Mazda5 2.5L Engine grooved idler pulley fix

[5MazdaHz]

I've only got 75k on the '12 Mazda 5 and I noticed lots of noise coming from the serpentine pulleys. Removed the belt and checked it out. Sure enough, both the smooth tensioner and idler pulley were very worn. Parts were reasonable at less than $40 each.

Then I take a look at the grooved idler pulley on the upper front side of the engine. Its seems ok and is not worn or noisy, but the bearing seals have failed and there is grease oozing down to the top of the water pump. Time for a replacement as well.

It looks like this with the bracket and all....

So the price for this thing is between $250 and $130!!!???

All I need is the bearings, thank you. The bracket and the pulley are reusable, but NOBODY sells just the pulley with bearings.

Lets see what we have here....

I took it off the car and put it in my vise. Removed the pulley from the bracket. Next, I used a hammer and an 11mm socket and a 3/8 extension to drive the inner sleeve spacer out. With a 32mm socket the bearing(s) came out of the pulley.

There are 2 bearings in there. Both are 17mm x 47mm x 14mm.

After googling, I found that they are common and are about $15 for a pair.

This is how I saved $115!

Just press the new bearings and sleeve in, or hack it like me with a hammer and a vise.
Either way, Win!

 

[teetee1]

It's article like this that keeps the dealership or auto parts store from going out of control.
I don't have a press and may try to find the replacement part from the junkyard. My car has 70k. Do you think it's common for the bearing seal to fail so quickly?

 

[5MazdaHz]

My car has 70k. Do you think it's common for the bearing seal to fail so quickly?

I don't think 75k miles is too soon for these bearing seals to fail. The leaking seals is just the signal it's time to take care of things. I guess I could have driven for 20 or 30k before the bearing finally failed.

In a different car, I was once stranded on the highway during a road trip because of a failed serpentine idler bearing at 110k miles. Not looking to repeat that.

Plus, it costs less than an oil change.

 

[whizbo]

I just did this on my Mazda5 2.5l. I first tried to press out the inner spacer/sleeve with a bench vise, socket, and wood block with a clearance hole. I was leaning on it pretty good, and it wouldn't budge. I got a little worried that maybe the spacer/sleeve had a flange/spacer between the bearings, that wasn't letting me press it out. Brought it to work and used the arbor press here to push both bearings out with the sleeve still in them. The bearings are in fact back to back, and there is no flange/spacer between the bearings. It just takes some pretty good pressure to get these apart. New bearings pressed right in just fine. Thanks for saving me from needing to buy the whole assembly, with a plastic pulley.