I just finished changing my Drive Belt and the tensioner pulley. My question is how can I get to the Idler pulley to replace that one. My power steering reservoir is in the way from the top. Is it easier to attack it from below the car or do I have to take a bunch of things out to get to that bolt?

 

I replaced both idlers and both tensioners about 2 months ago. The bolt you're trying to remove can be accessed pretty easily from under the car. Nothing else needs to be removed to get at it.

 

I just replaced both pulleys this month, I was able to remove the idler from the hood with no access problems.

The problem ones are the two on the AC belt

 

Jrprich, you replaced the Idler pulley from up top? I dont even see how it can be accessed like that.

 

Here is a pic from the manual.......the pulley I am talking about is circled. I just removed the MAF and air bridge and reached in with a ratchet

You have to reach in from the Passenger side

 

Any other opinions?

 

I'll be doing it tonight and from the first glance looks like access from the bottom job...

 

Yeah, I think I may have to bite the bullet here shortly and get some ramps.

 

I'm telling you guys,

Just pull the airbridge off, reach in from the passenger side and it is an EASY removal and replace. Took just a few minutes.

There is not much access from underneath.

But to each his own

 

There is plenty of access from underneath. I have big arms and hands and had no problem getting the one next to/under the water pump pulley from the bottom.

 

Very simple. Stand on the passenger side, reach under the air bridge, in front of the water pump pulley, with a 15mm ratchet wrench, I think, and you just take it off.

 

Even easier if you take the air bridge off

 

From the bottom, pretty easy...about 10 minutes.

 

I just replace the "MAIN" tensioner pulley and idler pulley. Just as JRPRICH advised. 15mm socket on both bolts. remove air bridge 1st. Over and done in less than 1/2 hour.

Not to be confused with the A/C belt and tensioner pulley which can only be accessed from under the vette.

See Dee Gee post below:




E-T doesn't check in much but he posted this great advice on how to tie down whats squeaking

Belt Squeal Courtesy E-T

You have two belt systems on your car. One is the drive belt system, the other is the air conditioner belt system. The drive belt system consists of the serpentine belt, the power steering pump, alternator/gen, water pump, harmonic balancer, idler pulley, belt auto-tensioner pulley. The AC belt system consists of the compressor, harmonic balancer, idler pulley, belt auto-tensioner pulley.

First thing you need to do is isolate which system is squeaking. This can be done by releasing tension on the drive belt tensioner and removing the serpentine belt. This is the outboard belt of the two belt systems. If the squeak goes away, then it’s the belt or a component of the drive system.

If the squeak is still there, then it’s a component of the ac belt system.
To verify this, release the belt tension from the tensioner and remove the belt. If the squeak goes away, then it’s a component of the ac belt system.

A common problem is the belt tensioner on either system but verifying which system is at fault is the proper procedure.

You could replace both belts, but you may still have the squeak. If you want to find the culprit, isolate the system, then spray the belt of the offending system and see if the squeak goes away. Try to stay away from the idler and tensioner while spraying. I find that belt dressing may be good to identify a belt problem, but it is a temporary fix at best.

The real problem has been the tensioner and the idler. Both of these components have a sealed bearing which has been know to dry up or redirect the grease away from the bearing, thus causing the squeak.

If you find that a belt change does not correct the problem, then a change of both the idler and tensioner pulley is in order. If you just change the idler or the tensioner alone, it will cause the other component to go bad in a month or so. This has been the case with many members. There was a change made to the dusts seals to help correct this problem in newer C5's. Lots of tensioner and idler pulleys have been identified as a problem and it can affect either system. One is not more prevalent than the other. So find out which system is squeaking first, in the drive belt system. It could also be the bearing of the alternator, power steering pump, or water pump too, but these are less probable.

I hope this makes things a little clearer

 

I isolated the problem to be in the drive belt system. I replaced the drive belt as well as the main tensioner pulley. I still have a bit of a squeal which I think may be getting worse since I replaced all the other parts this past Saturday. I’m looking to replace the idler pulley as well now. The only reason I was unsure as to how to get to it is because it looks as though the EPMV is directly in front of the idler pulley and there doesn’t seem to be very much room to access it with or without the airbridge in place. I might have to reach in there from the passenger side like jrprich said and just kind of feel my way around to get that bolt back in once I get it out.