3 Causes of idler Pulley Noise
Every vehicle engine of these days contain drive belts which function is to run various components of the engine like A/C Compressor, alternator, water pump and power steering pump, but it is also important that the drive belt will not interfere with the other parts of the engine because the drive belt work at very high speed if any part of the engine come in contact with the drive belt it will cause serious damage to the engine, That is why am idler pulley is used to keep the belt aligned and rotate smoothly which will affects the internal functioning of the engine. Mostly vehicle only have single idler pulley but there are some huge size engine vehicles have more than one idler pulley. As I told you that the dive belt work at very high speed which will also cause pulley to damaged or worn out with the passage of time and unable to perform its function properly. When the idler pulley worn out you will notice strange noise coming from the engine area which gets louder when you increase acceleration of your vehicle, the noise is the initial sign of that the idler pulley is not aligning the drive belt.
Top 3 Reasons for Idler Pulley Noise:
1 Pulley Old and Worn Out:
The main function of idler pulley is to keep the drive belt align and spin constantly with the drive belt. It cause damage to the surface of the pulley with years of working, the scuffs and other marks develop on the surface of the pulley which start making strange sound when pulley rotate at very high speed but at this initial stage these sounds are very low and unnoticeable.
2 Pulley Slippage:
When the idler pulley worn out it cause drive belt to slip on the surface of the pulley and due to the slipping, friction between belt and pulley become increase which make the condition more worse until you change the pulley, another thing happens due to pulley slipping is that the drive belt will not take the required load of the components of the internal engine because of friction between pulley and the drive belt makes the belt so hot that it loses it size which may also damage other belts and internal components of the engine.
3 Pulley Damage:
If you ignore the first two symptoms which I mentioned above and continue to drive your vehicle then the friction between the pulley and drive belt start tearing both pieces by pieces with passage of time and sound produced from the damaged pulley become so loud that it will start annoying to everyone in the car. It also causes overheating and staling and after that the final stage come when the drive belt and pulley completely break off and cease the engine functioning.
