Bad Smooth Idler Pulley - Death Sentence for Supercharger?
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 6:46 pm
I just had a pulley fail for the Supercharger belt on my 98 SSEi, and I believe this one is called the Smooth Idler Pulley. In the following image, it's #9
Has anyone actually replaced this before? I came across this lengthy and detailed tutorial describing how to replace it on a '96: http://www.jeffhockema.com/bonneville
However, if that's the only way to do it, I feel like it's not worth the effort. I once replaced the water pump (which is actually a step in these instructions, far from the end) and it took several days of work. Obviously I'm not a gifted mechanic and that time I didn't have any instructions, but I'm sure this would still take me ages.
The car has nearly 250,000 miles on it. There are no major mechanical problems but still... Do you think it's worth it just to have the supercharger back? Does anyone know of an easier way to replace the pulley?
Has anyone actually replaced this before? I came across this lengthy and detailed tutorial describing how to replace it on a '96: http://www.jeffhockema.com/bonneville
However, if that's the only way to do it, I feel like it's not worth the effort. I once replaced the water pump (which is actually a step in these instructions, far from the end) and it took several days of work. Obviously I'm not a gifted mechanic and that time I didn't have any instructions, but I'm sure this would still take me ages.
The car has nearly 250,000 miles on it. There are no major mechanical problems but still... Do you think it's worth it just to have the supercharger back? Does anyone know of an easier way to replace the pulley?