A little help from my friends please...94 Q45 idler pully sound

[AlabamaDan]

So this morning I crank my Q up, let it warm up and it's smooth and quiet - perfect. I let it idle for about 7-10 mins then pull it back into the garage. I was just moving it to sweep the garage. This afternoon when I crank it is a different story. It sounds awful. The sound was all coming from the bottom of the motor. I think it's the idler pully for the AC. It's got alot of play in it. The other two seem to have no play. I replaced the alternator idler pulley a couple of years ago. So, here's where I need yall's help. I have to drive 250 miles tomorrow one way. Then 250 home Sunday. Worst that can happen is that it freezes and breaks the ac belt right? I can live without AC in this weather. It's alfully funny that it just started all of a sudden. What do you guys think about my trip?

[Mint Q45A]

Why don't you simply remove the belt? Although you can try to lubricate the bearing with oil - it worked for me on a Nissan van

[AlabamaDan]

I think I'd have to remove a bunch of other belts to get it off.

[Q451990]

I would definitely remove the belt... you don't want to chance shredding it and having it take out another belt. If you don't want to take it off the normal way, maybe you could cut it if you're sure that's the problem pulley and then just replace it when you replace the pulley.

Heath

[Skibane]

Yep, just cut the belt and pull it out. You'd probably want to replace it when you put in the new idler pulley anyway.

There is NO WAY I'd put 500 miles on a vehicle with an idler that was noisy and loose. If it lets go, it could cause one heck of a lot of damage.

Just consider yourself lucky that it's a belt you can live without for a while.

[AlabamaDan]

I won't drive it. When my alternator froze up and broke the belt it didn't cause any problems. But I guess I was lucky. Now that I think about it the broken belt could get tangled with the others.

[Kiven422]

Its been a while since I worked on this part of the car but MAKE SURE that its not the same belt that runs the power steering or coolant or fan. If it is your car will overheat and steering would be a major problem.

[sultan]

one of the idler pulleys on my Q totally froze up, belt was getting toasted just cruising by the frozen pulley for too long (idler was making noise for a couple months, not sure how long it was frozen) and the belt broke the day after i bought a new idler and belt. i had just pulled into my neighborhood, but steering the Q with no ps is not fun at all.

[elwesso]

Just cut the belt and go, youll be fine. If it still squeals then you know you have a problem elsewhere and you probably arent driving tomorrow.

[Woot!]

Sounds like you guys got it! After you cut the belt just make sure to take it on a test drive to make sure that the sound is gone. Good luck