Tensoiner & idler pulley bearings

I decided to replace my timing belt this winter ( 75K miles, 16 years old ) . When I checked the old belt two years ago,at about 54K miles it still looked like new , but I'm a preventative maintenance maniac. Got the Gates T325 belt on Amazon for $41 , BTW. I noticed it's made in the UK.

I'm waiting to replace the water pump ( $$$ ) and from what I have read on this forum, it probably will last for at least 2-3 more years.

My question is : About how long do the tensioner and idler pulley bearings last before they start making that whirring noise ?? And, are the bearings replaceable, or does the whole pulley have to be replaced ? I understand that the bearings aren't listed separately on the parts fiche, but can they be removed ?? I would think they may be standard size bearings. ( I'm also cheap, if I can be. Looking to save about $135 on pulleys, if I can ).

One way of looking at it is its easier to do everything at once while you're in there and be done with it.

My pulleys were like the belt, they looked pretty much like the new parts. In fact the pulleys were so new looking I was careful to keep the new/old parts separated so I could tell them apart.

But the bottom line for me was I didn't feel like repeating 90% of the work to go back in and replace a pulley a year or two later. Its your time/money so its your call, but I'd just bite the bullet and replace everything while I was in there.

From the look/feel of the pulleys it doesn't seem like it would be an easy job to replace just the bearings, but I have no real experience with that kind of thing. The bearings are sealed inside the unit and it doesn't seem like it would be easy to disassemble the pulley to get at the bearings (I'm guessing you'd need a press and some tools).

Your question about how long the parts last is anyone's guess. Mine was 16 years old when I did the job with about 95k miles on it and the belt/pulleys looked like they could have gone another 10 years, but looks can be deceiving, so nobody really knows.

The PO of my 93 changed the belt at 80k. It still looked new. Bike now has 163k on it and original bearings/tensioner still going strong. I will change out the belt and pulleys this winter.

Not sure if bearings are replaceable. Might be harder to find them than replacement pulley/tensioner.

I suggest 100K miles for the belt, rollers and water pump with a third belt at 200K miles. Be aware, failures have occurred at less than even Honda's suggested 90K miles.

I changed the idler pulley and belt on lipSTick at about 110K miles IIRC. There was an extremely small but noticeable amount of play in that pulley. After replacment with a new OEM, same amount of play...

I too installed a Gates belt, paid a little more than you from Amazon but still cheaper than OEM.

I have replaced several belts and some pulley 'n water pumps over the years. STick currently is running the used pump I took out of a wreck with about 30K miles on it. It now has an additional 30K miles on it. Her original pump showed no play in the pulley but a little bit of green grunge at the weep hole. Preventive maintenance indeed.

As Pat said, long as yur in there anyway and have the parts available. Your call.

Did my belt this year at 95K. Also Gates T325 from Amazon. I'll do the rest next time, as my wallet didn't like the price tags. Everything 'appeared' to be in good shape. I think I've read that you can't do just the bearings.

dwalby said:

One way of looking at it is its easier to do everything at once while you're in there and be done with it.

Click to expand...

+1...
The SC26 plant is an interfering type... a hopping t/belt would be disastrous...

On many cars, especially smaller displacements, they sell t/belt, spanner, idler and w/pump only as a set now...

Back in the 80ies I nearly blew a car engine cause the mech at the official w/shop did not replace the spanner-pulley during the scheduled t/belt replacement... I was lucky catching it right away over been irritated by that strange/new "buzz" emitted from the engine... phew...
Once I recovered it, it showed that already some balls were missing from that spanner roll... bummer!... :shock:
I guess their "sacred halls" are still echoing from my rant back then... :evil:

I just ordered some used parts ( cheap ) off EBay, including the pulleys, cam sprockets, and cam gears off a 2001 ST1100. So I'll be able to see if the bearings can be pressed out and replaced. If not, I'll then choose which parts are in the best condition to use when I install the new timing belt. Planning on flushing the radiator with vinegar at that time, also.

Thanks for the feedback, guys !!

I think I've got a spare set of used pulleys/tensioner in the garage... will take a look.

FOUND 'EM! The bearings do not appear to be replacable. Attached is a pic. Info molded on them: Tensioner: NSK 705 SPDWAX6 Idler: NSK 915 STDWAX5

sirepair said:

Snip... FOUND 'EM! The bearings do not appear to be replacable. Info molded on them: Tensioner: NSK 705 SPDWAX6 Idler: NSK 915 STDWAX5

Click to expand...

Bummer !! But thanks for the info.

UPDATE :

I was able to carefully pry the bearing seals off the idler & tensioner pulleys. They felt OK when rotated, but what was left of the grease was very dirty. I'm surprised they felt that good when spun. I flushed the bearings out with brake clean and re-lubed with a Kendall wheel bearing grease that really seems to stick well. Was careful not to "over grease" so none will get slung out. It only takes a film. I have a bit more than that, tho.

Jim, are you going to install those used pulleys you regreased? How many miles do they have on them? JuST curious.

I'll be doing my 2nd belt, pulleys, and 1st water pump pretty soon with all new Honda parts.

Keep us posted on your water pump rebuild experiment.

Regards, John
via iPhone 4S

John OoSTerhuis said:

Jim, are you going to install those used pulleys you regreased? How many miles do they have on them? JuST curious.

I'll be doing my 2nd belt, pulleys, and 1st water pump pretty soon with all new Honda parts.

Keep us posted on your water pump rebuild experiment.

Regards, John
via iPhone 4S

Click to expand...

Of course !!! They are back in the bike already, along with the new timing belt. They have 76K miles on them, and now they must have more potential to last many more miles. There wasn't much grease left and what was there was really filthy. John, I'm retired an on a very fixed income, and the Boss is sometimes high maintenance, too........ gotta do what I have to do. They both felt like new when I finished cleaning & re-greasing. They felt great when I first removed them, too.

As far as the water pump project, I found an old post by a poster who said they had a used water pump available. I just emailed him today asking if I can have it so I can have it rebuilt and then report to this Forum what kind of work ( IMHO ) the Flying Dutchman does. I'll ship him my old pump when I replace it down the road, but that won't be soon.

BTW, I did some research ( on the web ) on water pump bearings, and it looks like the bearings and shaft are supplied as an assembly to rebuilders. There are a whole slew of variations available, along with a whole slew of water pump seals. I bet the Dutchman re-build is just as good as new. Or even better since I would think there have been advances in the sealed water pump bearings & seals since 1998.