Hi again. So last month I had new belts put on the van, the mechanics at the time told me that all pulleys were good (even though I had noticed it wasn't turning at times, which is what prompted me to change the belts). Anyway, I've had horrible squealing noises ever since, and they tried to tell me it was probably my power steering pump. I did not agree, since steering was fine, and no noise on turning.
Today, just like that, the noise stops. the quiet was eery. So I've been looking in the engine, and I see that the idler pulley isn't turning, and there are little bits of rubber spattered all over it that wasn't there before.
So, I assume the squealing was the idler pulley, and now that it's froze up, no more squeal. Then it started wearing down the belt. That leaves me with 2 questions:
1. on the 93 aerostar, does the entire idler pulley arm get replaced or just the pulley? they sell both for a 93 at the local auto stores.
2. this was a brand new belt, and the amount of rubber that spewed off doesn't seem to be a huge amount---is the integrity of the belt now compromised? do I have to have it replaced again?
Thanks for any help.
Judy

 

In some applications, the bearing can be pressed out and a new bearing pressed in. It's your call on that. Do you have a press to replace just the bearing? (Personally, I'd replace it all)
I'd replace the belt. Why risk having a failure when it's 100° in the shade or -20° below zero and you are 25 miles from the nearest place for repairs?

 

No, I am not one to work on cars beyond the easy stuff, my husband usually fixes them but is working 1700 miles from home. The whole idler pulley with bracket is only about $30, so I'll be going that route I suppose. My brother in law will put it on for me, I'm hoping.
The thing about the belt is that I just paid $33 for the belts and $75 to have them put on at the shop, and just can't afford to replace again right now. I only drove a few miles after the noise stopped, and I don't see any sign of wear on the belt on the edges that hubby told me to look for, but will have someone take a closer look for me.

 

There is one bolt that hold the pulley onto the tensioner, maybe through a washer. On at least two of my cars, the bolt has a reverse thread. I'm not sure about the 3 L engine. You need to make sure the washer is on the right direction.

I would consider complaining to the mechanics who replaced your belts, and tell them that their advice caused damage to the new belt, and demand that replace it again. But this time, make sure they replace the pulley first.

 

So I see a new problem...there are 2 belts, but I only need to replace one. However, it is the skinnier belt toward the inside of the engine...so I am assuming we must remove the wider belt as well. How in the world do you reach the other tensioner (for the wide belt)? The idler pulley is right there in front, easy reach...but the other tension idler is right smack behind the radiator...

 

I'm not familiar with the 3 liter engines, except that the earlier models used more than 1 belt.

On my cars, I used a socket on a breaker bar to engage the bolt on the center of the pulley and rotate the tensioner. A breaker bar does not have as much depth as a ratchet, so it fits better in that tight space. But the real tool looks like a big claw that grabs the tensioner so you can turn it. Look to see if there is a square hole in the tensioner that you can fit the square drive of a ratchet into.

Failing these, another thing I've done before is to wrap a piece of leather around the tip of a tire iron and used it to pry against the pulley. I put the leather-wrapped end against the pulley, and the shaft against the tensioner and carefully lift the pulley off the belt. I only need to lift about an inch to slip the belt out of the way of the pulley. Then I carefully let the pulley go to where it wants to; usually about 90 degrees. This has to be done with some care, as you don't want that very powerful tensioner spring to fling the tire iron at you. This also assumes the tensioner is at a place where you have room to do this.

 

The idler pulley on the 3.0 is just a pulley, there is nothing else to replace.

The entire power steering tensioner is what has an arm/pulley that needs to be replaced when it goes bad.