Thanks for stopping by.

Well I bought a '99 GS with 175,000 miles on it, bone stock. I will soon be replacing the blown head gasket and while the engine is apart, I will be doing nearly all the preventative maintenance I can. My parts list will come to about $500 without tax.

When I do the timing belt, I will replace the tensioner pulley and idler pulley.

Question: When I replace the alternator belt and the A/C, P/S belt, should I replace their respective pulleys as well?

My purpose is to keep the car running as long as possible.

I want the car reliable, but at the same time I am not one to throw money down a hole. Thanks for your insight.

The pulleys on the AC and PS have their bearings in the pump/compressor. Replacing the pulley would do nothing at all. To replace the bearings you have to buy a new unit. That being said I would spin each one by hand and make sure they are still tight and noise free. I would take a good look at the harmonic balancer pulley, the rubber between the hub and pulleys can wear out and cause issues.

Originally posted by SilvrEclips
The pulleys on the AC and PS have their bearings in the pump/compressor. Replacing the pulley would do nothing at all. To replace the bearings you have to buy a new unit. That being said I would spin each one by hand and make sure they are still tight and noise free. I would take a good look at the harmonic balancer pulley, the rubber between the hub and pulleys can wear out and cause issues.

Are you talking about the crankshaft pulley? They are only a hub style on the 4g63 I believe. If your worried about sheave wear they make industrial tools to measure this, I always just inspect them closley and make shure there isn't a valley or wear in the middle of where the belt rides. I also look to see if it is a smooth surface, are you breaking any belts or have any new belts making a lot of noise when you first put them on?

Originally posted by Shake_Zulla

Originally posted by SilvrEclips The pulleys on the AC and PS have their bearings in the pump/compressor. Replacing the pulley would do nothing at all. To replace the bearings you have to buy a new unit. That being said I would spin each one by hand and make sure they are still tight and noise free. I would take a good look at the harmonic balancer pulley, the rubber between the hub and pulleys can wear out and cause issues.

Are you talking about the crankshaft pulley? They are only a hub style on the 4g63 I believe. If your worried about sheave wear they make industrial tools to measure this, I always just inspect them closley and make shure there isn't a valley or wear in the middle of where the belt rides. I also look to see if it is a smooth surface, are you breaking any belts or have any new belts making a lot of noise when you first put them on?

No, I have no problems at all with the belts. I just wanted to go ahead and replace anything that may break in the near future. The alternator and A/C P/S belts haven't been replaced in 80k I believe.

Originally posted by RallyEclipse98

Originally posted by Shake_Zulla

Originally posted by SilvrEclips The pulleys on the AC and PS have their bearings in the pump/compressor. Replacing the pulley would do nothing at all. To replace the bearings you have to buy a new unit. That being said I would spin each one by hand and make sure they are still tight and noise free. I would take a good look at the harmonic balancer pulley, the rubber between the hub and pulleys can wear out and cause issues.

Are you talking about the crankshaft pulley? They are only a hub style on the 4g63 I believe. If your worried about sheave wear they make industrial tools to measure this, I always just inspect them closley and make shure there isn't a valley or wear in the middle of where the belt rides. I also look to see if it is a smooth surface, are you breaking any belts or have any new belts making a lot of noise when you first put them on?

No, I have no problems at all with the belts. I just wanted to go ahead and replace anything that may break in the near future. The alternator and A/C P/S belts haven't been replaced in 80k I believe.

Sure go ahead and replace belts. Replacement of PS, AC and alternator pulley is unnecessary (as stated). The only thing to consider (that becomes a problem) is the adjuster on the AC/PS belt. They tend to start making noise and throwing belts. If you are having no issues wth it, then you probably will want to just leave it alone. If you want to address it, you would have to source it out from a dealer, or you can remove it and run a slightly smaller belt (http://www.2gnt.com/index.php?d=Deleting_Power_Steering_Tensioner)

Originally posted by bullettdsm

Originally posted by RallyEclipse98

Originally posted by Shake_Zulla

Originally posted by SilvrEclips The pulleys on the AC and PS have their bearings in the pump/compressor. Replacing the pulley would do nothing at all. To replace the bearings you have to buy a new unit. That being said I would spin each one by hand and make sure they are still tight and noise free. I would take a good look at the harmonic balancer pulley, the rubber between the hub and pulleys can wear out and cause issues.

Are you talking about the crankshaft pulley? They are only a hub style on the 4g63 I believe. If your worried about sheave wear they make industrial tools to measure this, I always just inspect them closley and make shure there isn't a valley or wear in the middle of where the belt rides. I also look to see if it is a smooth surface, are you breaking any belts or have any new belts making a lot of noise when you first put them on?

No, I have no problems at all with the belts. I just wanted to go ahead and replace anything that may break in the near future. The alternator and A/C P/S belts haven't been replaced in 80k I believe.

Sure go ahead and replace belts. Replacement of PS, AC and alternator pulley is unnecessary (as stated). The only thing to consider (that becomes a problem) is the adjuster on the AC/PS belt. They tend to start making noise and throwing belts. If you are having no issues wth it, then you probably will want to just leave it alone. If you want to address it, you would have to source it out from a dealer, or you can remove it and run a slightly smaller belt (http://www.2gnt.com/index.php?d=Deleting_Power_Steering_Tensioner)

Thank you. I will just replace the factory belt for now and I'll do the tensioner delete if I have any problems in the future. Thanks for the link to the great write-up.