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Pulley Alignment

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Old Sep 22, 2018 | 06:49 AM
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Pulley Alignment

Hi all,

I have a 99 Ford F350 7.3 diesel and I've noticed that there is a chirp when running. I've used the water spray test and the chirp went away after spraying water on the belt so I'm thinking there's a pulley alignment issue. After looking at the pulley alignment, how do I go about realigning them? Do I need to use pulley puller? Any advice would be great!
 
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Old Sep 22, 2018 | 11:36 AM
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It might not be an alignment issue but rather a bearing issue. The first thing to try is remove the belt and turn each pulley by hand to see if any feel rough instead of smooth.
 
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Old Sep 22, 2018 | 05:08 PM
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Bearing integrity

Thank you so much for getting back to me! So I took belt off and turned each pulley by hand, crankshaft pulley doesnt budge if I turn it by hand, idler pulley seems to be tight as it stops somewhat soon after spinning it, alternator pulley kinda wobbles slightly if I try to spin it hard, ac pulley spins freely but makes a clicking sound, power steering pulley doesnt spin freely but takes some effort to turn it, and automatic tensor pulleys both spin freely but ribbed pulley slightly wobbles. Does any of this sound normal or does something sound not normal? I'm new to working on cars/trucks. Plus the idler pulley and smooth automatic tensioner pulley has rusted markings on them. They arent smooth. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 
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Old Sep 23, 2018 | 08:21 AM
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The idler pulley looks old and they bare cheap so I would replace that and buy a new belt. It could just be a old belt. Idler pulley gets replaced all the time.. Not a expensive part I think the belt maybe $$$
 
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Old Sep 23, 2018 | 08:30 AM
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I'll try changing the idler pulley, the belt is relatively new and doesn't have any wear markings on it. Should the idler spin freely and smoothly when you spin it? It spins freely when I see how long it will spin, but stops early compared to other pulleys. It seems like it's kinda tight. Is this normal for an idler pulley?
 
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Old Sep 23, 2018 | 09:49 AM
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The crank pulley won't turn obviously because you'd have to turn the engine internals with it. The AC pulley should spin freely and not click, so there could be a bad bearing issue there. The PS pump pulley also won't turn easy because it's pumping fluid as you turn it. The idler pulley sounds like it might be the source of the noise because it should turn smoothly and spin for a bit.
 
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Old Oct 2, 2018 | 06:57 AM
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Hi all,

As I continue to looking into the belt problem of my 99 F350 7.3, I've noticed that when I spin the alternator pulley, it wobbles so I believe the bearing is bad and could be the source of the chirp. Does anyone know the torque specs for the alternator, idler, and other pulleys on the belt system?
 
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