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Hahahaha On my very first xj wheeling trip deep in on a trail in Death Valley the day before thanksgiving, my idler pulley blew out, it was throwing sparks. my friend drove out and bought the last one an hour before the parts store closed for the 4 day weekend. it took them near all day round trip, then I got going again. to this day I always carry a spare. I hate that serpentine belt system. think about it, if the idler goes outs, the power steering pulley goes, the AC pulley, the alternator fails and you is stuck as that means no water pump. I rather have separate belts and pulleys for the critical stuff. my xj is only car I own that has such a system, ugh!!!
You all are making me feel like it wasn't a waste to replace that pulley 'just cause' (well because it had 100k miles on it) when I replaced the water pump/belt/etc. I never know when I'm making a good 'baselining' choice versus just being OCD.
Rockauto often has decent brands in their XJ closeouts section for like $8. Last time I zoomed in on the images to check the bearing brand was decent though I guess that's not really a guaranty that's the bearing used on the unit you get. Guess I'll pick up a spare next Rockauto order to have on hand. My spare parts box keep growing. I wish there was a consolidated list of what to bring along just in case.
I know the pulley arrangement & therefore the belt routing is different on RHD models bur from my experience there's no reason why this happening should leave you stranded, as I was able to drive about 150 miles without the idler (& I don't know how many 100's of miles prior to that with it seized solid) simply by adjusting out the slack in the belt.
My jeep is stranded
