As with everything when repairing cars, finding a quality replacement part is many times as time consuming as installing it. This instance was no different as many replacements looked like appearance was a complete after thought. The Gates and AC Delco seemed to most closely resemble the stock part and while not rated poorly had several people complaining of how they failed within a few months.
To retain the stock look, I decided I'd just find a way to replace the bearing in the stock pulley. I tried to remove the pulley, not thinking it was a reverse thread bolt, and could not get it removed. When I went to YouTube to find a video on it, I found a guy who used a nice looking black billet pulley he found on Amazon. The construction looked good, it worked well for him, and the cost was only $32. With that in mind, I put in an order and it arrived this morning. The new part is actually quite nice (original on left, billet on right, original washer at bottom).
I spun the old pulley just on my finger and could hear trash in the pulley. That said, it spun a big more freely, likely due to wear, than the new one I ordered. It does look like you could press out and replace the bearing in the stock pulley. The part number on it is 6203LH and the manufacturer (NTN) is on the other side. The 6203 identifies the size of the bearing and the LH on it means there is only one side with a rubber seal. I could probably find one but it doesn't seem the most common of the 6203 style bearings.
The pulley installed super easy but doesn't use the original washer. It spins quite easy It is slightly larger but it doesn't pose any issue getting the belt back into position.
I'm sure the listing for the pulley will change but it is presently available through the following link:
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