2004 2.4L A/C Belt Squeal, Idler Bearing Replacement

[Q451990]

I purchased my '04 Frontier in July with about 54K on the odometer. On my first test drive I noticed a slight belt chirp when the A/C compressor would cycle on and off. Driving it through the rest of the summer the belt would sometimes squeal loudly, especially pulling away from an intersection. I have also noticed some idler bearing chirp during humid or rainy weather.

So I ordered some new belts from EverythingNissan.com and set out to replace them a few weeks ago. I was a little alarmed to find that the idler on the A/C belt had a good bit of play in it, even with everything torqued down properly. So I ordered a couple of new bearings from eBay seller "mrososcomllc" - the bearings are size 6203, but you have to find the correct seal. Wayne (the eBay seller) is very knowledgable about bearings and was even kind enough to discuss them with me by phone. These bearings were only $4.90 each shipped. According to Wayne, RBtech Bearings are made in China, but are built to very high standards... we'll see how they do.

So anyhow, I pressed in the new bearings and everything is much quieter. I soaked them down in liquid wrench for about 45 minutes before I started, and greased the idler pulley with a little grease before pressing the new ones in. I don't know for sure if this will fix my belt squeal, since it's cold now - and it disappered even with the old bearings as soon as the weather cooled off.

One thing I noticed is that the A/C bearing that I pressed in is off of it's axis in the pulley. Instead of sitting 90 degrees to the bolt that holds the pulley to the truck, it's probably at about 88 degrees. I suspect that's what caused the original one to fail so early. I'm going to email Wayne and get his thoughts on that.

In any case here are some pics of the process.

A/C Bearing Pulley Assembly order:

P/S Bearing Assembly order:

Pressing the old bearing out - large socket is the receiver, smaller one is the same outside diamater as the bearing and makes a nice press to push the bearing out and in:

Pressing the new bearing in. The bearings fit in just far enough that the tapered edge protrudes out of the back of the idler:

Idler with no bearing:

New Bearings all installed:

And some videos:Chirpy bearings in truck at idle.

Poorly lit video with sloppy old A/C idler bearing

P/S idler with no play

Heath

[Desert Rat]

Good job. You saved a bunch of money vs. just buying a whole new idler pulley from Nissan, that's for sure.