[s-cars] Why does the car idle like crap when the A/C is on?

[Paul.Park at colorado.edu]

Well it's probably because I buggered up the timing belt procedure this
weekend. I did everything that was listed on the site, including not
replacing the crank seal. It was in great shape, as was the timing belt
itself.

Anyways, I know that my serpentine belt tensioner pulley has a lot of play.
it squeels a lot, and basically there's a lot of chatter. The bearing is
bad, I guess or so I was told by my partner during the whole installation.

Can the bad serpentine belt tensioner be responsble for the harsh vibration
transmitted when idling? I played around with the tensioner, and when not
under load, the car idles smoothly, and with the tensioner back on the
belts, the car idles noticeably coarse.

Any suggestions? Also...the car's not leaking any coolant, by why the heck
does it smell like coolant? Was it the old coolant that seemingly got
everywhere when replacing the thermostat?


Thanks,
Paul