what is going on with timing tensioner roller quality ?

[joe_pinehill]

I used the $120 Beck Arnley Kit from Rock Auto a couple years ago, and its doing fine.

[erikv11]

Out of curiosity I wonder what the make was on the parts, you could look at the pulleys.

Beck Arnley is a crap shoot, they buy parts from various vendors and put them in B/A boxes. So you never know what you will get: sometimes good quality, sometimes junk. For example you won't likely get the same make if you purchase the same part at different times.

[joe_pinehill]

Out of curiosity I wonder what the make was on the parts, you could look at the pulleys.

Beck Arnley is a crap shoot, they buy parts from various vendors and put them in B/A boxes. So you never know what you will get: sometimes good quality, sometimes junk. For example you won't likely get the same make if you purchase the same part at different times.

the tension was an aisin, the rollers i think were the czech brand.

[cn90]

My theory is that: at the factory, they filled the bearing with grease to the brim. As the rollers spin, heat builds up and the grease expands a bit in volume ---> grease leaking out of the seal a bit during the first 10K miles or so.
After that, it settles down and is fine for the next 150K miles...

[Ben850]

My response.

Twice. Sometime I hear the belt before the turbo. Which is comforting.

The whine of a directly driven belt, such as a "Blower" in the day, supercharger.
I date myself.
Also I made sure SKF was the actual, and new bearing.
Aisin was new, and not rebuilt tensioner.
Gates blue belt as pictured. From the n/a '93 which the photos had originally been taken.
It was totally overkill for an N/A, but it was already upgraded to the larger belt and pulley size.
Buy a new hydraulic tensioner if the mileage is questionable.
Just do it.
Aisin.
Also, please do yourself a favor. Buy the white engine saver clip that sits between the pulley and the tensioner, should it fail. for $2.50. It usually comes with the Aisin hydraulic tensioner, I get one as a standby.

The second time. I had learned.

:EDIT
Apologies.
I had missed the frugal issue earlier in the thread. It is not a budget issue. it is a quality issue for sure.
Granted, you may not plan on keeping this vehicle very long, or do not care much for the person you may will its short term to.

[johnnyfd]

it's fairly testable . The grease must have come out early since I didn't check it in the first ten thousand miles and now it's there . If your hypothesis is correct I will see little if any additional grease come out later ( or maybe one more burp) . If the bearing then goes into an extended period of not releasing any grease it seems logical to think that the only reason part of the grease came out and then it stopped coming out was that what came out was the only part that could not fit once it was expanded . If all this is true then hopefully we can assume that the seal is not faulty and it only allowed a bypass of grease when there was too much to fit in the space because of expansion which will not be repeated due to decreased amount of grease now that it has released some . It would make future condition of the bearing so much easier to predict if this is actually what's going on . I would like to pop the seals myself to be certain of the condition and level of grease in the bearing , but unlike precopster and all his experience with bearing seals , I think that I might damage the integrity of the seal by removing it and then putting it back in . Anyways thanks to you guys I now feel so much more able to assess the condition of the bearings and predict how long they will last without ruining my engine and likely forcing me to scrap a great and useful car .

[Ben850]

Releasing of grease equals fail.
It was not a good, or factory designed part.

[johnnyfd]

last page and a half or so about the expelled grease ? Your statement is a direct contradiction to almost all of them and if I believed it this would negate all the reassuring knowledge I have gained from them

[johnnyfd]

much higher durability . Though I doubt I could get comfortable with the increased volume of the humming/whining that the regular belts already put out . Even the normal level bothers me sometimes .

[cn90]

The TB pulley: do not open the seal to check.
Again, the little grease that came out: it is fine, nothing to worry about. Wipe it clean and check the area 5K from now.

On the issue of re-greasing pulleys: My BMW serpentine pulleys leak a bit of grease. I resealed it some 30K ago...Here is the link for fun readings...Nothing to worry about, maybe my "OCD" made me do this (resealing the BMW serp belt pulleys)...

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showth ... p?t=555526

PS: The bearings inside your Volvo TB pulleys are more robust than the bearings inside the BMW Serp belt system. So read the link only for fun.
For your Volvo, just relax, wipe it clean, re-check in 5K.
All it takes is removing the 13-mm bolt on the TB cover and check.

Note, when you re-install the TB cover, make sure the bottom plastic notches of the TB cover fit in the slots.