idler pulley?

[fendersfender]

have twin 3.8L OMC 800 series, one engine has power steering pump and other engine has just an idler pulley where power steering pump would be....question is: what purpose does this idler pulley serve? there is a seperate belt that runs around crank, water pump, and alternator...the belt on idler pulley runs around crank, water pump, and idler pulley,,,,,i ask this because the idler pulley is noisey and i would like to just remove it altogether if it is not needed...before it is totally trashed and eats up the belts.

 

[jch7450]

Re: idler pulley?

Good qustion, , maybe they were thinking if you broke one belt on the pump,you would still have cooling. But if you have two engines, I would say take it off

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: idler pulley?

I dunno, I think I'd price a new one and keep the water pump redundancy. Imagine how much it would suck to overheat the engine and ruin it for the cost of a silly pully.