Drive belt tensioner issue

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So for the most part my Sunbird has been chugging along quite wonderfully since I resolved all the cooling system issues it had. The only thing as of late that I needed to put in was a new rear, lower motor mount because the old one had collapsed. The car now runs smoother than ever.

However, I noticed a bit of a chirp coming from the drive belt recently. Although I hadn't noticed it before, its become more prominent. When I investigated the source, I discovered that the belt tensioner pulley was at fault. The pulley wheel, for whatever reason, is grinding into the timing belt cover. This seems to cause just enough resistance that it causes the belt to slip a bit, and the belt chirps as it turns the pulley wheel.

There's an area where if the belt tensioner's arm is positioned the pulley wheel will spin freely and true. However this is not where the wheel is normally positioned.

Furthermore, it seems like the angle of the wheel is guiding the edge of the belt into the timing belt cover.

I'm not sure where the problem is. The belt tensioner seems to be installed and functioning properly otherwise. The timing belt cover is fastened down as good as it could ever be. Any suggestions? My car is a '94 model with the 2.0L OHC engine.

I attached a picture that might help show what I mean. Unfortunately I had to use my phone to get it. My good camera is stored away somewhere.
 
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arent you describing a pulley with a worn out bearing?
 
melsg5 said:
arent you describing a pulley with a worn out bearing?
Click to expand...

I hope not. This pulley is less than a year old. I had the old one replaced when the water pump was replaced last.

EDIT: So I recorded a video just to give you an idea (mind its kinda dark out so you won't see a whole lot :/) of the sound I mean. Its the higher-pitched screech you can hear on top of everything else. There's some noise coming from the camshaft, as well, which I am aware of (can't do much about it right now) that you'll have to listen over.

And I will just add again that the pulley wheel spins freely like it should if the arm is turned to a point somewhere a little past the middle of its rotational range. The wheel won't grind that cover and won't resist spin. That's not its normal position with the belt set, though.

http://youtu.be/xImS1l9RJB8
 
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if you had it changed and the bearing is still good, perhaps it was incorrectly installed.
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Possibly. I was going to try and remove it myself to see what's going on, but I don't have any wrenches which would fit in the space available. I just hope they didn't cross threads or anything.

I guess that's what I'm going to have to do, then, is find a way to remove it. If I can't I'll just have to bring it somewhere else to have it looked at, I guess. :/

Thanks for the ideas.
 
drive belt tentioner

On a 92 2.0 sunburd with a noisy tenioner. I found after removing the power steering assembly the lower bracket support was broken. this was cousing the whole mount to shift under stress. making the belt and pulleys rub.
 
That would actually make alot of sense. Up until recently I was riding on a shot rear motor mount and the engine had some bad vibration problems. That could have wrecked that support.

I'll look into it and report back after. Thank you. :)
 
Well I investigated the issue yesterday. It seems the rear bracket is a bit warped. I gently adjusted its shape to help straighten things out and it seems to have improved the situation enough that the rubbing is no longer a major concern.

I would like to take the power steering pump out, too, and do some more adjustments. However the amount of work required to do that doesn't match up to whatever improvements could be had.

Anyways, I'm satisfied. Thanks again!
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