Crank pulley failure

[panheader]

I've only had my 93 1.8 a couple weeks, and when I got it There was a bit of a rattley tinny sound coming from low in the engine bay. It almost sounded like a loose heat shield vibrating just off idle to about 1500 rpm. Then I was cruising along the other day when I heard a noise and the ALT light came on. I looked under the hood and sure enough the alternator belt was gone. Still having a water pump, power steering and a good battery I beat it for home. Strangest thing, I lost half my pulley. The rubber must have dried up or shrank or something, but the outer ring (the pulley part) went south and took the belt with it. Also seems like that noise is gone, making me think it may have been associated with the the pulley instead of a heat shield. Just a head's up....next time you hear a heat shield rattling, take a quick look at the crank pulley cause I think that was what the noise was.

[max kl]

mine made no noise just lost ac and charge light came on pulley stayed togeather untill i removed belt

[marcdh]

I know this topic's old but I think it is of value for me to add to it.

I thought my heat shield was rattling... after a few weeks of putting up with it my alternator half of the crank pulley had slid off shredding my belt!

SO beware that sound may well be your crank! Fortunately I've a spare k8 sitting about from my ze swap.

[smallblockman69]

mitsubishi 4g63's were notorious for doing the same thing.

[IrishNinja]

The same thing as Panheader happened to me on Friday, minus the noise. I know someone that works at one of the local boneyards so I getting a new one wasn't too difficult. I've never changed anything like this before so this might seem like a stupid question but, how to I remove the crank pulley. I know the center bolt is 20 or 21mm but I don't know how to prevent the crank from turning to I can apply counter force to the bolt. Could someone please help me...

[shameem]

You just have to fix a wrench on the center bolt - balance it on something solid and try to start the engine - the starter will loosen it up for you. If thats not an option (and if you have MTX) then put it in gear and have someone sit in the car applying the brakes as hard as they can while you fight with the crank. If you can get an impact wrench in there - it will help a lot.

[Daninski]

Take your wrench or power bar and smack it with a big hammer to break nut free. Usually with the car in gear it's not a problem. I'm not to keen on cranking the engine with a wrench on the nut. Very bad experience once using that method. It is however an option.

[lowflyinmx3]

i'm just curious, but do/did any or all of you have any slight shaking or vibration upon light to medium acceleration?

[Daninski]

Just a quick comment here. Vibration can come from a lot of different things. Your clutch or flywheel could be out of balance, water pump shaft bearing crooked, crank pulley etc. The best thing to do is visually check as much as you can. Does it happen while your stopped or just when you drive? Try to identify under what conditions the vibration is happening. This may help identify the cause or at least elininate a few.

[lowflyinmx3]

I was just curious because my car just started making a noise yesterday. It makes a odd noise real quick then won't make it again. It reminds me of the noise I heard when my buddies prelude's crank pulley went bad. Visually everything looked good, but its wasn't running when I checked it.

[IrishNinja]

This may be another stupid question, but is the crank pulley bolt a left handed thread?

[mx3autozam]

Its a left handed thread just like every other bolt on the car. You need to figure out why this pulley came apart. These pullies don't just do that. I think your belts are either too tight or out of alignment or one of the tensioner bearings is scewed. To get it off you need an impact or use a big break bar and have someone hopld the motor from turning over.

[tmac4t4]

i sure hope its a different noise im hearing on my car i noticed a similar noise the other day coudlnt quite tell where it was coming from but definatley in that general area..i assumed a bearing in a pulley or something of that sorts ima definatley look closer after reading this thread.

[Yoda]

Seem to be happening a lot especially in place where they use road salt of near large bodies of salt water. Seems that the pulley rusts under the rubber isolator and seperates. I had a collection of a 1/2 dozen or so spare pulleys but have given all but one of them away to guys that have had them seperate.

[fowljesse]

Welcome back, Yoda, if only for a little while..