2000 Millenia S 2.3L Owner: Tensioner Pulley questions

[DavidEK]

Greetings all.

I have a 2000 Millenia S 2.3L with 92k miles. Owned it since 87k. I love it. Its my second Millenia S.

The tensioner pulley has started getting noisier with the onset of colder weather. My mechanic (good, but not a mazda expert) said there are actually two pulleys in the serpentine system making noise - one for the power steering, one for the alternator. He said Mazda wants about $400 for one and about $300 for the other!! Heart attack. Its just a pulley.

I read online somewhere that you can just change out the bearings on these pulleys and they only costs $10-$20 each at NAPA. Should I tell the mechanic to just change the bearings? Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[MazdaFerret]

Having just pulled apart the right-side tensioner of a 2002 Millenia S, I can say it definitely does look like just a standard bearing in there.

If you're handy with a wrench and willing to risk a little time and a few dollars, the tensioners are pretty easy to yank off from a car at your local Pick-and-Pull yard, and they sell the whole shebang (case, tensioner spring, bearing and pulley) for about US $25. That would be a good way to have a spare that you can rip apart and take down to NAPA to find the replacement bearing, rebuild it yourself, and hand to the mechanic to drop in.