-off when I'm driving so I didn't really know how to "pry the tensioner with tire iron..".

So how exactly to install the new belt? Thanks so much in advance.

Basically (I'll give you the appropriate answer) go to Auto zone, (or your similar counterpart auto store) ask for a belt tensioner tool. It's basically a giant socket wrench, (or mcguyver your own) and place over the circled nut, on the arrowed pulley. Pull towards the front of the car (I think it's front.... yeah, sure... try that.) and the tensioner should easily move allowing you to slip on the belt.

Hi,
Great blog. I am hoping that you are still answering car related questions as I am having a real big problem with my very used 1995 Ford Taurus Wagon. When I first bought the car last year it sounded and ran fine. To be on the safe side, I decided to get a tune up and get the belts and hoses checked/changed. I went to a mechanic recommended to me by two very finicky people so I trusted their recommendation. However, when I got my car back it was making chirping sounds and within a week it sounded like someone was hitting the underside of the hood with a hose. That sound turned out to be a shredded belt which apparently shredded because it was not replaced correctly. Long story short, the car has not been the same since.

After an alternator failure (faulty part put in by a different mechanic), I had the car towed to a Pep Boys. They changed the alternator and then ran some diagnostics and determined that the chirping sound was occurring because I need a new idle pulley and a new power steering pump.

Whew! Okay, here's my question. It will cost close to $400 to have this two parts replaced. I don't have that kind of money right now. Is it safe for me to drive the car with these parts needing to be replaced? Will the car break down sooner than later?

Thanks a million for any advice you can offer.

Regards

It's safe to drive if you like long extended walks on the side of the road (I had many.) If you do, you might want to carry a tensioner bar.... as a few times I had to reattach the shredded belt to get home....

That said... I took it into the Dealer originally and they game me the same lies. I basically just hate working on cars anymore, too darn dirty... but yet, I can't find anyone in the auto industry who seem to do their job without screwing up.

I obviously can't say for certain, but I'd skip their very expensive answer in lieu of a cheaper one. That said, I think they're wrong. If nothing was causing the belt problem before hand, I doubt the accessories are the problem. Furthermore if the idle pulley isn't squeaking then there is nothing wrong with it....

More then likely it's the "Tensioner pulley" (not Idler)... It's common on this car to go wrong and I'll tell you probably what happened. The pulley is probably fine, but there is a spring loaded mechanism that allows one to release the serpentine belt for removal. It's likely when your mechanic was "checking" the belts he compressed this mechanism which hadn't been compressed in many, many years. When the spring becomes worn, it doesn't provide proper tension, and when accessories (such as the power steering unit) add extra force to the belt (as is in the case of a tight turn) the belt looses tension for a moment, slides off the other pulleys and gets shredded by the ridge on the pulleys.... thus producing a shredded, possibly dislodged belt, leaving us on the side of the road.

I highly recommend saving up about $110.00... that's what it will cost for a new belt, and a new tensioner pulley, and arm assembly. (plus rental of a belt removal tool) It's one simply job that takes about 10-20 minutes to do. Just make sure you get the pulley and the arm... (they do sell the tensioner pulley separate) It's about $45-$65 last time I checked, and should solve the problem.

On a side note, and if it's the idler pulley.... They're cheap. $25.00, and you can replace it at the same time.... it's one extra bolt.

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:I'd recommend the simplest solution of all. Dump the crap car and get a real vehicle.

You buying?

Even at that, Tensioner problems occur often on almost all vehicles... It's good to know the signs and symptoms of the problem....

That includes Ford Lightnings too... Wouldn't surprise me if both of our vehicle use the same tensioner parts.

Liv wrote:
SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:I'd recommend the simplest solution of all. Dump the crap car and get a real vehicle.

You buying?

I said "dump" not "sell." I wouldn't wish a Taurus on my worst enemy. :twisted:

This is our second one, and so far it's been pretty good to us... 95 was the year they sort of fixed the "tranny blows apart" problem.... luckily....

My biggest gripe with the Taurus is the difficulty to repair stuff when it does break.... (like the tranny which requires complete removal of the engine or)... like the lower radiator hose which requires disassembling half the vehicle...

To add to the pain, Dealers are idiots despite this is their best-selling car ever... but in whole, it's got tons of power, plenty of torque, and so far fairly reliable. The gas mileage isn't great, but we are talking about a 13 year old car at this point....

Liv wrote: "tranny blows apart" .

Must....resist....crude...comment...

Thank you for this blog. I am replacing the Idler Pulley on mine later this afternoon, and thought I'd look around online for some worthy assistance.

I was going to give it a shot without the Tensioner Pulley Removal Tool, but it looks like I'll bite the bullet and purchase one (at least long enough to use it, and take it back)..

I hope this job isn't too hard for me, as I know absolutely nothing about cars.

GREAT BLOG! Thanks again.

Yeah most places will rent you one, or they're dirt cheap (under $20.00)... and it's a great thing to carry in your trunk....

Slight problem, so I gave up for today. In your picture clearly pointing out the tensioner pulley, I got the Serpentine tool ON the bolt, but can't get it off. There's not enough clearance between the bolt and the car itself. I'm not even sure how I got it ON in the first place, I guess brute force.

I'm not sure why my engine may be closer to that side of the car, but I tried to get it off for over 2 hours today, and it appears stuck. I've tried pushing the socket as close on the bolt as possible and backing out the breaking bar and twisting it out, but to no avail.

I'm going to give another shot at it tomorrow morning with the new sunlight. Wish me luck, or give some suggestions.

Thanks for all your help.

I had the problem of not enough room to get a socket on the tension rele :wink:

ase bolt on my 2007 Taurus. Tried a pry bar against the water pump pulley and found that to be a mistake when I broke a piece out of the side of it (plastic pulley). FInally I just put a 15mm off set box wrench on it and tied a rope to the other end. I could easily pull the rope and release the tension to get the belt off. The rest of the alternator change was easy. Oh, superglue gel repaired the piece of plastic I broke off the waterpump pulley. It was on the side and not under load. Hope this helps someone and avoids them breaking their plastic waterpump pulley by being stupid like I was.

Thank you for your very helpful directions and diagram.
We have a 97 Taurus and it is exhibiting the tell-tale squeels from the belt.
The idler pully was replaced once before (2003) after similar squeels.
You are inspiring me to try to do it myself.
Question: how do I know if it is the tensioner or idler pulley that needs to be replaced? And, could you clarify which is which?
Thanks!

Julie wrote:Question: how do I know if it is the tensioner or idler pulley that needs to be replaced? And, could you clarify which is which?
Thanks!

On the 3.0 Vulcan, the tensioner is the lower one, (red arrow in pic above) but in any vehicle it's the one with the spring loaded arm. It applies the "tension" against the belt, where as the "idler" pulley is simply attached via a single bolt to the side of the block merely acting as a routing point for the belt.

You may be able to remove the belt and turn the pulleys by hand and feel or hear for the bad pulley. If you're sure it was the idler pulley that was originally replaced, I'd bet the farm it's now your tensioner pulley. They tend to go bad around the same time, since they're exactly the same bearings, etc. Both mine went within a short time of each other.

Replace both while you've got it apart. They're not exactly expensive.