Why tension pulley wobbles - 2006 Chevrolet Equinox

Replace it or the pulley or bearing

Hi Ann:
Just an idea.
You could also check the water pump bearing.
Slack the tension, then see if the fan will wobble if you try to move the blade tips at right angles to the plane of rotation.
I'm assuming the belt is in good condition.
The other possible is that the drive pulley (harmonic damper) off the crankshaft has failed. If you shine a flashlight at the damper while the engine is idling you will see the wobble if this is the problem.
Work Safe! Moving parts can bite your fingers off.
Hope this helps.
Cheers

This either had a bad tensioner or your belt broke. There are several pulleys and if they start wobbling, almost anything can happen. You should be able to manually grab and rotate each pulley to check for wobble and roughness.

The tensioner is a spring loaded bracket with a pulley.

due to the "bushing" built into a harmonic balancer they can at times wobble a little, as long as the pulley guides the belt in a straight path to the next pulley in line, however the tensioner shouldn't Jump,, does it spin freely when nothing is attached to it< it could be worn and as it heats up tightens up,, I'd replace it

First check all pulleys for wobble or looseness. If all pulleys are OK, use the below diagram to put the belt on all pulleys except alternator. Put a wrench on tensioner pulley and pull down until the belt will slip onto the alternator pulley. Check that belt is still on all pulleys before starting. If belt comes off again, one of the components is failing (usually an idler, tensioner or water pump wobbling).

Check all of the accessories that run off the belt. some may have loose or bent pulleys or the acessory itself may have come loose. Be careful to route the belt exactly as shown too. Tighten up or replace your wobbly pulleys.

One of the pulley's are warped or the tension pulley bearing are gone causing wobble which is letting the belt run off. It most likely is the tension which isn't hold the proper tension on the belt giving it the ability to run off. I would try changing the pulley first for the tension.

check the bottom pulley ,it may have a inset rubber absorbation type of pulley and this has come apart ,if that appears ok then change the tensioner

The belt is automatically tensioned, if it wobbles you have a defective pulley or pulley bearing, check them all and replace as ness.

Hi my name is Allen!

Here is how to check your tensioner, with the engine not running, grab the belt and pull on it very hard, you will feel it move toward you let it go and if it return to it original position and you pull on it slightly and it feels tight your tensioner is OK. If the belt it floppy then you need a tensioner.

As for the noise it could be anyone of the pulleys on the front of your engine. You can try to see if they wobble by hand with engine not running, just grab one pulley at a time and see if any of them wobble. If you find one wobbling that part will need to be replaced, not the pulley, but the part behind the pulley.

Let me know what you find?

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