Thread: grooved idler pulley won't spin

So my plastic grooved idler pulley melted and flew off along with the belt. I bought the replacement belt and the metal grooved pulley. However, when I put the pulley on....it won't spin. Why is that? What am I doing wrong? Can anyone point me in the right direction? I sure would appreciate it. Oh, it's a Duralast pulley by the way.

-Tom

This is the grooved supercharger idler pulley? Does it spin when uninstalled? When tightened, does it force the pulley against the bracket, disallowing it to turn?

when i am holding it in my hand i can stick my finger in there and it will spin. when i tighten the bolt down to install it, it will not turn. so yeah, i think it forces the pulley against the bracket. it's almost like the bolt is two small for the pulley. is there another piece to that bolt to fill the hole on the pulley? thats the only thing i can think of.

i found it on the internet. its like a little sleeve that rests on the bolt that fills out the hole and allows the pulley to spin. lol

so now i tried to put it on and it does push it up against the bracket. so when i tighten the bolt it doesn't allow the pulley to turn so well. how much should the pulley spin when installed correctly? gotta get this thing on asap!!

i think when my old plastic pulley flew off i it took a piece of that sleeve with it. i just looked at it and it seems to not go all the way in the hole of the pulley. any idea on where i can get another one of those sleeves? i guess i'll call the usual auto places. any idea on where to get em for sure?

i tried to put it on both ways. when i took the pulley off the bolt has a black piece of plastic on it. it looks as if its there to fill the extra space inside the hole of the pulley allowing it to turn instead of just being all wobbly on the bolt. hope i am not confusing ya. not big wrench turner, but i'd rather do it myself and keep my money than have some criminal at a garage do it.

shops that seem criminal are usually the ones trying to do the job properly.

But there are those that are criminal.

yeah i understand that too. i have no problem paying for a quality job at all. but on another note. i figured it out. thanks for the info guys.

just me having a der da der moment. when the old pulley flew off it was hot as hell and melted the core of the old pulley to the car. so i was trying to put the new one on with the old core still in place. like i said....der da der moment. lol, oh well

yeah, very true. thanks for replying. have a good one!