Timing belt PULLEY question

Hi guys,

I just did the timing belt/water pump change on my little sisters '06 aveo (thanks to the writeups on this forum!!!). I ordered the parts from Kragen and when I looked at the idler pulley and tensioner they gave me I thought, boy these sure look like serpentine parts to me.......but the kragen "expert" assured me they were the correct parts. (tried to order the whole "timing belt kit" off amazon but thats a long story as to why that didnt work out)

So anyway, last weekend I got the timing belt and water pump changed but NOT the idler or tensioner pulley, had to get it back together so she could drive it during the week. So my question is - is it the belts that normally break after 50k mi's or the pulley(s)? Or both? Should I tear it all apart again just for the pulleys? Car has 53k miles currently.

Thank you guys again for your wealth of info!

PS Im sure you all are aware but what started all this was a broken factory thermostat housing! So keep an eye on those things!

Reading posts here looks like the pulleys do break. Wow. Thank you Kragen! Cant wait to do this all over again!!!

(I would have gone back this wknd but parts had to be ordered either way so wouldnt have done me any good)

Yeah, they do unfortunately. At least you've stayed on top of it!

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Originally Posted by Daox

Yeah, they do unfortunately. At least you've stayed on top of it!

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Such a bummer lol. Oh well, at least Ill be alot faster this time around. Maybe Ill time myself and post results for fun! :p

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Originally Posted by aveosrfun

Hi guys,

I just did the timing belt/water pump change on my little sisters '06 aveo (thanks to the writeups on this forum!!!). I ordered the parts from Kragen and when I looked at the idler pulley and tensioner they gave me I thought, boy these sure look like serpentine parts to me.......but the kragen "expert" assured me they were the correct parts. (tried to order the whole "timing belt kit" off amazon but thats a long story as to why that didnt work out)

So anyway, last weekend I got the timing belt and water pump changed but NOT the idler or tensioner pulley, had to get it back together so she could drive it during the week. So my question is - is it the belts that normally break after 50k mi's or the pulley(s)? Or both? Should I tear it all apart again just for the pulleys? Car has 53k miles currently.

Thank you guys again for your wealth of info!

PS Im sure you all are aware but what started all this was a broken factory thermostat housing! So keep an eye on those things!

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If your 06 is like my 07 aveo I just changed my belt only, due to low miles. If memory serves me you need to change it every 60k miles so your next time you want to change everything out is at 120k miles. It was my personal opinion not to change out the 2 pulleys, tension er and water pump. The thing that scares me is don't buy cheap parts for this job! this is an interference engine which means if you use cheap parts and the belt breaks you just ruined your engine and basically the car is worthless. Get quality parts when you are doing a job this important. Also, don't forget that the automatic tensioner needs adjusting on reassembly. I missed that my first time putting it back together. the instruction said it was an "Automatic Tensioner" and I presumed it was just that and it is not. You must adjust it properly via the water pump. The two arrows must line up on the auto tensioner.
I hope this helps by sharing my experience.
thanks,

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Originally Posted by yoshi1015

... Get quality parts when you are doing a job this important. ...

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I'll start by saying I agree 100% with that idea. In fact, I would pay top $ for these parts, if I could be SURE they were as good or better than the original OEM factory parts. But I've read in a number of forums and other websites that "replacement" OEM auto parts are typically not made by the same company and in the same country as the assembly-line parts. The auto makers have a lot at stake with original parts, because they have recall risks, along with image issues caused by systemic non-recall problems. So that being said, does anyone really know FOR SURE that the more expensive parts for this job are better than others? Do any of these guys really care how good the quality of my replacement idler pulley is? Is there any organization or web group keeping track of the durability of replacement parts?
I always feel like buying parts (in general) is a crap shoot. If anyone has better insight on this, please jump right in!

If you're at 50k miles I would not worry about the pulleys. I would just do them next time. I changed the timing belt on my wife's 2004 (~115k miles IIRC) for the first time and *thought* I ordered quality parts. I ordered the Gates kit. The belt was a quality Gates belt, however the water pump, idler, and tensioner are JUNK from various countries. I ended up doing the work 3 separate times due to the water pump failing immediately after install. I couldn't figure out the problem and first thought the gasket was not seated correctly so replaced just the gasket. Third time I replaced the water pump with a duralast and it fixed the leak. I would have been better off reusing the original water pump, idler, and tensioner. Either my idler or tensioner is squeaking as the bearing is junk(not sure which one it is). I never had the squeak before hand. I could tell just by free hand spinning the pulleys they did not spin as freely as the oem ones. I should have gone with my gut and not put them on but oh well.

So looks like now I will be doing the job again ~150k miles to get all new good parts in there. And I just did it at ~115k miles.

If anyone can find ALL quality parts please post them here!

To the OP, I'd leave it as is, you've replaced the belt which is the bad part. I'd leave the rest alone until next time and do it all with quality parts.

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Originally Posted by snrusnak

To the OP, I'd leave it as is, you've replaced the belt which is the bad part. I'd leave the rest alone until next time and do it all with quality parts.

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Ya Im not real impressed with the qaulity of this car in general. If it was an insurance cause your in there anyway kind of deal, I would agree, but since the pulleys are known to self destruct I cant just leave it be. At 6 years old with 50k miles Im hoping she doesnt still own it at 100k miles. Shes my little sister and I worry about it breaking down on her and not only leaving her stranded but ruining the engine and leaving her with a paper wieght of a vehicle. Im just gonna do it again and replace the pulleys. The job wasnt that bad and now that I know exactly what Im doing it should only take a few hours.

But yes, part numbers of high qaulity parts would be great for everyone! I did use the gates brand belt. I still have to go to kragen to return the serpentine pulleys.

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Originally Posted by avguy

I'll start by saying I agree 100% with that idea. In fact, I would pay top $ for these parts, if I could be SURE they were as good or better than the original OEM factory parts. But I've read in a number of forums and other websites that "replacement" OEM auto parts are typically not made by the same company and in the same country as the assembly-line parts. The auto makers have a lot at stake with original parts, because they have recall risks, along with image issues caused by systemic non-recall problems. So that being said, does anyone really know FOR SURE that the more expensive parts for this job are better than others? Do any of these guys really care how good the quality of my replacement idler pulley is? Is there any organization or web group keeping track of the durability of replacement parts?
I always feel like buying parts (in general) is a crap shoot. If anyone has better insight on this, please jump right in!

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Has anyone bought the parts from a chevy dealer???

Honestly we love our aveo. We bought it used for 6k cash out the door from a dealer and it's worth $4k+ today according to KBB. We have put over 50k miles on it and it is pretty reliable. It now has 120k+miles. Good on gas, cheap parts, easy maintenance, etc. Tires and alignment cost us like $350 or something cheap like that. I just did struts and shocks for like $330. Just did a battery at $100 a couple years ago and it was just replaced again free(warranty).

The only real issue we had was the tstat housing broke(common issue) but my wife is good enough with cars to watch the gauge and stopped the engine. So instead of a cracked head or something like that it was a $60 fix or so. I did the timing belt as preventative maintenance but seems like I should have left everything oem except the belt.

It's a good running car IMO. Easy to work on, cheap to fix, etc... It's the aftermarket "quality" that sucks.

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Originally Posted by aveosrfun

Has anyone bought the parts from a chevy dealer???

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What quality parts Chevy dealers stock is a good question. I did buy my valve cover gasket from a dealer, but nothing else. The Aveo not being a true GM vehicle muddies the water quite a bit. Are the replacement Aveo parts still being built by the original makers, and are those the parts that Chevy dealers stock? No idea. I'm familiar with the Civic, and the Honda dealer replacement parts are highly regarded and recommended by most knowledgable DIY guys. I've had good luck with them myself. Maybe we can find out more about Chevy dealer replacement parts?

Sorry, didnt mean to ruffle any feathers. My sister has had minimal issues but still they shouldnt have happened. IE the first month she had the car (bought new) she got stranded in a parking lot because the gear shift would not move out of reverse - I actually drove to the parking lot thinking "oh come on" but it was legitamatley stuck - towed to dealer and I forget what all they replaced.

Then the thermostat housing broke - at 50k miles.

At 6 years old the paint is fading and clear coat all but gone.

Now the timing belt potential issue which isnt a big deal but 50k service interval and now the bad pulleys, its just not a great design there.

Then back in the day I bought a daewoo cd player - right out of the box it was bad, took it back got another one, same exact problem. My ex's brother had a daewoo car that was nothing but problems. Defintily lacking in some design/r&d/qaulity control areas - daewoo has just left a bad taste in my mouth so to speak.

I own ford vehicles and can honestly say Ive never had a single problem up until the 100k mi mark (bought several new fords) other then normal, batterys, tires, etc.

I had a few lemons of fords.. there have been a few lemons of aveos here too.

But if those are all the issues in the 6 years and 50000 miles she has had the car. Then its not much of a lemon.

The paint is probably faded because its not clear coated. Some of the colors seem not to be.
The timing belt service interval should not have been a surprise, it is stated in the manual that came with the car.

Part of the car buying process is a few bad parts get through, thats one reason we have warranties.

The paint is not clear coated (ours isn't anyway). I went over the car with rubbing compound real nice, then put a sealant on it and I wash it and seal it about 2-3 times a year and it looks almost like new(minus a few dings/scratches....it is an 04 after all).

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Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit

I had a few lemons of fords.. there have been a few lemons of aveos here too.

But if those are all the issues in the 6 years and 50000 miles she has had the car. Then its not much of a lemon.

The paint is probably faded because its not clear coated. Some of the colors seem not to be.
The timing belt service interval should not have been a surprise, it is stated in the manual that came with the car.

Part of the car buying process is a few bad parts get through, thats one reason we have warranties.

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I never said, or meant to imply it was a lemon. Just a couple problems that with a little more r&d never would/should have happened. Thats all. I respectfully disagree that you should expect failures from a new car. According to wikipedia the cars been produced since 2002, plenty of time to work out any bugs. Anyway, overall its been an ok car, as in no major failures. I was just stating my opinion of it. Thanks again for the help.

Every car I've ever had has broken down at some point. Nature of the beast. It's man made, some things will fail, some big some small. Some worse than others.

The worst cars we've owned have been fords. We've had A LOT of very reliable GM's with some small DIY fixing. I recently got into a RAM truck and it has been nearly as good as the GM's.

Never owned anything else but know a lot of people with toyota's and had TONS of issues that really are unacceptable(sheared camshafts cracked blocks, etc), especially on an overpriced vehicle.

Really though, they all have good and bad. I wouldn't buy a toyota or honda ever, but doesn't mean they don't have some good vehicles. I probably wouldn't buy a ford either, again they have some good ones. I've had great luck with GM and Chrysler and they are the most affordable so I'll likely stick with that. Next vehicle will probably be an older wrangler and sell the aveo so the wife can get into something bigger/safer.

We bought our aveo for $6k cash out the door and have maybe put like $1000 or a little over into it for all regular maintenance(oil changes, plugs, wires, pcv, valve cover gasket, air filters, trans service), tires, struts and shocks, timing belt service, and tstat housing. I looked it up on KBB recently it was for over $4000. We bought it in 2008 I believe and put over 50000 miles on it. That's great bang/buck.

Hi all,

I am new to this thread. I just bought 2005 aveo with 86,500 miles. I know it is about time to replace the timing belt. I am little bit confused what kit to buy or buy individual parts. I was thinking to buy "Gates TCKWP335 kit". I know gates are good quality belt, but not sure if the tensioner pulley and idler pulley of this kit is plastic. ACDelco 38376 tensioner and aCDelcoT42170, they are claiming a steel pulley. Is this better?

Please advice.

Thanks

ricky, I bought the gates kit(assuming it's the same one). I don't know that mine claimed it had ACDelco parts but I do remember the Gates belt was good quality, but the water pump, idler pulley, and tensioner pulley were JUNK, very cheap parts. Each were manufactured in a different country(don't remember which countries....china, etc.). They were aluminum IIRC(except the actual wheel part of the pulley is plastic, like oem IIRC) but they were about half as heavy as oem(cheap material) and my water pump failed immediately and needed replaced. I mean immediately like withing 1,000 miles. I replaced it with a duralast from autozone and it was much better quality. I also have a squeaky bearing(either tensioner or idler) it wasn't there until I did the work then was there right after. I would not buy that kit again.

Thanks for the reply. unfortunately I already ordered the Gates kit from amazon and I just received them. I noticed water pump is made in china very poor quality metal finish. I will return them.. Any recommended pulley, tensioner and water pump aside from Duralast? How about Cloyes or Goodyear gatorback? Thanks....

Honestly don't know what to recommend. I'd buy duralast(autozone) or from GM. Maybe from NAPA?

goodyear gatorback makes fine serpentine belts.

cloyes makes fine timing gears

both reputable(but so is gates...).

Good choice not putting those parts in your car, biggest mistake I made on this aveo was using that kit.

I finally replaced my timing belt... At 86500 miles, when I opened the cover the timing belt was still in good shape no sign of any cracks or anything. But when I looked at the idler pulley I noticed 4 cracks on the plastic pulley in N-E-S-W of the plastic that holds the bearing. You can see them in the picture, cracks are all the way to the back of the pulley. It looks like it was never replaced at 60Kmiles, everything still look original with Korea tags even the TB has a Daewoo label. I just bought this vehicle, I am lucky for doing that such job before taking this car on the road for daily use.
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Originally Posted by snrusnak

Honestly don't know what to recommend. I'd buy duralast(autozone) or from GM. Maybe from NAPA?

goodyear gatorback makes fine serpentine belts.

cloyes makes fine timing gears

both reputable(but so is gates...).

Good choice not putting those parts in your car, biggest mistake I made on this aveo was using that kit.

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I used the KIT from Car Quest. Worked like a charm. I am pushing 113K miles and I am do for replacement soon myself.

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Originally Posted by snrusnak

...*thought* I ordered quality parts. I ordered the Gates kit. The belt was a quality Gates belt, however the water pump, idler, and tensioner are JUNK from various countries...

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I'm assuming you used Gates TCKWP335 Engine Timing Belt Kit with Water Pump? That is the kit I was thinking of buying but based on your post, I'm questioning whether it's still a good idea...

I would buy the parts from the dealer, they'll probably be pricier (I have actually found orginal parts for dealers at the same or lower price than non original), but, will be OEM quality, I forsee no issue with a Gates or Goodyear Belt, nevertheless, I'd buy original, but that is just me.

I don't recall the part number, but it was the Gates kit, and came with a gates belt and then an over seas idler pulley, tensioner, and water pump. The belt is a quality gates belt, but the water pump failed within 5,000 miles, and the tensioner or idler(not sure which) is extremely loud/squeaky. I'll buy oem next time for sure, even if it's double the price.

The AC Delco is a good buy for all parts at $90.57 on Amazon.

As long as the idler & tensioner pulley isnt hollow on the backside then its a good one. Always a solid pulley! More forgiving.