Originally posted by Guilty2:
I have recently discovered a rather noticable "rattle" sound emmitting from the passenger side of my 98 E0 SVT. It seems that the sound is coming from the upper most part of the engine block (toward the rear of car) which is, right where the idler pulley resides.
I want to know how to correctly diagnose this problem....
If it is the idler pulley or tensioner how can I tell?
I'm getting ready to change the serpentine belt, water pump, plugs & wires, MTX fluid etc..... big winter projects. While i have the serpentine off I would like to fix this noise.... before it becomes, well.... more then a noise!!
THX
Jason
Get both the idler pulley (I paid $18 at the dealership) and the tensioner ($???) before you change the serpentine belt. The correct way to diagnose them is to simply turn them by hand with the belt removed to see whether they turn smoothly and don't have excessive play. I'd replace the idler just because it's cheap and do the tensioner if the pulley feels anything less than perfectly smooth when rotating it.
Scott
