90q I5 idler pulley (tb tensioner) whine -- help!

[Andrei Kogan <abk@phy.duke.edu>]

Hi,
I was getting a whine from the front of the engine for a while. Following
suggestions from the list, I rulled out the accessory belts, the ps pump
and the 
alternator. Then I took the car to  Lonnie ( the mechanic who does things
on this 
car that are beyond my abilities) and he told me he was certain it was the
TB tensioner.

Now, that makes me feel rather stupid. I did the TB and waterpump lastr 
october, but I left the old idler pulley in there, because it looked just
fine, 
there were no  signs of a wobble and it 
turned very smoothly. This guy hasn't ever been wrong in his diagnosis 
before, so I believe he is right and the tensioner now needs to be
replaced.  I asked him how 
much he would charge for doing it, and he said he considers it to be a 
full-scale TB/waterpump job. I told him that the pump and the belt are new
in there, 
but he still wasn't sure he would be able to do it faster. 

My question:

Has anyone tried to replace the idler pulley without doing the whole TB thing?

I was thinking --- take off  the cover,  losen the water pump, take the
belt off the cam gear, 
and do the pulley, then put everything back. The bumper and the top painted
crossbrace will probably
still have to be taken off, but it is still much faster then removing all
the belts, the big bolt, the
cam gear/back tb cover plate etc. The obvious disadvantage is that this
way, there is no way to replace the
water pump o-ring, but isn't it designed to withstand adjusting the belt
tension at least a couple of times?

The second question --- What's the best way to remove the Idler pulley from
the stud it supposedly is 
pressed on? How much force is needed there? Any BTDT are greatly appreciated!

Thanks a lot guys for your help. One day I'll learn not to assume I know
better than the list. On the 
positive side, I felt somewhat bad about spending $59 on the 2084 to only
use it once, now there is another 
chance if the above doesn't work!