Is the tensioner wheel supposed to wobble? My 98LT is sqeaking pretty bad and I know it's from the belt area but I can't pin down where. I backed off the tensioner and the only pulley that had any play was the tensioner. Is this normal or should it be a nice smooth bearing type roll?

the tensioner arm should move back and forth, but the pully itself should have a smooth spin to it. If it doesn't replace it. It's actually cheaper to replace the entire tensioner instead of just the pully.

The spring is fine but the pulley has a wobble (feels loose) when I spin it by hand.

How hard is it to replace? I see it only has one bolt. Will I need to preload the spring first or is it a direct bolt on?

direct bolt on, just remember though, it's reverse thread, so clockwise to loosen

Alright! Thanks for mentioning that! It would have drove me nuts...


...

If that is a steel pulley, you can usually just press out the bearing and replace it for about 8 bucks. If plastic, replace the whole thing.

IS the bearing a regular item at the auto stores?

About any NAPA dealer will have about any bearing. Not so sure about the others, or any supply place should carry them, pretty standard bearing in it.