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When to replace your crank pulley (Harmonic Balancer).
This acticle will show what the crank pulley will look like when it starts to fall apart and what a new one should look like. Also explain some of my problems it caused my car to have.
I heard some clinking and clanking noises coming from around my engine around the driver's side. I first thought it was crankwalk, but I felt the crank pulley to see if there was any play, there wasn't. I looked closely at the pulley itself and noticed a few of the notches around it were moved as if the center section moved forward. I was also having electrical problems, such as the lights dimming a quite a bit after I let off the gas from the radio shutting off occasionally after I let off the gas or hitting the brakes. Most of these problems were only around highway speeds as well. The belt tension was also in spec. After I replaced my crank pulley the noises stopped and my radio and lights haven't had a problem since. I assume that there was a problem with the pulley causing something to happen to the alternator belt.
I caught this in time before any damage was done to my engine/accessories. The only damage that was done was the ac belt rubbing into the timing belt cover and the actual pulley rubbing onto the cover as well. I have heard of the ac belt slipping and pushing the timing belt itself and causing the belt to jump a tooth and destroying the head. My car had 74,000 miles on it when I noticed this, so if you're anywhere close to this milage, even less, I suggest checking the pulley out and replacing it asap if need be. I have also heard of this happening just after you mess around with the belt tension causing more stress on the pulley.
Here are the pictures I took to show what it looked like on and off the car as well as the new pulley.
1st, you can see around the edge of the pulley that the rubber between the inner section and outer section was splitting.
2nd, you can see the rubber notches/slits that go around the whole pulley are moved forward as if they were pushed by the center section.
3rd, this is a closer look of the notches with the pulley off the car.
4th, this whole section of notches have been destroyed by the center moving forward.
5th, this is after I picked the pulley up by the middle section and it feel apart under its own weight.
6th, another of it in pieces.
7th, this is what the edge should look like.
8th, these are what the notches should appear as.
9th, another of what the notches should look like.
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