The belt tensioned on my GTA is beginning to make an intermittent noise every few minutes while the engine is idling. I assume that the bearings are going out. I went to the dealership and they want $70 for a new one. I did not buy the tensioned but I bought a new serpentine belt for when I do get a new tensioned. My question is, once it starts making that noise on and off, how much longer will it last? How many more miles will I get out of it and how dangerous is it if at all?

damn that's a lot, i bought two last year and i was thinking they were more in the 40 dollar range

I wish! If they were I would have bought one. I'll have to try GM Parts Direct and see what kind of price they have...

Well I can't even find a belt tensioner on their site, who knows that GM part # ?

Or does anybody know where I can get one cheaper? It has to be genuine GM unit or I won't buy it...

Thanks!

Ever heard of auto parts stores ?? I got my belt tensioner pulley with the bearing included for $19.99 at Checker !

You get what you pay for.

My car means more to me than dicount parts.

Thing is, you don't need to replace the whole tensioner, as long as its maintaining the proper belt tension and the belt isn't slipping. If its making noise, just pop a new pulley and bearing on there. If Kragen of all places carries them, I'm sure GM carries those seperately as well, and it should be a lot cheaper than getting a whole tensioner.

Places like McMaster/Carr carry all sorts of bearings. I buy alt bearings and all sorts of stuff from them. Typical price for a good quality bearing is about $6. Most bearings will have a number on them, that's all you need when you order.

This erks me. I'm not going to try and go off on you but what is the difference between oil sold at a discount auto-parts store and from the dealer? What is the difference between the AC Delco oil filters? Wiper blades, never could find a difference between the $10 a pair vs $40 from the dealer except that the $10 doller won's lasted longer and didn't shutter.
I would snag up a couple of those tensioners in a heart beat for $20. Tomorrow I'm going to be removing the a/c compressor so I might as well try reversing the tensioner. If I suceed I just saved $45 by not having to buy that idler pulley.
Oh yeah, and I highly doubt there is a difference in quality between the 2. It's not like it's a waterpump or an alternator. Seriously, do you think that an alternator is rebuilt in-house with crappy parts? Again, I'm not going off on you specifically, it's just that sometimes I can't understand the reasoning why somebody would pay $$$ for something that can be had for $. Especially on replacement parts that get changed frequently. A perfect example is spark plugs. Why spend $$$ to end up with spark plugs when you'll end up replacing them soon enough. Same goes for oil, change it frequently along with using a big filter and there is nothing to worry about. There are reasons to go with synthetic but it isn't ALL because of durability, a lot has to do with warrenties, profit, and advertisements. Explain why a flat-tap cam can 350 in a truck can last as long as a roller cam in a light car and the 350 was using standard oil and the roller synthetic. You can't.

If you are looking for P/N10055798.
GM Parts direct has it for $40 and change plus shipping.
$48 to have it shipped to you.

That's it, thank you!

Obviously we're both wasting our breath. Let him go pay almost triple the price for a bearing. I replaced mine the parking lot at Checker three years ago. And now... it's STILL fine. Besides the new one has a nice new glossy black finish to it that still shines three years later Some people just like to save their hard earned money... some don't.

I've got an opinion on this as well. I've gotten my starters, alternators, and some other things from these discount places. The bearings, oil, filters I didn't think twice about, they're made by reputable places. The starters..well one lasted a month, and another has been fine for two years. I've been through many alternators, and just about every one has squeaked since I've gotten it. There's a difference between buying a cheap tensioner and buying a cheap alternator, but to be safe, if you've got the money, the dealer gives you peace of mind.

mine made noises like that, spray some silcone spray inside it and i never heard the noise again..

problem today is you don't know what you are getting at the discount stores. nothing "irk's" me more than doing a job twice. there is a storm of offshore junk going into alternators, starters supplied by so-called reputable sources. i have opened up lot's of rebuilt parts only to find junk installed that i would not use on my kids go-cart. don't believe it just look at some of the posts here. it got so bad with me that i opened an account with my local dealer. i pay for OE parts what i generally paid for aftermarket. i don't blame the guy at all, even if it is a simple tensioner it could have been made in lower mongolia for all anybody knows. OE parts are not the end all, but generally manufacturers tend to demand better quality control and incorporate improvements into high failure components. one of my neighbors was in purchasing for a major chain and he flat out told me he would not put anything they sold in his cars, it's that bad. even the dealers stock what they call "doorstop parts". You can buy struts or shocks under the goodwrench logo or pay extra for the delco. the doorstop stuff is aftermarket junk designed to supply customers with an alternative. if the statement "buyer beware" ever applied it's nowadays.

Thank you guys, you had the patience to type up what I didn't want to even bother with and you explained it exactly how it is.

Basically I'm tired of installing 3 autozone starters in a row just to find one that works, installing 2 pepboy alternators to find one that doesn't make noise, etc. I did this with my first Firebird when I was 16, I'm not that stupid anymore. To me it is worth paying the premium for the better part to have it last another 50K miles or more and the peace of mind that I don't have crap in my car. Plus if you haven't noticed, most aftermarket crap parts don't even look like the Delco stuff, it's always painted differently...