Aux Belt Idelers - Re-Bearing

I have the engine pulled from my '99 996 C2 at present, giving her a well-earned birthday (see my other thread). I always thought the aux belt idlers looked and sounded like they'd seen better days. The outer surface (over which the belt runs) is corroded on both idlers, and after removing said belt - I can feel wear in the bearings - again on both. They looked like original fitments and ideally need replacement. They are a little loose and sound like the wheels on a toy car. Like they say "a fool and their money are soon parted" - so decided to see if there's a smarter way to do this job. The list price for the idlers is £70-80 each....and that makes it expensive for some parts that could be refurbished. The pulley is a pressed steel item and nothing really *special*. After removing the pulley from the bolt, spacer/stand-off and cover washer, it leaves effectively two parts: * The pulley * The bearing Using my 60-quid hydraulic press, the bearing of one pulley was carefully pressed out....without distorting the pulley itself. The bearing is a "FAG" brand although the numbers mean zippo, I have managed to find the equivalent bearing - It's a dual deep race angular contact bearing with rubber seals. There are plenty of bearing suppliers out there and I'm going to be on the phone to a couple on Monday morning, to see what options there are. I see no real point me putting a bearing in there that'll be perfect beyond my lifetime, so I want to perhaps strike a balance of life & reliability versus cost. If the FAG bearings are original - which I believe they are, then they have lasted 16 years and 86k miles. I'm happy to get something that'll last say 50k, as the time to replace the bearing is a matter of less than an hour including removal of the belt. Watch this space.......

Great stuff! :thumbs: Looking forward to the follow ups.

Googling the part number comes up with a few bearing sites. Designation: 575168 E ➀ Type: Angular contact ball bearings. Multi row, incl. matched sets of single row. Complete.

Every lead i followed came to dead ends. In any case i have got the specs using my micrometer and just need to drill down into expert advice on longevity with the cheaper bearings.

I'd try contacting Simply Bearings Ltd ~ Oil Seals SKF FAG TIMKEN KOYO ... www.simplybearings.co.uk/ They come up near top of the list when just searching the number, so it must be a bearing they deal with.

As it happens they are top of my contact list tomorrow lol Leave it to me

opcorn: :thumb:

Got a bearing off eBay for now.....£10 3202-2RS Pressed into revitalised pulley...... Have also given other two pulleys a clean, prep and paint. The belt contact surface on all of them was "rusted" so have just cleaned it down with wet/dry media and then wd40'd it for now. All refitted now and feel great - nice and quiet unlike the one original bearing that was loose and dry / noisy.

Good work, I love threads like these where people find ways to make Porsche ownership cheaper and avoid the dreaded Porsche tax!!! PS did you think about painting the surface you've wet and dried to slow down the rust coming back? Mac

Just curious but, does is it not make more sense to fit the more expensive bearing that will probably outlast the car?, i.e.last 'forever' or are they vastly more expensive for a slight gain in quality? :?

What sort of noise were you getting before changing the bearings? I'm getting a loud squeaking from my belt area. The belt and water pump were replaced a few years ago and the alternator is only around 6 months old so i'm suspecting an idler bearing. Did you ever track down a supplier of the original part number bearings?

I am going to see how it goes......I just assumed the original wasn't painted. I'll coat with PTFE or similar for now. Good point though!

Not a squeake - just a dry bearing race kinda sound.....like an old rollerskate. If your tensioner / idlers are dried out severely, it could squeake I guess. The original bearing is a FAG make and the number is a "protected" spec, specially made apparently......just to ensure people don't do what I've just done!

I can replace it three times before I get close to the cost of a supposed "lifetime" bearing.......and who's to say what "lifetime" equates to in terms of revolutions?

Hi systemiser, we're all tension era 3202 bearings, mine sound a bit iffy, so want to replace them, Cheers Dave