Idler wheel

NB 1.9L TDI AGR almost same as ALH

My Ider wheel started squeaking very high pitch about 500 miles ago, its hard to hear if its gotten worse, old man ears, but I need to formulate a game plan.
I looks like I might be able to loosen the tensioning roller to lessen the pressure on the idler wheel enough to replace the idler. Has anybody tried this ?
http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=131133&title=top-idler-wheel&cat=533

Theoretically speaking, if your belt is tensioned correctly you should not be able to slide the idler pulley on and off. But because it is making noise today and tomorrow or next week it may kill the timing belt, there are a few options available: pin the crank and very slightly turn the pump pulley clockwise and that should give you enough play to replace the idler pulley. This process is not something a novice should do.

I am a novice and I have the tools to pin the crank and create the slack, but I don't have the third set of hands. I will think on that one.



Thank you.

jimjay, since you have the tools to pin the crank and are clear on the process, here's an idea:TDC pin the crank, and loosen/remove the idler pulley bolt. At this point you can use one hand to hold the pump pulley while you start the bolt in on the new idler pulley. You don't need a fancy spanner to rotate the pump pulley as you are only rotating the pump pulley a few degrees. A simple piece of bar stock and two bolts will do the job quite easily.

Sounds like a good plan of attack, I will give it a go and update when completed. I am ordering parts and when my daughter brings the car back in a few days I will follow your suggestion.


Thank you

Well heck, while your daughter is there keep her with you for moral/physical support.

Sound good, I will lasso her when she returns and get her help. She is actually stronger than me now, so I will ask her to lightly hold the position.

I apologize for the very late post to wrap this up. What i ended up doing was to monitor the noisy idler hoping i could procrastinate the job until i changed out the timing belt, i was successful. In hind sight i think there is too much pressure on the idler while the belt tensioner
is tight, you would have to loosen the tensioner then change out the idler.