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2007 Fusion 2.3L idler pulley issues


BRoseJr.
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Guys, I am having re-occuring issues with the idler pulley. At about 65000 miles, pulley bolt was severely bent down and sheered 3/4 of the way, causing serpentine belt to fly off. At that time pulley was replaced. Same issue about 10k miles later. Again pulley was replaced,but not serpentine belt (wish I would have). Today about 3k miles later, belt has slipped off half way (breaking apart, as well) and idler pulley looks to be bent again, Any help is greatly appreciated. I am think maybe the belt is worn and slipping, but not sure why the pully bolt is breaking/bending.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was wondering if you figured anything out on this matter. Yesterday I was driving and my idler pulley bolt snapped in 2. Not a big deal except when it did, it took a piece of the block off too. The o that the pulley bolt is supposed to go through now looks more like a C... Anyways, not sure what to do now. From the looks of things, I might have to invest in an entire new motor just because of this little piece. Please let me know.

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  • 4 months later...

Three months ago, I purchased an 07 Fusion with 85k miles and experienced a similar issue two months later. What sounded like rattling and lots of metal on metal 'grinding' was caused by a 'broken' bolt actually rattling around inside near the engine, it came from the idler pulley. The dealer replaced it, it was covered by my bumper to bumper warranty. However... two weeks later, more rattling from the front end only this time MUCH worse sounding, accompanied by popping, snapping, lagging of the engine, and very loud groaning (almost like an exhaust issue) all at the same time. I had it towed immediately to the dealer where we learned BOTH bolts from the engine mount have now broken off as well. This is not covered by the warranty. The dealer experienced minor concern, saying its not common but Vermont does a number on cars. I am contacting the manufacturer and reporting both issues. Have you done this? Word around here is stress, age, and engineering malfunction are to blame. Could potentially become a recall issue but only if we report it. The question 'how does this happen?' remains to be unanswered, to me. I am a life long VTer, I drive my cars into the ground and have never had this happen, nor have I ever heard of it happening to anyone else until I read your post. Tightening it too tightly, could cause it to crack and eventually 'break' or wear off. From a technical point of view when this happens, do other parts become compromised? In your case the belt? In my case, other bolts nearby that are also wearing out? I will repost when I learn more details. I'd love to hear from you. What have you learned?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guys, I am having re-occuring issues with the idler pulley. At about 65000 miles, pulley bolt was severely bent down and sheered 3/4 of the way, causing serpentine belt to fly off. At that time pulley was replaced. Same issue about 10k miles later. Again pulley was replaced,but not serpentine belt (wish I would have). Today about 3k miles later, belt has slipped off half way (breaking apart, as well) and idler pulley looks to be bent again, Any help is greatly appreciated. I am think maybe the belt is worn and slipping, but not sure why the pully bolt is breaking/bending.

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Unfortunately, after alot of research, I found that there have been enough people to complain that Ford has this problem classified as a "Tech Alert." I had tried to contact Ford with my problem. Left lots of messages and emailed a few times about my problem and never heard back. I ended up taking it to the shop and they were able to weld a piece to the back of my block and put some sort of threading gel in it to replace the pulley without replacing my entire block. (A $400 fix instead of a $6000 fix) They said that they have been hearing of this problem and if I start hearing any noises from my engine to report them immediately so that i don't run into this problem again... I can tell you that I am seriously recondering purchasing another Ford in the future...

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  • 8 months later...

Guys, I have had this happen 2 more times since then. Not sure what is causing the bolt to break/shear but it seems to happen aboue every 10-15k now. I have replaced pulley with motorcraft replacement still with no luck. Kinda scary when pulley comes flying off at 65mph and you have no power steering :( I have contacted Ford with no avail. I too am seriously reconsidering having another Ford after 15 yrs with nothing but Ford vehicles. Customer service Lady I spoke with had very poor English and had no clue what Idler Pulley was, I even had to spell it for her. Anyone had any luck with complaints or even repairs?

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Well, it broke once again :( I believe it has to be the AC compressor or power steering pulley putting more drag as you said. AC will work well some times and others not so good and issue has never happened in the fall/winter when I'm not using AC. Also when turning steering wheel after start up it will squeal loudly, as if more drag is on the power steering pump. I will check AC and power steering pump. Thanks MC

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  • 1 year later...
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  • 8 months later...

I am very interested in this topic because the bolt just snapped on my 2007 Ford Fusion. The car is currently at a repair center but the shearing off of the idler pully bolt may have caused additional damge to the engine timing circuit. I'm not sure why but the car witll no longer start. I cranks over but will not fire. I have owned many brands in my life and have had idler pullys fail but the bearing gave warning and the shearing off of the bolt did not happen. This is a disapointing first for me. I will have to update after the repair shop completes the estimate and repairs. Loosing power steering at 60 MPH on a corner is not a fun time.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Well Ford Engineer stated that once the bolt sheers off the likely hood of another occurrence is probable. Looks like the threads are being damaged when this occurs and it will continue to occur if the only thing you do is replace the bolt/pulley. My question is: why does the 2 dollar bolt fail in the first place and it is happening to alot of people now.

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  • 11 months later...

Just happened again on my 2007 Ford Fusion 2.3L. I was charged $1400.00 a year ago because the could not get the broken off bolt out with out lifting the engine up. A year ago I was told this would be covered by a 2 year parts and labor warranty by Auto Park Ford in Sturgis, MI. I guess we will see how good that warranty is and if there is a more permanent fix that Ford has come up with or if the will earn there old acronyms to their name again. Not pleased at the moment to say the least. A year ago the dealer claimed they have never heard of this being a problem. I wonder if they will remember.

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Thanks for the reply, very helpful. Also I was wondering if anyone knows the part number to the piece of plastic that covers the pulleys. I guess it is called the wheel liner. It is missing on my fusion. All help and input would be greatly appreciated, thanks again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My guess is that the serpentine belt is putting a lot of force on the idler pulley and, with leverage, snapping the mounting bolt. I think all of the pulleys driven by the serpentine belt are in fixed positions with the exception of the belt tensioner pulley. This pulley moves on a spring-loaded lever or mechanism that allows it to be moved allowing the belt to be put in place by taking tension off and to take up the slack in the belt and put tension on it. The springs in the tensioner assembly can go bad. Maybe the tensioner isn't working properly and forces on the belt aren't being absorbed by the tensioner. I can imagine that in such a case, such forces could cause a weak link to snap; in this case the idler pulley bolt. The serpentine belt is driven by the crank-shaft pulley, that is driven by the engine's power, and the engine, being piston diven has peaks and lulls in output everytime it fires. These peaks cause vibration (quick changes in more tension and less tension) in the belt that are supposed to be dampened by springs in the tensioner. So if the tensioner isn't dampening these forces, maybe a weak bolt could be bent and relaxed over & over again (even if a small amount) enough to stress fracture the bolt (much like being able to break a metal coat hanger by bending it back and forth in the same spot repeatedly.) Just my theory...I would try and replace the serpentine belt tensioner assembly (not just the tensioner pulley). Can get em for $25- $30 on eBay and I hear they are not too difficult to replace yourself (YouTube it).

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  • 3 months later...

I came across this thread while trying to troubleshoot a small grinding noise I hear. It ONLY happens in drive, around 1000-1500 RPM's with the A/C turned on, mainly accelerating from a stop.

 

I feel like this is an issue with the idler pulley getting harder to spin, which will cause a lot of tension on the whole pulley system. Then, when a pulley snaps, you have threading issues putting a new one on... so the new pulley doesn't sit as tight and put as it should. I'm going to fix the idler pulley and see if that fixes the problem, but I suspect this simple $30 part can cause a mess of headaches like you all are experiencing

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  • 2 years later...

I'll welcome myself to the club, a few weeks ago the idler pulley bolt broke car at +100k so no big thing, remove alternator to get to the sticking bolt piece and replace with similar bolt then 3 weeks later again ??? which brought me to this thread. after careful examination looks like the mating surface at the aluminum engine block is worn out so the idler pulley steel spacer sits very unevenly which may lead to vibration & breakage.

 Decided instead to use a through bolt 1/4"X3" with washers & self locking nut, if it fails I will come back & report.

Edited by manuelram16
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  • 1 year later...
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  • 4 months later...

Hello, I replied on this issue to another topic on this forum from the past and then I copied & paste it on here.

 

Hello,

 

I don't own a Ford Fusion but have a 2008 Ford Escape 2.3 Duratec engine. My Idler Pulley broke once. I pointed the problem to my Ford Escape's Power Steering Pump. This is the scenario...you see, I have the "habit" of when I start my Ford Escape I have my left hand on the Steering Wheel. Upon START UP (especially COLD START UP), accidental wiggling of my left hand on the steering wheel causes the Idler Pulley to be pulled by Power Steering Pump.  Now, I start my Escape without my left hand on the Steering Wheel and I have not have Idler pulley braking anymore. Hope this helps!   

 

Don't make any modification, just buy the original Ford Motorcraft Idler pulley and install it. I will say it again, Don't ever start your car with your hand (left hand) holding on the steering wheel, simple as that!

Edited by Escape08
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