CamaroZ28.Com Message Board - Wanna maybe save $80? LS1 idler pulleys.

I've worked with bearings a lot as a tech in industry, and have pulled a few middle of the night repairs on equipment with squealing bearings by popping seals off, stuffing them with grease, reinstalling them till a replacement could be found, just to get a machine back in production.

The bearings on LS1 idler pulleys have a rep for going bad. So while I changed the oil today, I thought I'd pop one off and see if it had removable seals. Sure did. With ~ 21k miles on my Z, I expected the grease inside to still be in decent shape.

WRONG! The bearing was completely dry, the (no doubt) cheap grease the maker of the bearing used had completely cooked off, was just a dark powder here and there in the bearing. A few spots on the seal still had bits of some uncooked light yellow grease:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...s/IdlerDry.jpg

The balls and races themselves were still in good shape, no damage yet. So I decided to stuff them with a quality high pressure wheel bearing grease. On one side, the bearing cage is closed, if the 1st seal I removed was this side, I would just pop off the opposite side to get to the cage side with openings that could be packed with grease:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...dlerPacked.jpg

I used a fine tip flat blade screwdriver to carefully remove the seals, dig out as much as I could of the cooked grease and to pack the fresh grease into the bearings. After packing, I reinstalled the seals, making sure the inside and outside diameters fully seated in their grooves. Good to go, and only added about an hour to the oil change.

If your bearings aren't screaming yet, might be something to consider doing.

Of course you could just buy the 4 pulleys if/when they go bad, but that costs money... and can you be assured the replacement manufacturer used a top quality grease, or the cheapest stuff they could get by with? Like the company that supplied GM with the original bearings?

:::edited to add pics and update:::

Just did it on my 3rd LS1. Changed liftoff method. Now I hook it near inner part of the seal. Seal has a metal insert, grab it by there. Lift carefully, pops right up. You can't see metal ring when seal is still on, but you can feel it with screwdriver. Just make sure screwdriver isn't sharp so you don't damage seal. Mine was nice and dull from many years of use. Pic of liftoff:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...rs/liftoff.jpg

To reinstall, I apply pressure with my thumbs on opposite sides of the seal, press down, and it pops right in. Make sure metal ring of seal is towards bearings. Pic of grooves where seal pops into:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...rs/grooves.jpg

If a spot on seal doesn't slip in, use screwdriver to press it into groove. Pic:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2.../reinstall.jpg

This is what it looks like when you take off bottom 3 pulleys. 2 had backing slingers, just left them in place so they wouldn't grow legs and wander away:

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...rs/removed.jpg