Please tell me that this is a standard common part at the local auto parts store!?!?!?!?

I'm stranded, but luckily at a buddy's house for the night. Is there any chance I will find one in the Plymouth /Canton, Michigan area on Sunday??

Thanks!

Phil

Should be a very common part. I always change the serp belt(s) and all idlers/tensioners between 80 and 100,000 miles. They usually start "rattling" about this time anyway. I am sure you got more than that out of the $40 part.

Since EVERYTHING else that touches that idler is of the same age - replace it all. I would do waterpump, all hoses, freshen the radiator, thermostats and fan clutch. Failure of any of this, you are stranded AGAIN like you are now.

Get it patched up for now and plan a full cooling system / serpentine freshening if you plan to keep the truck. All of those components have given a good service life. All of these parts combined are cheaper than a tow bill from the middle of nowhere.

Thanks, I agree, but I'm only at 60,000 stinking miles....

I did just have a thought though. I am pretty sure I recently upgraded my towing insurance to 200 miles! If that's the case, I get a ride home if I can't find the part in the morning.

Yeah, those things take a beating, but should be able to find one down there.

Autozone shows they have one in Westland, $63.99. 1636 N WAYNE RD WESTLAND, MI 48185 (734) 721-4199. Duralast which is their house brand but it has a national warranty if it goes bad. Good luck

Holy smokes thats what i call service, thanks Jon! I'll be on the phone with them in the morning!

Holy smokes thats what i call service, thanks Jon! I'll be on the phone with them in the morning!

np, its what I do for a living, find parts :cool: (but usually not at the zone :D )

Not sure it's a common Auto Parts Store item. Some say it is Dealer only. GM #98072072.

I went to 3 different places and no one had what I needed. Most bought out a plastic idler.
The idlers on my 2002 have a spacer pressed into it, the spacer gets bolted tight to engine block. Non of what the Parts Places bought out had this spacer installed.
The shiny metal spacer in pic below sticks out past the pulley.
http://www.merchant-automotive.com/idlerpulley.aspx

I bought new ones at my Dealer for $20 each. I replaced the bearing in both old idlers and carry these in truck as spares. Also replaced bearing in belt tensioner, (that one was easy).
Posted info in link below, post #22.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=301735&highlight=idler+bearing+tensioner&page=3

Found a GM idler on eBay, (Buy It Now), that should fit your truck.
Located in Byron, MI, which is about 60 miles NW of you.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OEM-Belt-Idler-Pulley-GM-Duramax-Diesel-Turbo-last-1-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem335ef32a55QQitemZ22063 6326485QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries

Roadtrip?

I was not able to find mine at a local store :(

B & F Automotive Supply
1100 Starkweather Avenue
Plymouth, MI 48170
Tel: (734) 453-7200

They open at 10:00

Good luck!

Thanks to all for the help. Later, I realized that I recently added 100 mile towing. I had it towed to a buddy's race shop in Lansing, then bummed a ride home.

I'm heading out now to see Eric Merchant to grab 2 (hopefully), then head back to Lansing to put it back together.

Not surprising, the two idlers have two different bolts on them! One is a 14mm head, the other is 15mm head. Both same threads, and within a couple mm of overall length.....the General does some strange things....it is a dual alternator, maybe ...nah...

Thanks again for the help guys!

FWIW my idler bearing locked up last night and snapped the belt. Not an autoparts store around had the proper smooth idler pulley, only the grooved one for the tensioner. :mad:

Dealer time and I'm definitely changing out the tensioner pulley while i'm in there.

Well, I'm back on the road. Eric only had one until later today. I'll be back to get the other TWO this week. This is a dual alternator setup, so there are three idlers, plus the tensioner.

Brutal! My local dealer had one for $19.xx so the g/f ran down there to grab it.

After all is said and done, it really wasn't that bad. I had to crash Saturday night at my buddy's house, then my insurance company paid to have me towed close to 100 miles. This left me about 60 miles from home.

Got a new part from Merchant today for $20, and had it on in minutes.

The real beyotch of this is the entire front end had been replaced after an idiot in a Suburban inflicted $14K worth of damage a few years ago. The replacement rad shroud doesn't have the belt routing sticker (assuming the original did...).

Took me a bit to figure out the correct belt routing.

The upside, I saved 100 miles worth of fuel by hitching a wrecker ride! (how's that for looking at the glass as half full!)

Oh, and the "odd bolt" was for the pulley that is added for the 2nd alternator.

My Idler pully (1 of 2) went out at 50K. Just replaced the tensioner pully as a precaution - found one at Advance Auto Parts for $20 - metal and made in Canada. Now at 58K, both idlers and the tensioner replaced. Guess its normal maintinance.