Customer States Belt Pulley Noise 

Hey Yall! Save some money! Bearings last a LONG time if you grease them! ● Lucas Red 'N' Tacky: amzn.to/3aeUhSN ● Idler Pulleys: amzn.to/3IY9gy3 Great tip! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I can see pressing the bearing out if it's a really new pulley that just happens to be noisy, but come on man the fucking pulley is like 12 bucks with a bearing. Doing shit like this is going to run customers off.

‘And I sold the customer ‘new’ pulleys’

Always worth a new bearing or pulley. Getting stuck or needing a tow is worth the cost of 10 of these....

Just replace the bearings, they are loud cos they are foooked

Cheaper for the home mechanic, but a shop will charge you an hourly rate to do that that'll cost more than just buying a new one.

As a professional technician I am always tinkered with things like the pulley bearings. I tried this about 15 years ago and it worked amazing. Tried it again at least 10 more times throughout the years and every time the bearing failed within 30-100 miles after lubing them back up. I guess one saved bearing out of 11 is not too bad. What sucks is when a timing cover or component in the belt circuit gets ruined and then you are facing thousands of dollars in repairs for trying to save $20-$50... Definitely ruined some expensive stuff trying to save pulleys on those 10 more that I tried to lube and made worse instead.

That’s a good tip if you’re in a bind but you can get the belt and “component kit” that comes with that idler and in many cases it’s cheaper than buying the belt and tensioner (with pulley) and no idler. Later ✌️

Don't do this unless you can't afford to buy bearings this is at best a short-term fix. If the bearing can be pressed or driven out it can be matched and just the bearing replaced. If the pulley is plastic I recommend replacing the assembly, as the plastic can be gouged or split when you try to press the old one out. 37 years as a automotive mechanic has shown me you don't want to take chances with this. Failure of a pulley and the subsequent damage to the accessory drive when the belt is thrown is far more expensive than the bearings.

Just find the correct bearing and press the old one out and press in the new one and you're good to go except the plastic idlers that have the bearings molded in

This is a great way to do the job twice.

I’m just going to buy a new one. I don’t want to get out on the road in the middle of nowhere and the bearing seize up!!

I've done that you can also knock the bearing out and replace it for less than half the price of a new pulley

Re replace the centre bearing and they are like $2 lol

I used to do the same with skateboard wheel bearings when I was younger lol If the bearing is wobbly you can also find the same bearing for cheap, knock the old one out and replace it

I would never take my cars to a mechanic like you 😂

Or just swap the bearing it's a common bearing used in pool motors it's a 6203d bearing. It's like 3 many 4 bucks

If they are loud, they are on the verge of being bad, if they aren't already. If they are already off, replace them.

If the bearing is making noise and is dry. It's junk. No amount of grease will save it. Plus, if the pulley has been in service let's just say 100k miles It's probably worn out and junk also. Just change the whole damn pulley. There not that expensive and it's cheap Maintenance compared to calling a tow truck.

The 17 year olds guide to engine maintenance. Why not wait until the tensioner seizes up and shredds the belt completely and don't bother doing the water pump either 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I done this on a customers van to stop the noise whilst waiting for the new part and the fix lasted a day luckily his part had turned up

Great way to have a pulley lock up and break your new belt👌🏻

If it's already making noise, the only thing im doing with the bearing is replacing it.

Loud and proud. That's how we roll 🤘 but not feeling so proud when the car breaks down on the side of the road

Tip: pry from the inner lip, if you damage the seal grease will stay inside.

new pulleys are like $7 to $20 each?? on Rockauto, why bother?

When the ad says “Mechanic special”

I usually take the seals out with a pick and use white lithium grease . But I'll try red and tacky. Good tip

Always cut towards yourself.

Go to local Napa! They’ll have a metal encased bearing which meets the same F3 (fit, form, function) for like $7. Just replace the bearing if the pulley is in great shape.

This goes in the "just because you can doesn't mean you should" bin.

I always do that first because they don't put enough grease in there to begin with. 😊

You can put a new bearing in them

Thanks; I found the number from another RU-vid video. These are really common bearings and can be purchased locally from most automotive suppliers ie NAPA,Parts Source etc. Again I thank you for your excellent advice and commend you for some great insight!👍

Thanks Matt, what is the bearing #? Regrease or replace is the quick inexpensive fix. Nice to see someone actually rebuilding something instead of spending someone else’s money!

You don’t even know how to take the seal off bro...

Looks like an LS engine 🤔

I’ve definitely done this before when I was in college and so broke I was eating a steady diet of Top Ramen. 👍

Another option with the pulley you were showing is to just simply replace the bearing. I’ve done this on all my cars and the bearings are usually five to $10 at my local Bearing shop. I have a press but I usually just take a punch and hammer and knock the old one out and tap the new one in carefully.

Will your next video cover "How to reuse a condom"? Honestly, just buy a new one bud, there not that expensive.

"tricks" new word for poor I guess

Giving the customer a new reason to say, "but I seen on the internet....."

Everyone likes being cheap until it leaves them stranded on the side of the road. Replace it and be done with it

I'm glad you made a video about this .It works on a squeaky alternator to that back bearing is usually the one that squeak's.

Love the fact that you're not wearing gloves..

I have been doing this for over 10 years. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. 👍

"If you dont want to spend alot of money" - famous last words..

Every skaterboarder knew this, nice one

This might be overkill on servicing bearings but I like to wash it them in an ultrasonic cleaner, blast out the water and any excessive grease with an air compresser, rinse in wd40, and blast away any residual wd40 with the air compressor. This will give a virgin bearing but at least when packing grease, you won't have dirt and old grease contaminating the new bearing. Good video and great info!👍

You didn't put the pulley back on so we can see half a story has never been told you just wasted 30 seconds of my life and I will never ever get back again good day sir lol

Next you’ll tell us to flip the serpentine belt over to get more miles out of the other unused side lol.

I usually knock the bearing out and replace it keeping the original pulley. Nice tip .

Absolutely 100% right! Plus you change knock those bearings out and replace them alone on the cheap too, really common and widely used bearings

I'm having belt noise right now. Definitely looks worth doing 👌

Great information. Thanks

Wow! Now you can drive another 100 miles quiet!

Glad you talked about it before I did cuz I was about to go off

Been doing this for years. I have taken bearing that was frozen and made the workable enough to put them back to use if they were smooth running

Been there, done that. I also keep a stack of 6203 bearings in the shop.

If you were a skateboarder as a kid you probably already knew this trick ;)

Hack job. Once a bearing starts making noise metal damage has begun, and adding grease does not remove the damage. Also way too much grease added. In a tiny high speed sealed bearing like that, the excess grease has no where to go and so it overheats the bearing and breaks the grease down. Also if you mix two different types of grease it causes bad chemical reactions that will cause ruin. So randomly stuffing grease into noisy bearings is just setting you up for a catastrophic failure, and while it might make it quieter for a while, it probably won't actually extend the life by very much, and gives you a false sense of security because it's not making noise, meanwhile the grease is filled with metal particles from the wearing bearing and acting like grinding compound, until it wears badly enough it falls off and strands you, and possibly destroys your timing cover at the same time. And remember, if you spend the $20 on a new idler, it will probably last another 10 years, where this might last a few days weeks or months, and is just a bad investment in time and labor. If I caught a mechanic doing this to my vehicle, I would demand a refund and take it to a competent mechanic. And I say this a a diesel/industrial mechanic with training lubrication technology, and a lot of experience with proper bearing lubrication in various situations.

Nah just being cheap he really said maintenance 😂😂

It’s like a skate bearing. Quick clean and grease and fast af boi

Thought that was a skateboard wheel with a bearing for a sec lmao was so confused

Holy budget man.

Time is money. This Costs you time AND money to go back in and replace this thing the second time after it fails. Do it right the first time and you won’t have a problem.

Lmao come on bro , the pulley is what 15-20 bucks … Jesus

Only temporary because the races and rolling elements have tiny chips and the added grease only cushions for a short time. You can get by a little longer if you take off both seals and wash out the old grease and all the tiny metal fragments before regreasing.

Well if its dry that means the grease has come out and dirt will get in and grind down the bearings until it wobbles itself off and fucks something more expensive up.

GM is renowned for having bad tensioners that make noise. I have replaced them and had them making noise the next day.

Let’s not be so cheap. New bearing is a couple bucks. Replace the bearing. Good shape is a relative term

I'm gonna go through all of the trouble of taking my belt drive apart to replace something like a water pump and then save 10 bucks by not replacing a idler pulley because I want to press a new bearing in place instead thus putting the entire system at risk.

Look at this guy telling everyone what most skaters could've told ya. ;)

Laaaaterrr.. do you wear dresses lmao

A replacement bearing is $7, just replace it if it's noisey

Probably he replaced the pump but the noise is still there, so he covered his ass by greasing the bearings so customer will be Happpppy 😃

It's good that you're sharing this but I think a little like you and I've been doing that for a while on my own vehicles.

You try to save the customer a little money and expect a comeback. Not worth it.

These things comes together in a kit when you doing timing belt replacement.

Replacing would be kaizen.

Notice how he didn’t show taking the bearing out and pressing it back in. You just can’t put grease in the exposed side that he shows.

If it dries up, a shop sells a new one so it doesn't come back in a month complaining. You can get the part and put it on yourself if you're like that. If you have all day and everyday, keep lubing it, but not to excess.

As a bearing salesman let me shine a little light on this situation. Yes if you are extremely careful sometimes you can re pack these bearings, that one looks like a 6203 2rs it’s a fairly common bearing used in multiple applications from overhead doors to lawn mowers and even blenders. But listen carefully in the video he say it had just started squeaking and did not have any wobble in the inner race. That bearing could be greased and may go for a little while longer however if your bearing has any wobble at all in the inner race just buy a new one it’s only 6 bucks.

This is like changing your oil but not your oil filter

As long as you catch it in time you can save them for sure.

Lucas red n tacky FTW 🤘🏻

If you skateboard… you know.

Thx for the great tip

This is stupid. Idler pulleys and tensioner pulleys aren’t that expensive. Sealed bearings are not meant to be taken apart. Even though the bearings don’t look worn, they are, which is why they are making noise. Putting grease in may help for a little bit but it’s eventually going to cease and you’ll be stuck. Just buy a new pulley

Sometimes cheap is the most expensive option.

It's best to use a "Synthetic Grease" that type of Grease is the best because it doesn't break down as quickly as your conventional Grease. If you have a sealed bearing that is literally sealed, where the seal is made of metal and can't be broken, drill yourself some small holes and use a needle greaser to inject the grease in it. Once that's done you can use the red permatex gasket maker to seal it.

Maybe if it last longer than a new one because the grease is better but I don't think that would be the case in most situations

I thought about using skateboard bearings myself lmao

If your pinching pennies like that then your not driving with the price of gas Lattteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

If it’s plastic you can replace the Bering. If it’s metal you just throw it away

Never regrease bearings! If they get loud its because of dirt thats in the grove. The balls drive the dirt in the metal and cause damage after time. Just like sandpaper roughing down the material. After time this causes play and ultimatly failure.

‘Being a skater taught me’

Damage is already done to the bearing once it starts making noise. The balls and the race area have wear and pitting which you hear when it rotates under belt tension. Adding grease only masks the problem temporarily…

For year i had issues with noisy pullies on my 04 2.4 frontier....so after seeing a similar video about added grease...i decided to buy new one and see how much grease is in there to start....there is a dab of white grease barely covering the bearings..i added some red wheel bearing grease and have had no issue since. So add grease to the new ones...will surely last a long time...

The noise comes from pitted bearings. Not lack of grease