Idle Problem FIXED!

[FelixLockhart]

After months of chasing any possible flakiness in my truck, I finally fixed all of its weirdness, and in just one shot: The serpentine belt.

The truck had these problems:
-Killing out at stops sporadically
-Tachometer drops out at idle
-Air conditioner compressor clutch squealing
-Alternator sporadically not charging

And this week, it started making squealy-belt-dying sounds at random, so I picked up a new belt. Went to put it on according to the diagram, and it turns out that my mom's mechanic (who screwed with the belt last) put it on wrong! The engine still ran, but it didn't look right, so I fixed it. Discovered problem 2 along the way, the tensioner was frozen solid. I sprayed it good with some PB Blaster, put everything back together, and it fixed all five of the aforementioned issues!

So, if you're having idle or alternator weirdness, check the belt. Make sure the tensioner is working properly, and if a non-LR tech has worked on it, make sure it's routed over the pullies properly

[me.guevara]

Good catch and congratulations!

Your experience serves to underscore the fact that even if we don't do the work ourselves, we still need to know enough about our trucks to be able to supervise closely...

I bet it feels good to be in a Disco that's back up to specs.

[texasrover]

Holy Hell!

I am surprised the truck ran at all.

I was excited when I read your subject line... I was hoping to take your fix for the idle issue and try it, too. I dont have a belt problem, though.

Good to hear you got her running again.

[Bene]

there goes my sunday.

[Badger1]

Had the same problems with my truck which ended up being a misrouted serpentine belt. The unbelievable part is that a LR "tech" was the one that put the last belt on. I put this one on.....correctly, cured those problems.

Congrats on the fix. It really says something about doing your own work on your vehicles. Then you know it's done right.

[Muddy Oval]

Good job! It's kinda funny (only in retrospect however) when that happens, because it happens a LOT.

Your tensioner is gonna die though. If it was frozen up and then soaked with penetrant, there's no lubrication in the bearings. Better to replace/rebuild it before you HAVE to if you know what I mean.

[FelixLockhart]

It's not the pulley that was frozen, it was the springy part that puts tension on the belt. And a new tensioner is about $150 from Advance.

Oh, and it still kills out at stops on occasion, but only in the rain. I'll have to try cleaning the IAC thingy again.

[roverX]

Originally Posted by Muddy Oval

Good job! It's kinda funny (only in retrospect however) when that happens, because it happens a LOT.

Your tensioner is gonna die though. If it was frozen up and then soaked with penetrant, there's no lubrication in the bearings. Better to replace/rebuild it before you HAVE to if you know what I mean.

Don't you guys (DAP) have the tensioners for $89 or something ridiculously low like that? Do you still have some in stock? I need to order one.

[me.guevara]

Originally Posted by FelixLockhart

It's not the pulley that was frozen, it was the springy part that puts tension on the belt. And a new tensioner is about $150 from Advance.

Oh, and it still kills out at stops on occasion, but only in the rain. I'll have to try cleaning the IAC thingy again.

Right before coming back to Bolivia I purchased a Dayco tensioner from DAP - my tensioner is fine, but between the fact that the Beast has the original one still on it and they're hard to get here, well, it's a no-brainer. If they're still in stock, I highly recomend it: I think it was $95 + shipping...

On your iacv, I really don't think that rain would make it malfunction - it has to be something else.