Timing belt PULLEY question

[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!

[aveosrfun]

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)

[Daox]

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

[aveosrfun]

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

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

[yoshi1015]

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!

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,

[avguy]

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

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!

[snrusnak]

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.

[aveosrfun]

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.

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.

[aveosrfun]

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!

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

[snrusnak]

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.