Tensioner pulley noise

**Martin77** · 18-04-2017 07:37 PM

Hi there,
I think my belt tensioner pulley is going bad (making squealing noise first few hundred meters and then disappear). Do you think it is wise to replace both the tensioner and pulley system or should I just replace the pulley. It is the original tensioner and done approx 140k km.

I can also hear a faint chirp/tick which I can hear driving at low rpm (1500). Is this common with our accord euro?

**jjman** · 19-04-2017 06:26 PM

it might just be the belt that needs replacing. if it is the original then this is most likely.
Put the fresh belt (easy enough to do yourself) on and see if the noise has gone away. if not then do the tensioner as this also might be getting on due to the age...

**Jasemas** · 19-04-2017 11:32 PM

Not uncommon for the tensioners to go at this age

**Martin77** · 21-04-2017 08:01 PM

Thanks.
The belt is relatively new. It's a 12 months old Bando belt.
I have done some you tube search and replacing the tensioner doesn't look very easy. I bought a bearing online for the pulley yesterday. I hope this will fix it.

**Hondarally** · 22-04-2017 12:33 PM

Belt might be loose. If it's been replaced it might have been a little on the loose side and as its worn in it's loosened up a bit. The chirp is probably a/c cutting in.

Try tighten the belt first to see if that fixes it. If not then look at the tensioner bearing.

Also see if you can use a long screwdriver as a stethoscope against the tensioner (close to the bearing ) to see if it's making noise
More likely to be a rumbling noise than a squeal.

**Martin77** · 25-04-2017 08:45 AM

Thanks for this.
I use Bando 7pk1755 for the 2005 accord euro with stock pulleys. Something I noticed this morning is that the tensioner pulley has specs on it. I should have cleaned it 12 months ago when I replaced the belt. I tried to scrape a little of it and it feels like belt residue.
Our accord uses an auto tensioner but I am not sure how to read it. Can anyone tell me how to read this? Is mine ok?

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**Fredoops** · 26-04-2017 09:41 AM

It looks fine

As long as between the bit that "pops out" and the bit that "dips in"

Pops out = too long
Dips in = too short

**Martin77** · 26-04-2017 10:18 PM

Thanks Fred.
I hope it's the tensioner pulley bearing that is making the noise. I started it co!d yesterday and with the bonnet open, the sound starts a few second after it got started and slowly disappeared after 20 seconds.
I bought a 6203 c3 bearing and I hope it's the right one. I'll try to replace it on the weekend.

**Fredoops** · 27-04-2017 12:05 AM

I ended up just buying a while stensioner unit from gates.
. Didn't end up having to use it tho

**Martin77** · 30-04-2017 11:19 AM

Hmm....
I replaced the tensioner pulley bearing and the noise is still there. It only happened when starting from cold but the noise doesn't start straight away. It does it after 5 seconds after starting and disappears after 30 seconds or so. It's not a rattle and more of a screech rather than a squeal.
I looked deeply and the only thing that has a slight wobble was the water pump. When I took the belt off again I felt the pump pulley and it does have a little play. This is an after market water pump (repco branded) and I was told by the original owner that it was just replaced before I bought the car (ie done about 40k km now). It's hard getting a screwdriver /stethoscope in there as there is not alot of space and a lot of moving parts.
Does a power steering pump exhibit this behavior? Pulley feels tight.