Serpentine belt idler pulley - covered by warranty?

[Victim]

Investigating a faint squeak from the engine bay I noticed the spring loaded belt tensioning pulley for the serpentine belt (fan belt...) is bouncing around like crazy at idle speed - hate to see what it's doing at higher revs! I've watched the YouTube videos on replacement of the idler assembly and was going to pull it out and replace the bearings in the pulley. My D4 is out of the 3yr factory warranty, but is covered by the 5 year extended warranty. What are the odds that this would be covered? I assume "bearings" are excluded, therefore I'm probably better off fixing it myself, but happy to let someone else do it if it might be covered...

[veebs]

My idler pulley failed recently, throwing the serp belt off track and destroying the tensioner in the process. I was lucky - the belt survived, albeit at half it's original width, long enough to get it to the workshop.

My advice - get it fixed ASAP

[cjc_td5]

Investigating a faint squeak from the engine bay I noticed the spring loaded belt tensioning pulley for the serpentine belt (fan belt...) is bouncing around like crazy at idle speed - hate to see what it's doing at higher revs! I've watched the YouTube videos on replacement of the idler assembly and was going to pull it out and replace the bearings in the pulley. My D4 is out of the 3yr factory warranty, but is covered by the 5 year extended warranty. What are the odds that this would be covered? I assume "bearings" are excluded, therefore I'm probably better off fixing it myself, but happy to let someone else do it if it might be covered...

Dunno mate. I have a similar squeak when the motor is cold which I suspect is the idler or similar, and am under the LR extended warranty also. I am due for a service in the next couple of weeks so will be following it up with them then.... Mine is a MY14 @ 120,000km, I will be ****ed if it is not covered......

[loanrangie]

If its bouncing around like a yo-yo its more likely to be the spring has lost tension than a bearing failure, best replace the bearing at the same time though.

[Victim]

I'll contact my local dealer and see what they say - I expect the same response I received when I asked if my LCA replacements were covered...

FYI - MY14 @ 140,000km

[Victim]

Wrll, I spoke with the local dealer service department - they had no idea what is actually covered or excluded by the Land Rover extended warranty, and that I'd need to figure that out myself. One thing they were sure of is that it doesn't cover the cost of the diagnosis. I would need to book it in to be diagnosed before they could advise any further. I guess the cost of the diagnosis would outweigh the cost of the parts, so I'll have a closer look at it myself when I get a chance...

[GP1200]

I think u need a new dealer, if it’s the genuine branded extended Land Rover warranty, it should mirror your factory warranty. The whole idea of the branded LR Extended Warranty is it covers nearly everything and if your dealer is doing thier job, a seamless process.

i was told that the only things that were not covered was some of the trim parts and normal wear and tear parts ( brakes, rotors )

you could argue that a fan belt is a wear & tear part, but I would also argue that the belt failed due to a mechanical problem.

i would be looking for a new dealer and getting it fixed ASAP.

PS, had my money’s worth out of the extended warranty unfortunately and my dealer said that
Aliance who underwrites the insurance, have been questioning a lot of the claims more closely.


good luck,
jack

[cjc_td5]

I think u need a new dealer, if it’s the genuine branded extended Land Rover warranty, it should mirror your factory warranty. The whole idea of the branded LR Extended Warranty is it covers nearly everything and if your dealer is doing thier job, a seamless process.

i was told that the only things that were not covered was some of the trim parts and normal wear and tear parts ( brakes, rotors )

you could argue that a fan belt is a wear & tear part, but I would also argue that the belt failed due to a mechanical problem.

i would be looking for a new dealer and getting it fixed ASAP.

PS, had my money’s worth out of the extended warranty unfortunately and my dealer said that
Aliance who underwrites the insurance, have been questioning a lot of the claims more closely.


good luck,
jackMy LCAs were refused under the LR/Allianz warranty, 1 month in (ie vehicle 37 months old) and at 100,000km. To be fair I think the dealer pushed fairly hard for my claim but were refused by Allianz. The dealer lost out as I just replaced them myself rather than them do the work.

[letherm]

My LCAs were refused under the LR/Allianz warranty, 1 month in (ie vehicle 37 months old) and at 100,000km. To be fair I think the dealer pushed fairly hard for my claim but were refused by Allianz. The dealer lost out as I just replaced them myself rather than them do the work.

At the 4 year service the dealer picked up that mine had a problem. I hadn't noticed anything myself. They rang Allianz who refused the claim. I said I wasn't happy as the car had only done about 27000km at that stage. They rang back the next day and "rephrased" the request and it was approved. Not being sexist but this was a woman in her twenties. Allianz would not budge on two things - the silver opening tab on the top glove box split along the top and the drivers arm rest now sits back on the rear seat. Allianz defined these as "trim" and that is not covered by the extended warranty. Not happy about the armrest as it was an internal mechanism failure and IMOH not trim.

Martin

[Victim]

Well, I'm surprised to say the least - after coming up with several different part numbers for the replacement idler pulley assembly I decided to just show up unannounced at my local dealership service department and show them my issue. Their service guy took one look and said that's perfectly normal - it's what it's meant to do...!

To prove this he took me into the workshop and had a look into the engine bay of another D4 being worked on, started the engine, shone my torch in there and voila - it looked worse than mine! As far as I can see, the main belt driving pulley from the engine is not centered accurately and has a noticeable wobble at idle speed (again, he claimed this is normal). The idler appears to wobble at a much higher frequency, and doesn't look good to me, but I no longer assume it to be the definite cause of the intermittent squeak I can hear sometimes. I guess I'll just have to wait until whatever it is fails completely...

[DiscoJeffster]

The purpose of the idler pulley is to maintain the correct belt tension at all times. It also helps to smooth out imperfections in the belt tension caused by the engine and ancillaries. Don’t forget an engine isn’t smooth and each cylinder firing applies a force on the belt. Alternator loads changing cause small changes in load and tension (though the alternator itself has a special pulley designed to reduce that). Etc.

[PeterOZ]

Gents,
I recently have a funny sound that I put down to tensioner or an idler pulley on the serpentine belt.

Sort of a tichh squeak noise, more pronounced when the engine is hot. I had the tensioner replaced and the old one had lost a lot of its tension compared to the new one.

Noise is still there. Could it be idler pulley or even the fan clutch??

Hoping for some guidance.
cheers
Peter

[banjoship]

An old trick is to pour a little water on the inside of the drive belt as the engine is rotating, and while the noise is apparent. The water provides temporary lubrication to the belt. If the noise goes away while administering water, it suggests the problem is drive belt, rather than bearings, fan clutch, etc. Mind fingers while doing this.

Generally, I would replace belt, tensioner, pulley as a set.

Lee

[INter674]

My old TD5 tensioner bounced around a lot. I later found out after replacing it that the belt was slightly too long..there are 3 varieties for the TD5.

The correct belt fixed it.

Maybe the belt has stretched and/or needs replacement?

[Narangga]

Generally, I would replace belt, tensioner, pulley as a set.

Lee

I had the tichh squeak noise Peter and I replaced the two pulleys. Tensioner was shot but the idler was on it's way out too. I'd get the other one done very soon.

[Bulletman]

The idler pulley bearing is very common , cant remember the number but got 1 from repco on a sunday for under 10 bucks, easy job totap it out with a small socket and fit the new bearing. I bought a spare tensioner for when I travel as this seems to be a show stopper with 1 complete belt driving everything and I have yet to see a belt that fits the alt , water pump and crank pulley only.

From memory the tensioner also has the same bearing as the idler , I think its actually the same pulley just on a spring loaded arm.

Bulletman

[Narangga]

From memory I found this post from josh.huber - complete with bearing numbers. https://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-discovery-3-and-4-a/274201-what-happened-your-d3-d4-today-20.html#post2951585

[PeterOZ]

Thanks chaps, I'll head back to my indy in due course and get those idler pulleys and a new belt done.

[loanrangie]

The idler pulley bearing is very common , cant remember the number but got 1 from repco on a sunday for under 10 bucks, easy job totap it out with a small socket and fit the new bearing. I bought a spare tensioner for when I travel as this seems to be a show stopper with 1 complete belt driving everything and I have yet to see a belt that fits the alt , water pump and crank pulley only.

From memory the tensioner also has the same bearing as the idler , I think its actually the same pulley just on a spring loaded arm.

Bulletman

It will be a 6203 like almost all other LR idler/tensioner pulleys use, use a 6203RS and make sure it good quality like SKF,Timken,Nachi etc.

Just as an aside, a few weeks ago i answered a distress call from a couple with a V8 D1 that spat the tensioner bearing balls out on a Sunday 1 1/2 hrs from home.
I have replaced them a few times so had gathered up some tools and drove into the city to help them out, they got the pulley off with the tiny shifter they had and it took me less than 15 mins to remove and refit. I even had a circlip on hand to replace the snap ring that is a bugger to get out the side of the rd, i drill a small hole into the slot so you can a pointy tool in there to pick it out.

[DiscoJeffster]

It will be a 6203 like almost all other LR idler/tensioner pulleys use, use a 6203RS and make sure it good quality like SKF,Timken,Nachi etc.

Just as an aside, a few weeks ago i answered a distress call from a couple with a V8 D1 that spat the tensioner bearing balls out on a Sunday 1 1/2 hrs from home.
I have replaced them a few times so had gathered up some tools and drove into the city to help them out, they got the pulley off with the tiny shifter they had and it took me less than 15 mins to remove and refit. I even had a circlip on hand to replace the snap ring that is a bugger to get out the side of the rd, i drill a small hole into the slot so you can a pointy tool in there to pick it out.

Nearly 300k km on original tensioner and follower. I think I’ll replace as part of my proactive maintenance. Cheers

[INter674]

Good idea to replace it ASAP.

Mates Italian diesel jeep tensioner failed at 75000ks and took out the belt and fan shroud. Real mess..he ignored the warning signs. ..and worse still no belt to suit in Aus!!

Told him not to buy a Jeep😎

[DiscoJeffster]

Good idea to replace it ASAP.

Mates Italian diesel jeep tensioner failed at 75000ks and took out the belt and fan shroud. Real mess..he ignored the warning signs. ..and worse still no belt to suit in Aus!!

Told him not to buy a Jeep[emoji41]

As a Land Rover owner i take it way on Jeep owners. We have our fair share of fun lol (but they’re worse of course [emoji6])

[DiscoJeffster]

Well the tensioner pulley and idler pulley's aren't cheap that's for sure. Around $300 for the pair.

[PeterOZ]

its a landrover, nothing is cheap padawan!

[PerthDisco]

Well the tensioner pulley and idler pulley's aren't cheap that's for sure. Around $300 for the pair.

But did I read popping new bearings in is an alternative? I’ve not heard of the spring component of the tensioner failing is that correct?

[DiscoJeffster]

But did I read popping new bearings in is an alternative? I’ve not heard of the spring component of the tensioner failing is that correct?

You definitely want to put in a whole new unit. The spring will be weakened over time and if it failed its still useless even with a shiny new bearing. [emoji106]

[theelms66]

The biggest problem apart from bearing failure obviously, is the pivot ont the tensioner that wears and runs out of true.

[Bulletman]

But did I read popping new bearings in is an alternative? I’ve not heard of the spring component of the tensioner failing is that correct?

I have seen a picture … could be on here.. of a spring tensioner from a D3 where the cap , or front had half come off exposing the spring inside . it apparently didn't fail completely but had to be changed. Don't think I would like to be near it if it did let go ..

I cant remember which model holden , but the idler pulley is a direct match , would assume a commodore but could be wrong. I took mine into Repco and matched it.

Has anyone priced from Ford. I assume the Territory TDV6 runs the same configuration.... but that's only an assumption.

Bulletman

[INter674]

Many makes use the same tensioner and have done so for years now. Eg TD5 and Jeep with VM diesels the same Dayco unit. Main differences relate to the pully configuration eg no of belt ribs...mounting is largely the same.

[kenl]

Mine gets a squeek from the tensioner pulley, if I spray lubricant where the 2 halves of the spring housing meet the noise stops but only for a couple months. Time for a new
one I guess.

[PeterOZ]

Mine gets a squeek from the tensioner pulley, if I spray lubricant where the 2 halves of the spring housing meet the noise stops but only for a couple months. Time for a new
one I guess.

I got a new tensioner but think the idler pulley is squeaking so might try your method of squirting some lube in there if for no other reason but confirming that is what is making the noise.