tweakit idler bearing failure
 

The bearing that came with the tweakit idler pulley lasted a whole 160 miles. I installed the idler kit and drove from SF to Thunderhill. My car died right when I got to Thunderhill raceway. Car started but made a noise like the belts were loose then followed by a ton of smoke. The bearing that comes with the kit had completely frozen up. I bought the kit a few years ago. I am not blaming the idler kit but just letting people know of the bearing failure. For some strange reason I brought along my old ebay/greddy pulley kit and belt and was able to install it onto my car and enjoy the track day. I guess I am psychic or paranoid.

Does anyone know a replacement for the bearing that is a better quality? I have not heard anyone having this problem but I rather use a better bearing if possible. The greddy pulley kit did not show any signs of slipping and the water temps were in the about 93C, it was a cool day.

And again I am not blaming the person that made kit but just informing people of the bearing failure. And if anyone wants to know I installed it according to the instructions. I even ordered the wrong belt since the instructions were wrong.

I'll post pics tomorrow.

Wow 160 miles? That sucks. Just glad it didnt cause any major damage.

I had the bearings spin out of one of the idler pulleys. sent them pictures and had a new one sent. works perfectly fine now

How long ago was that, I cant seem to get in contact with him. Its been so long since I bought it I dont expect a warranty. I just dont want it to happen again. I was not even mad when I realize that I had replacement parts, I'm just glad I was not stuck on the side of the road in the middle of the night. I will never install new parts right before a track day ever again.

you have to realize that these kits probably don't use a pulley specifically made for the kits, it is probably an aftermarket OEM quality pulley (equivelent to a part you can buy at Autozone, Etc.) which happens to fit the required diameter and width. So that being said Aftermarket quality parts aren't up to the highest standards. This isn't coming from specific experience with the kits. but experience in general as a mechanic.

The pulley is custom machined aluminum and the bearing inside failed. But I wish the pulley was from "some" car. Then I could just order a replacement pulley. If the custom pulley ever got damaged the kit would be useless.

You should be able to press out the bearing and bring it to a bearing shop and they can match it up with something, or get a set of calipers and measure it then just order one.


Is this the single turbo version or the twin turbo version?




John

It's the single turbo version. There was a number on the bearing dust cover but it melted off. Can anyone read the part number off their bearing?

My bearing went out in the first six months but Tweakit replaced it right away in time for DGRR 2010. Been fine ever since

That's really odd that yours failed. I've driven several thousand miles on mine and it's working like a champ.

Next time I'm at my car (currently getting rebuilt) I'll see if I can't pull a part number off it.

Post some hi-res pics of the bearing itself. We'll be looking particularly at the markings on the shoulder of the outer race. Hopefully it's a commercial bearing and we'll be able to figure out what to replace it with.

If you're bored, mail the whole bearing to me and I'll get it cut in half and do a failure analysis.

probably has the manufacturer stamp and part number on it somewhere but you will probably have to press it out to find it. take it to a bearing shop and they can cross reference it.

How long ago did you buy the kit. I know tweakit had trouble with their first batch of bearings (they didn't live up to the manufacturers spec) and since then they have changed for a different type of bearing.

My one lasted less than 100 miles, but they replaced it for me free of charge (I think) two years later - yes it took me that long to get around to installing it.

quality control?

Had several fail on me, even after being fixed by them. Decided to replace it myself.. No issues now...

It happens, even new cars get recalled all the time...

Oh no! I've got their first batch of idler pulley for single turbo. However I still havent gotten to install them on the engine yet since my whole car is undergoing a full rebuild/single conversion. I hope mine will last T___T.

-AzEKnightz


What did you replace the bearing with? You've got a part time to share with the rest of us? Thanks!

-AzEKnightz

Buying good bearings is not always easy. Distributors often buy from each other, in a way that does not guarantee the parts came direct from the factory, and that's how counterfeit bearings get into regular distribution. So even if you buy brand name bearings you can still get bitten.

Of course if the bearings are just plain junk then I guess that's another matter. Our horse trailer was rolling on crap bearings from Romania. Timken now.

Had mine for a while, no issues at all.

Yep, no issues with mine (knock on wood) and I've had mine for many years and miles now.

REALLY wish they were still made, it's a good product for a fair price. Anyone know what happened to him? Did he just get sick of it, move on, what?

At least Pineapple still has their idler pullies.

Dale

I took the pulley off and took some pics but its hard to see the inside of the bearing. The front rubber seal is completely melted and turned into a ball. The seal on the back was intact and had two sets of numbers 6002D and 0352.

It looks like the cage broke and the cage got stuck between the ball bearings. Maybe my bearing did not come with any grease, I guess we will never know. I would suggest people to check their bearings and replace them before they break.

Since the greddy pulley kit worked without any problems for track use I might just keep it on the car and change the belt more often. At least the pulley kit wont leave me stranded.

with the number "6002D" and the bearing in hand, every bearing shop will know what you will need!

Maybe ask if a bearing with a larger air-gap will have benefits in your application (this bearings have bigger gaps to run in higher temp enviroments, I've used this to reengineer a shitty build rx8 compressor kit from australia ... (12000USD kit, failed because of low quality 20$ bearings and a shitty made shaft... 0.o ) worked like a charm... SKF rulez! ;)

Is there any kind of spacer between the bearings middle races? When you tighten the pulley bolt, does it apply pressure to the bearing balls?

David

No spacer but the nut only tightens the middle race it does not compress the actual bearing balls.

Word....
Working on casting a bracket and pulley but not sure where to get a 10k rpm bearing.

As a result of seeing this thread I decided to inspect a kit that a customer installed before bringing his car down for an engine rebuild. Noticed immediately that the bearing is installed uneven causing a massive pulley wobble. This bearing will no doubt fail in a very short time. Not allowing it to stay installed, this customer lives a couple hundred miles away and I can't have it failing as he is driving home with his new rebuilt engine.

http://youtu.be/usZ6HROFuG0