My first part failure!

Yes, at 127,000 miles I've had my first part failure (outside of normal wear items like battery, tires, etc.) My surpentine belt tensioner pulley started squealing, and then making a grinding noise. Not good. I decided on Monday to order new parts from Merlin on Tuesday. Tuesday night I told myself to remember to order them tomorrow. Tomorrow came and went, and now I am in a crunch because I'm driving my baby to Georgia next week. Luckily Autozone had one in stock. It's a piece of junk Duralast, but it should last until I really do order the right parts from Merlin. 30 minutes to install (mostly looking for the right tools and looking up the belt routing,) and my engine is quiet and happy again. I can turn the radio down. I don't know how much longer that pulley would have stayed on the stud, but I suspect it would NOT have made it to Georgia and back.

Oh, wait, it's only 4:45 at St. Charles...calling Merlin now!! Talking... Ordering... Tensioner and idler [why not?]... $150.64. (Retail was just short of $200.) Free Fedex shipping. Should be here before I leave next week. Oh, happy days!! :) Thanks, Merlin!

I'm glad it all worked out for ya. Next time think of your local Honda dealer first for anything engine, tranny, driveline, and brake related, because of the Honda Passport (Rodeo). They can have it shipped overnight and you pick it up the next day. I've done it. It's nice that our local Honda dealers are there for us on shared Isuzu parts. Some parts they may even have in stock.

Mark

yea my tensioner went about a week after doing my serpentine belt. i picked up a dayco one from a friend for about 50 bucks, it works very well

Wow, I'm gonna be pro-active and replace my original belt tensioner soon. I just replaced my original rad cap after the problems Adam had with his cooling system. I think we all need to think about replacing some of these parts BEFORE they fail and cause some headaches.

Mark