idler pulleys ...

Changed accessory belt over the weekend.

One of the idler pulleys is on its way out. Bearing sounds a little like a roller skate.
if one is going, the others must be following.

I plan to change the two idler pulleys and the tensioner pulley. 2000, 2.7 Boxster. 87K miles.

Questions:

Are all three pulleys the same? I see different part numbers, but that might be the spacers or somethng?

I see mulitple choices. Uro -- uh, NO.

Dayco? Mabea? Continental? Porsche?

Prices are all over the place.
It seems like a simple bearing in a steel pulley? Am I missing something?
Are the others basically all the same?
What experiences are out there in the parts available?

Looks like a simple job?

Is it worth changing the tensioner block too? I am going with no on that, but thoughts...?

Thanks in advance.

I replaced all 3 of mine when I put a used engine block in my car. They are all distinct part numbers. Easy to replace. I recall that the tensioner roller is a bit different but also simple. The other two are just remove bolt + replace bolt. (I hope I'm not forgetting something!)

I don't think they offer the metal idlers anymore.
It seems that they are plastic now.
I've used the Uro. Just like the others.

Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 304,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

I have seen plastic versions. Specifically the URO brand on Rockauto.

But if your experience is that URO is good enough, I am not going to sweat the brand too much.
I will look at price and availability and make a call.

Amazon, Rockauto and local store.

No single supplier had all three other than at triple the price. All had "limited supply" stated on the site. I wondered if that was correct or not, but there were certainly a lot that were out of stock.

All are stated to be steel not plastic, but we will see. I did not go with OEM because the prices were sky high. Also did not go for URO, despite other's comments that they were OK. We will see what we see.

We will also see what actually arrives with a holiday in the offing. It would be good to get it done while I have time. The existing are just a little noisy now that I am listening with the plate off.
Driving fine with the plate on, but only local until the job is done.