ok are they the same thing??? cause actually its called the drive belt idler pully and the belt tesionioner is for the drivebelt. its just the idler pully is smooth like the belt tensioner but i looked at the belt tensioner on partsamerica site and it has a ribbed pully on it??? is that something new cause if im not mistaking does the belt tensioner rest on the back side of the belt doesnt it??? or do they make a special belt that has a ribbed back on it???

 

well that is two completely different parts idler pulley is fixed and ribbed

tensioner is on the tensioner arm which is the non ribbed

 

which one is more likely to cause a chirping noise??? and anyone know what aprt of the repair book the idler pully is in?? cant find it. thx

 

first off what motor might we be talkin about here

 

2000 dakota 3.9 v6

 

They both have bearings in them, so either one would be prone to making noise. Take off the serp belt and spin both by hand, any rough feel and it's a pretty good bet that the bearing is bad.

 

my idler pulley is shot too. my idler pulley is the smooth one and the tensioner pulley has the grooves in it. I'm just gonna replace the bearing in mine. jut take off your belt and check all the pulleys for play. it pretty straight forward to replace it.

 

get a hose 3 foot and hold one to ur ear one by the tensoiner pully


then the idler


from what ive found they cost about 30 dollars and go by the same name.... and same part number you would have to tell them that you need either groved or not... AZ part # 231018 here is a pic looks like both are smooth

 

what engine is in that pic?

 

generic looks like a 4.0 straight 6 to mebetter picture of a tensioner here is the other pic i meant to send

http://www.dacooley.com/RamStuff/199...%20routing.pdfpage 7