Mitsubishi Repair: idle pully assemly, cylinder head gasket, dodge avenger

Question
Yes my daughter has a 1996 mitsubishi eclipse rs 5speed 2liter in-lined4. We bought it used as a first car. Anyway in August the alternator belt busted and the PS and AC belt came off. I replaced the one belt and got the other back on. A week later when she went to start it it started whinning, and still does. Now it started whinning when you slow down to turn and when you are at a compleate stop and the fan kicks in. Is it the idle pully that is going out or what is the deal? A mechnic has looked at it and told me it was the pully. I saw that the pully was stopping and the belt was struggling. I can not just get the pulley or that is what the nearest Mitsubishi dealer says. They say I have to buy the whole assemby. The dealer is 2 and 1/2 hours away. I was also told that the Dodge Avenger or Eagle Tallon parts would inter change but the factory bolt does not go all the way through the pully. What can I do to get this car running right without paying a arm and a leg. No salvage yard in a 250 mile radius has what I am needing. Am I asking for the right part. Can you point me in a direction. In April of this year the previous owner had the timing belt, water pump, timing belt idler pulleys, altenator drive belt, the ps/ac drive belt cylinder head gasket set, intake valve, exhaust valves, pcv hose all replaced. They also rebuilt the ac compressor w/clutch and replaced the o-ring seals.I hope I have given you enough imformation to help me out. I am a single mother and my boyfriend was in a motorcycle accident so I don't have alot of money to be getting the wrong part. Thank-you for your time. Anita Laird  

Answer
Anita,
There's a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) for power steering belt alignment problems. If the vehicle was built prior to Sept 19, 1997 calls for the replacement of the power steering pump bracket and idler pulley with new and revised parts. If the car was built after the above date then the pulley can be shimmed. Ask your local dealership this: "If I buy the parts for this TSB from your dealership will you provide me with a copy of the TSB?" You can probably just talk with the parts person since they're the ones who get paid comission off of your purchase. No TSB, no comission.  

The TSB states the following:
TSB ID: 9837A005
Detail: Power Steering - Drive Belt Alignmnet Problem & Solution
Date Issue: October 1998

Finding the idler pulley itself or the entire assembly sounds like it's a big difficult where you live.  Your best option may be to have the part delievered to you.  You can refer to this site for a list of several Mitsubishi dealerships that offer discounted parts and reasonable shipping costs.  
http://www.dsm.org/vendors.epl

Scroll through the list on the page and look for vendors with the name "Mitsubishi" in them.  Those are the dealerships.  Call the parts department, and indicate you're a 'DSM Club member'.  Then just describe what you need and they should be able to get you what you need.  Dealerships that offer these kinds of deals on parts are usually very people-friend and genuinely want to help you.  Call a couple places if you need to.  
Good luck!