Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

[dangerz]

So I'm learning as I go along here. I used to help my dad when I was younger, but I'm just now getting back into it myself.

I have a 1997 v6 Camaro and it was stuttering when I would give it gas, so I checked some stuff and it turns out that the ignition coil had gone bad. Ok, fixed that and then it ran great. I figured while I had it in the garage, I should change the belt since it was in pretty bad shape.

Well, I go to pull on the belt tensioner and the bolt just spins. I look at the back and the nut is just spinning too. I also notice that the tensioner bracket is broken in the back.

I didnt think it was safe to keep it like that, so I decided to pull it off and replace it with a new one.

Autozone had it in stock: http://www.autozone.com/R,695496/veh...ductDetail.htm

I finally got all the bolts off and as I'm pulling it out, I notice a little oil. I sweep that up and continue to pull. Now I'm hearing the sound of falling water, so I look underneath the car and see oil coming out of everything. It's too late to do anything, but I try and put it back in. I get rags and lay them all over everything and then finally pull it all the way out.

I got what I can, but now I'm worried as to what will happen when I turn the car on. Is there anything else I can do? Did I just mess something up really bad?

This was a stupid mistake, I should've checked for the oil stuff before pulling it. I'll obviously give it a whole new batch of oil/filer before I fire her back up, but should I be worried about starting a fire when I turn the car back on?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm just starting to really learn on my own.

[tkoforpresident]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

how did pulling out the tensioner pulley make oil leak out of your engine??

[dangerz]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

Well, I had to pull the entire bracket assembly. There are 2 hoses that plug into that that pump oil into the engine I guess. I didn't think there'd be any oil in there, but apparently I'm an idiot and there was.

Check out the autozone link, there's a picture of the assembly there. See those 2 holes? The hoses plug into those.

[dangerz]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

Wait, I guess it could be coolant that leaked out. I'm sorry, like I said I'm just learning this stuff now as I go along. The stuff smelled, felt and looked like oil. I didn't think it was thick enough to be oil, but it didn't seem like coolant to me.

[onspeed]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

you can't tell the difference between coolant and oil?

[96RS Alex]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

you can't tell the difference between coolant and oil?

The newbie is learning as we all did once upon a time in the garage.

Looks like oil and coolant did mix and formed the dreaded brown sludge. Better investigate the root cause of the problem and do a Search.

[RadRacer]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

I was gonna say; oil shouldn't be pouring out of the idler pulley which has coolant passing through it :P. Just top off the system through the radiator, let it get up to temp and purge any air through the purge screw on the thermostat neck. If it smells, feels, and looks like oil, then you have bigger problems than a idler pulley :P; I'm going to stick with Alex and say you're seeing the chunky browness from the Dextron crap. Flush the system good and fill it with something different if you want.

[dangerz]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

Ya, maybe it was just really dirty coolant. I was going to go through these guides: http://forum.camarov6.com/showthread.php?t=80203 and http://forum.camarov6.com/showthread.php?t=82695 since I have some stuff off already, so I guess this just gives me all the more reason to do it.

If it is just coolant (again, I might just be an idiot and thought it was oil when it wasnt), do I have to worry about some kind of fire when I start the car back up?

Again, sorry for my newbishness.

[Tom Rs]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

it's just some nasty dexcool - gm's version of engine antifreeze. Flush out your radiator and refill everything when you are done. You didnt leak oil so dont worry

[ssms5411]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

^ yep, just check those coolant lines and check the oil level(or if it is time for a oil change then do one).

[dangerz]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

Cool, thanks for all the help guys.

[dangerz]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

Ok, got the new assembly in. One problem though: I have 2 short bolts and 1 long one. The long one doesn't fit in any of the 3 holes. When I tighten it, there's still about 1/2 an inch that sticks out from the assembly.

Does anyone remember where that long bolt is supposed to go? I don't want to force it and destroy the threads.

Besides that, I got the throttle body off and I got stuck because of the security torx screws (the torx screws with pins in the middle). I only have normal torx adapters, so I'm gonna pick up some security torx ones tomorrow and take off the MAF sensor before I clean the throttle body.

Thanks for all the help.

[dangerz]

Re: Pulled the idle pulley.. oil everywhere

Nevermind, I'm dumb. That bolt is longer because it attaches the alternator to the rest of the assembly.