[minitripin]

I have a 2000 Saab 93....So, I fill the tank with gas (no cheap feat) and go to start it up and the triangle with an exclamation mark sign light comes on along with the battery light. I get it home and look under the hood to see that the serp belt is all jagged up. Upon further inspection I notice the idler pulley is completely missing. It looks like it was literally ripped off the engine. Has anyone had this issue before? If so how did you fix it?

Thanks....

 

[icanhazsaab]

I think this hardly needs saying but since you asked:

1) visit your favorite parts website

2) Decide whether or not you need just the idler pulley or the idler pulley kit. (idler pulley kit will include necessary bolt and washer)

3) Order said part. :roll:

4) Wait for shipping

5) Install new idler pulley and new serpentine belt.

6) ???

7) profit!


Just an FYI, if I remember correctly you can get away with driving without a serpentine belt except you NEED to keep an eye on your engine temperature and there will be no A/C. So for the most part it is unrecommended, but not impossible or dangerous.

 

[fiveiron9688]

Just an FYI, if I remember correctly you can get away with driving without a serpentine belt except you NEED to keep an eye on your engine temperature and there will be no A/C. So for the most part it is unrecommended, but not impossible or dangerous.

And your alternator won't charge your battery, and your power steering won't work...

minitripin, you should just need to get a new pulley/bolt but if the pulley was ripped off the engine the damage could be more extensive.

 

[icanhazsaab]

And your alternator won't charge your battery, and your power steering won't work...

minitripin, you should just need to get a new pulley/bolt but if the pulley was ripped off the engine the damage could be more extensive.

Thats a good point. Also thanks for the correction.

I once hit a ditch in my Audi 900 breaking the oil filter right off my engine block. .... Turned out the threads which held the filter in came right along with it.

At first i thought i needed a new engine but after speaking with a machine shop (not even a mechanic) they used a tool to cut new threads into the engine block. Long story short, I got lucky and the hole in my engine block got fixed. That car stills runs to this day, which is amazing considering there was literally a hole in the engine block that oil seeped out of quite quickly.

If your threads for the idler pulley are gone, I recommend you speak to a machine shop.

 

[jakejm79]

I think this hardly needs saying but since you asked:

1) visit your favorite parts website

2) Decide whether or not you need just the idler pulley or the idler pulley kit. (idler pulley kit will include necessary bolt and washer)

3) Order said part. :roll:

4) Wait for shipping

5) Install new idler pulley and new serpentine belt.

6) ???

7) profit!


Just an FYI, if I remember correctly you can get away with driving without a serpentine belt except you NEED to keep an eye on your engine temperature and there will be no A/C. So for the most part it is unrecommended, but not impossible or dangerous.

You could always have just one belt to the water pump, keep a battery charger in the car and plug it in wherever you go. Not to mention you would end up in great shape, sweat the pounds off with no AC and building up those arm muscles.

 

[minitripin]

Hmmmm....

Fiveiron, that's exactly what happened. The pulley was completely ripped off the engine. Is there any way to run two seperate belts to run the alternator, power steering, etc...?

 

[earthworm]

Fiveiron, that's exactly what happened. The pulley was completely ripped off the engine. Is there any way to run two seperate belts to run the alternator, power steering, etc...?

Impossible(there is barely space for the one serpentine belt)
Which pulley(there are two idler pulleys)??
You really need but one.

 

[mike saunders]

The central idler pulley was eliminated in 2000 on the B205, IIRC....

He's probably talking about the tensioner pulley, which tends to die noisily.

It's about a 25-30 minute fix. Just make sure to have a longish (2 foot) breaker bar with a 1/2 inch socket attachment. You'll use that to slip into the square hole in the tensioner assembly that's used to eliminate the slack..

 

[fiveiron9688]

It would be pretty tough to figure out a belt size to only run those particular pulleys.

So it must be your tensioner pulley then, if you don't have the center idler. Is the pulley located at the top of your engine, closest to the firewall/cabin area? If so, then you may need a new tensioner assembly as well, seeing as it sounds like your pulley ripped out violently. If you have some pictures of the damage that would help.

If by some chance you did have a central idler on your car that failed (which I don't believe you do), this repair would be easily remedied with a short belt mod which is commonly done.

 

[TORNADO]

I had this happen on my Saab new pulley was £60, used pipe bar to slaken serp belt tension, removed destroyed old pulley and molten plastic from belt. Fitted new pulley, rotated with hand all other parts driven by belt to check for bearing roughness, that includes alt. and w/pump. Put on the old belt, released tension and it has been ok for over a year.

Once the bearing seizes the belt will pass over the plastic,get hot and slowly melt away. I had smoke coming from under the bonnet!

Half a day, job done.

 

[HAVOC]

I had this happen on my Saab new pulley was £60, used pipe bar to slaken serp belt tension, removed destroyed old pulley and molten plastic from belt. Fitted new pulley, rotated with hand all other parts driven by belt to check for bearing roughness, that includes alt. and w/pump. Put on the old belt, released tension and it has been ok for over a year.

Once the bearing seizes the belt will pass over the plastic,get hot and slowly melt away. I had smoke coming from under the bonnet!

Half a day, job done.

I did a short belt conversion on my NG900 Turbo, solved all the problems. There is a link on here somewhere, sorry but i dont have it to hand. Willl try and get the number from the belt tomorrow for you.

 

[hollixter16]

if the pully is missing and the mount then you need a alternator bracket mount... it holds the top of the alternator in but it also has the mount for the top left idler pulley as well. the part is cheap and easy to find...labor kinda sucks though.. i think i might have a how to for it.

 

[hollixter16]

see if this puts you in the right place

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1719294

,brad

 

[minitripin]

thanks, that actually looks pretty close to what i have going on i think. i will try to get some pix so you can see.

 

[stiletto]

Once the bearing seizes the belt will pass over the plastic,get hot and slowly melt away. I had smoke coming from under the bonnet!.

Indeed, yesterday I heard a clunk from under the bonnet while idling at lights and the next thing the car was pouring out white smoke and it was even in the car and choking me. I just managed to get to the side of the road before the belt broke up and the power steering failed.

Bits of idler pulley all over the ground. Car is now at garage as its -2 and I cannot work in the street in that kind of temp.

Moral. When wife says she thinks she hears a buzzing from engine the day before, don't dismiss it as I did. It's now obvious it was the bearing breaking up!

 

[SamuelDavidsSon]

Ruined Idler Pulley and Serpentine Belt

I have a 2000 Saab 93....So, I fill the tank with gas (no cheap feat) and go to start it up and the triangle with an exclamation mark sign light comes on along with the battery light. I get it home and look under the hood to see that the serp belt is all jagged up. Upon further inspection I notice the idler pulley is completely missing. It looks like it was literally ripped off the engine. Has anyone had this issue before? If so how did you fix it?

Thanks....

That's what I've got ... Warning triangle. Squeaking and stink from the right-front. Sudden failure of the idle with stall-out. Shredded Serpentine Belt. Busted Idle Pulley. I'm looking at it right now.

 

[zdfgsgfhsdfg]

The tensioner pulley in my 2000 9-3 broke a few days after I bought it from a terrible owner. I bought a cheap duralast from autozone I think... Its worked for about 1.5 years luckily.

 

[Jeremy R.]

The tensioner pulley in my 2000 9-3 broke a few days after I bought it from a terrible owner. I bought a cheap duralast from autozone I think... Its worked for about 1.5 years luckily.

Some Duralast parts are actually OEM. The upper idler pulley that Autozone sells is a Dayco, which is the OEM for the idler, although not for the upper idler pulley, and the oil pressure sender they sell is an OEM part. Sometimes you get lucky at chain stores.

 

[zdfgsgfhsdfg]

Some Duralast parts are actually OEM. The upper idler pulley that Autozone sells is a Dayco, which is the OEM for the idler, although not for the upper idler pulley, and the oil pressure sender they sell is an OEM part. Sometimes you get lucky at chain stores.

Yeah, I try to only buy anything from the chain stores if its a time-sensitive issue. Generally I end up paying a premium if I don't want to wait for shipping.

 

[gopeter2000]

Thats a good point. Also thanks for the correction.

I once hit a ditch in my Audi 900 breaking the oil filter right off my engine block. .... Turned out the threads which held the filter in came right along with it.

At first i thought i needed a new engine but after speaking with a machine shop (not even a mechanic) they used a tool to cut new threads into the engine block. Long story short, I got lucky and the hole in my engine block got fixed. That car stills runs to this day, which is amazing considering there was literally a hole in the engine block that oil seeped out of quite quickly.

If your threads for the idler pulley are gone, I recommend you speak to a machine shop.

If the threads in the idler pulley are indeed stripped he could do it himself with a drill and the correctly sized thread bit, just do try not to use one too big. Of course finding one the right size for an oil filter would be rare and expensive haha