Looking for replacement bearings for tensioners

[Terrorizer]

So I am doing the front 60k on my 1990 SHO and the bearings in all the tensioners are bad. It looks like the timing belt tensioner bearing can't be replaced by itself so I'll just replace that whole thing but the 2 other tensioners that go with the accessory belts look like the bearings can be replaced. I'd rather just buy the bearings and not buy the entire assembly to save some money, but I can't seem to find them anywhere. I have tried ford dealerships, napa, oreilly's etc. Anyone know where I can find these bad boys?

 

[NP SHO]

SHOSource sells them. I'm in the same boat. Sounds like I have a supercharger bolted on, which sounds cool but I'm afraid they're gonna lock up and shred the belts and cause other problems.

 

[jimtash]

SHOSource sells them. I'm in the same boat. Sounds like I have a supercharger bolted on, which sounds cool but I'm afraid they're gonna lock up and shred the belts and cause other problems.

Loosen the pulley nut up a bit. It'll get you by until the bearing is replaced. The torque being put down by the nut will hasten the bearing's demise and leave you possibly stranded. And don't worry, the nut won't fall off if you are careful and loosen it just a little.

BTW, I'm in the same boat as well.

 

[Eric VerValin]

Pick the seals and regrease them... its not that hard to do. Just be very careful with the seals as they are just wimpy plastic.

 

[NP SHO]

Pick the seals and regrease them... its not that hard to do. Just be very careful with the seals as they are just wimpy plastic.

Should I remove the seals from both sides and grease them both, or can I get enough grease in there from just the one side?

 

[Eric VerValin]

Well.. in reality you should pull both, and if possible soak them in mineral spirits or something as you work the bearing a bit.. or brake cleaner would get the old stuff out.. then just keep working it in from one side until it oozes out the other side.

I had a noisy one, and its about 1/4 as loud as it was but its been on there 25k miles now, and still spins freely.. some might be too far gone.. don't keep one that feels rough in anyway.

 

[NWGRN94MTX]

Tensioner bearing 6 rib

Tensioner bearing 4 rib

 

[itwonder]

This may help, from a 2004 thread:

Believe it or not Yamaha has a single row bearing that has the exact ID and OD (20X37 X15). The part is a bearing for the front wheel (obviously two) for a 2003 YZ250F. After bearing searches I've come up empty and the stock bearing with pulley and adjuster costs around $160. The Yamaha bearings are $10 each so $20 per adjuster. I stacked them, they are a little wider than stock at 9mm each for a total of 18mm in width so I pressed them in watching the engine side to get that side exact for pulley and belt alignment. It bolted up with the original bolt just fine.

 

[Terrorizer]

Why are the bearings 40 some dollars? Can't I get an entire tensioner pulley for less than that?

 

[Spork]

Bearings are for the most part off-the-shelf components so there is a good chance your local bearing supply house can get what you need.

 

[jimtash]

Bearings are for the most part off-the-shelf components so there is a good chance your local bearing supply house can get what you need.

Not this one.

The bearing's part number is this:

NSK BD20-15DWA

See if you can cross reference it.

 

[Terrorizer]

Not this one.

The bearing's part number is this:

NSK BD20-15DWA

See if you can cross reference it.

They are both marked with that number but I thought I read somewhere that they are different thicknesses? I know the ford partnumbers were the same but one ended in an "A" and the other with a "B". I called the dealer though and they said the parts are no longer available through them.

 

[SHOZ123]

I got a bunch of used bearings if there's a need.

 

[Off Road SHO]

I vote for re-packing them also. You guys need to learn how to do this just on general purposes.

Pick the seals out and clean out with brake cleaner or pick one side out and clean out with WD-40. Blow dry with air (and for God's sake don't spin a dry bearing with compressed air) and re-pack with good bearing grease. Replace the seal and if you buggered up athe seal a little, don't worry about it. Just clean the outside of any grease and smear a thin layer silicone over the seal and outer race, not the inner race edge (it turns independent from the seal). You can also use a thin coat of shellac or varnish to seal it also.

You know you can do it.

Tom

 

[Terrorizer]

Shouldn't a new bearing be like 5 bucks? Anyone know where I can get them for cheap?

 

[Ishodu]

The bearing was made just for ford they are not a common size bearing there for there is not a huge demand for them guess what that does to the price?

 

[SHOtimer]

Shouldn't a new bearing be like 5 bucks? Anyone know where I can get them for cheap?

...shouldn't gas be like .35 cents a gallon?

The answer below your post and above mine is the answer.

Doug

 

[Off Road SHO]

Just so that everybody knows, any tensioner pulley that has roughly the same outer diameter and bolt hole diameter will work. The tensioning mechanism will make up for any slight differences in pulley diameter. The Cauliflornia buggy guys that were using the SHO motor would use Chevy pullies (off a truck I believe) and just shim them so that they twirled under the belt. The diameter of the bolt hole and the setback is the important part.

Somebody accurately measure the bolt hole (use a set of drill bits to find out what the exact diameter of the hole is, if you don't have a good set of calipers) and I'll see what I can find.

Tom

 

[Terrorizer]

I've tried several autoparts stores as well as local bearing shops but they do mostly commercial/industrial stuff. Anyone have any other ideas? I guess I'll try online some more or more specialty shops.

 

[itwonder]

Looks like it is a 20 mm ID X 37 mm OD X 15 mm thick bearing.