🔩 Gates 38030 DriveAlign Belt Drive Idler Pulley with Tensioner Review

The pulley on my '05 Heritage melted so I had to replace it. This Gates pulley is much better than the factory. Actually it's made of metal. Also made in Canada. Almost as good as American. I also ordered a Dorman 917-124 Idler Adjustment Bolt Kit available here at Revain. It replaces the junk plastic factory regulator with a durable metal regulator. Overall it was easy to fix. Too bad the air conditioning doesn't work in this car. Oh, another problem that needs solving.

I was a bit surprised when I took this pulley out of the box and found that it was a finely machined metal pulley. Ideal for replacing your old OEM ABS pulley part. Storage was great too, no play. One last comment. This item is built to last and is therefore heavier than the OEM plastic pulley. The rotational inertia is slightly higher, which means that on a sports car, the extra pulley mass means the touring engine has to work (almost imperceptibly) harder to accelerate to higher speeds.

I replaced the idler wheels on a 2004 WRX STi and a 2003 Forester with this part. Gates pulley and bearings are slightly better quality than factory. Apart from the rusty and stuck nuts/bolts that may be on the car, they are very easy to install. I had an annoying whine on my 2004 STi and was concerned that the crankshaft pulley might fail, but I decided to replace the cheapest part I could get my hands on first, which was the air conditioner and alternator idler pulley. This solved the…

Bought this to replace my kid's 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX A/C belt tensioner as the old one whined loud enough to hear 2 blocks away. Installation took about 15 minutes. Tools needed: a 10mm socket for removing the plastic cover from the straps and a 12mm socket for everything else. The extension speeds up the work. The old Subaru OEM idler pulley is a cheaper plastic part. This replacement looks way better than the Subaru OEM. Of course, since the Subaru has lasted 14 years and 125,000 miles. I…

The pulley appears to be of good quality - it is metal like the original in my 2007 Subaru Outback and the bearing works well and smoothly. The original squeaked a bit when starting the car on a cold winter morning after 200,000+ miles so I replaced it a few weeks ago when I was changing the head gaskets and timing belt. The trick to disassembling the old one is removing the nut and tapping out the bolt with a hammer and punch, being careful not to damage the threads. You can also replace the…