JohnnyQuattros

It took me about 30 min and a 19mm open end wrench to move the tensioner. I had a new tensioner pulley on hand for comparison. My tensioner pulley was silent and smooth when spun and had no play at all. It did spin much easier than the new one which leads me to believe that the grease within is diminishing. The performance of my pulley under load could still be the culprit. Do to time constraints I only replaced the belt. I did another water test and there was no slippage when the AC was on. The steering noise is still present. When I have more time, I will replace the pulley and put the OEM snub back on. If the noise diminishes then I will but my APR snub back. If the noise comes back, we can blame the snub, otherwise we can attribute it to the tensioner pulley. If the noise doesn't diminish then we can discount the after market snub theory.

I will update with the results but it might be awhile

diagnosticator1

one way or the other. Another bearing that may be involved with the symptoms, is the pulley bearing for the A/C compressor, when the compressor clutch is disengaged, the bearing allows the pulley to rotate without driving the compressor. When you get a chance with the belt removed, check the A/C pulley bearing for wear and excessive free play, and smoothness, etc.

JohnnyQuattros

Thanks for all your help. I will update when I can but as I said ealier, it might be awhile.