Metal pulleys vs stock plastic

[Baileysbees]

Made a 500 mile round trip Friday. On the way back with no warning the bearing on the idler arm pulley locked up! By the time I got over to check the damage the entire pulley was gone! Has anyone upgraded to metal pulleys or was this a design for a reason? Thanks for any info.

[351fifty]

ive had metal ones shatter too, the bearing is gonna give out eventually regardless and thats gonna happen either way

[Baileysbees]

So I would assume it would be best if changing one to change them all?!

[351fifty]

not necessarily, some last some dont, ive blown one at 300k, and one at 50k, always an idler/tensioner pulley tho, once the vacuum pump locked up tho, ate 3 belts

[Patrick Feeley]

I always carry a spare grooved and a spare smooth just in case. Cheers!

[Baileysbees]

I learned my lesson!!! Are all the grooved and smooth the same size?

[backwoodsboy]

Originally Posted by Baileysbees

So I would assume it would be best if changing one to change them all?!

Don't have to change them all out. Given you've already got the belt off, give each pulley a spin and replace any that make noise, don't spin free or have play. You can generally hear/feel a bearing failure coming before it leaves you at the side of the road.

[Chad29860]

In all honesty its my opinion that they probably run some plastic ones to help cut down on weight which means less wear on the bearings.

[backwoodsboy]

Really don't see weight coming into play as far as bearing life when you are adding an external force (belt tension) to the mix...

[351fifty]

i think the only difference a metal or steel pulley would have is if the bearing goes it would eat the belt off if the bearing didnt let it fly off the knob first, good luck tho, i'd rather let the plastic pulley shatter and hit the bottom of my hood and shatter more, than a steel one fly off and dent my hood up