While looking through the engine of my Ford Taurus I see my idler pulley just sitting there. I know that every car has one, but what does it do? So the question that came to my mind knowing that this pulley has to be replaced one day. How do I replace the idler pulley on my Ford Taurus? After researching this for a few hours, this is what I found in my research.
Take a 15 mm wrench and put it on your belt tensioner and turn clockwise so you can take the serpentine belt off. Then put the 15 mm wrench back on the idler pulley and turn counterclockwise to loosen the bolt on the idler pulley.
That seems pretty straightforward, but let’s look further into it so we can better understand how to prevent the catastrophic failure of our engine.
Tools needed for this job:
15 mm wrench
15 mm socket
Serpentine Belt Tool
(If you do not have a serpentine belt tool then a breaker bar
will work as well)
Parts required for this job:
New Idler Pulley, this is the one I bought as well because it had great
reviews on Amazon and the price was right.
You will be surprised by this one here’s my article on 12 Crucial Maintenance Things to Check on your Vehicle.
What does the idler pulley do?
An idler pulley is a guide to the rest of your engine. This pulley guides the serpentine belt to stay in line and provides tension for that part of your belt while it travels to the rest of your pulleys.
When does the idler pulley need to be replaced?
You might need this replaced but have never thought about this pulley being the culprit. Have you ever had your engine start squeaking? With the Vehicle running, you hear a steady squeak, and when you spray some wd-40 on the serpentine belt and it stops?
This is because your idler pulleys bearings are no good anymore and you need to replace the idler pulley as soon as possible. This pulley keeps the rest of your serpentine belt tense, so it doesn’t come off of the other pulleys. This pulley works hand in hand with your belt tensioner pulley.
If you were to keep ignoring the idler pulley and it breaks then the tension would be lost on the rest of the pulleys, causing the serpentine belt to come off the pulleys and fly across the engine while you lose all power of your car while driving. This is a catastrophic event and very dangerous for you and other drivers.
Prevent yourself from being stranded on the highway with an overheated vehicle. Here’s my article on How often should I replace my car’s thermostat?
Where can replace the idler pulley for me?
Any automotive repair shop would be able to replace the idler pulley for you if you do not feel comfortable enough to replace this part yourself. This repair will be between $150 – $200, which is a bit high for a 20-minute job. You have to remove one bolt and relieve the tension on the belt. I only say 20 minutes in case you are taking your time and you cannot focus entirely
on the repair, which happens a lot of you are doing the repair at home. Coming from a guy that has six children, I understand not being able to focus entirely on the repair.
Have you ever looked into the advantages of spending more on your brake pads? Don’t worry, I have and what I found is here in my article.
Is it bad for my engine if the idler pulley goes bad?
YES, a bad idler pulley can be a catastrophic loss for your engine if you are driving. When you are looking at a repair, make sure you think about what will happen if the part breaks while driving.
Because if you do not fix the part that is damaged or broken, you could be driving when it breaks and that puts you and everyone around you at risk. An Idler pulley is a single part, but its job is critical.
So make sure you cover all the bases when you are completing your repair and check out our Youtube video if you need a visual how-to guide with the repair.
Thank you for checking out my article, and I hope it helped you with your problem. I hope you check out my next article and subscribe to my Youtube channel. Make sure you hit the bell icon, so you get notified when a new video comes out!
