LaserDad91
15+ Year Contributor
- 491
- 7
- Apr 30, 2004
-
Huntsville,
Ohio
Below is what happened when my mechanic removed my crank pulley, it just fell apart! Thanks to DSM Tuners, I was able to avoid disaster!! I had been having problems with the main drive belt. First it jumped off at work during start up, reference this link for that story, http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156981. My Laser has ~ 96K on it now, and all stock, NA, for reference.
After fixing the above it would continue to squeal on cold mornings with the front and rear defroster on, and the parking lights on. No squeal if one of the three was off. Sometimes, if front wheels were turned to full lock, it would squeal.
So, I replaced the belt, with a Dayco Poly Cog, and noticed a knocking noise coming from the front of the engine, near the water pump area, but could not pin down where it was at. Water pump and timing belt was done at 75K, and had about 20K on it, should be OK. So I dropped some tension from the belt, and it seemed OK, drove it about 60 miles, no problem. I had been watching the crank pulley and even though it was wobbling (less than 1/4), it did not seem excessive. However I kept in mind all the warnings on here about crank pulleys!
Next, the belt flew off again at start up (at home this time my car was trying to warn me!!
)! I Reinstalled, and still knocking noise and crank pulley wobble was approaching ~ 3/8 or more. Due to the purchase of a mini van for the wife, I let the Laser sit, started searching for pulleys, and drove the 5th Ave. It was winter anyway, and wanted to keep the Laser as free as possible from road salt and other drivers!!
I considered an under drive pulley option, but after reading Mach Vs recommendation I decided against it. Since most under drive pulleys are not dampened, they do not recommend them for a daily driver. This is because accessory load belt shock could increase crank bearing wear. The rubber dampens shock to crankshaft due to the belts. They did state there was no real data to support this, but it made sense to me. Buscher sells a rubber dampened under drive pulley for $300, which is just too much for a 10-15 HP gain in my opinion. (I can get NOx for about that!) So I found an OEM unit on line at www.chryslerpartsdirect.com, I had found this site about two years ago when looking for parts for my 5th Ave.
Cost of pulley with shipping was $120. Took them about a week to ship, and a few more days for it to arrive, so they not real speedy, but it is a genuine Chrysler ( Mitsubishi made?) part! Even though it not a hard job to do, I decided to take it to my mechanic anyway, and he installed it for $40. For that much $$ it just not worth my time lying in the snow to do (I have no garage
..yet!). He also observed the knocking noise and checked it; noise was the pulley and it gone now. He also checked rear wheel bearing, which is starting to whine and I will replace this spring when I do rear brakes.
So this morning, in 5 degree weather, I started it and turned on the accessories as listed above, and, no problems. While it may be too early to tell, all seems OK.
After fixing the above it would continue to squeal on cold mornings with the front and rear defroster on, and the parking lights on. No squeal if one of the three was off. Sometimes, if front wheels were turned to full lock, it would squeal.
So, I replaced the belt, with a Dayco Poly Cog, and noticed a knocking noise coming from the front of the engine, near the water pump area, but could not pin down where it was at. Water pump and timing belt was done at 75K, and had about 20K on it, should be OK. So I dropped some tension from the belt, and it seemed OK, drove it about 60 miles, no problem. I had been watching the crank pulley and even though it was wobbling (less than 1/4), it did not seem excessive. However I kept in mind all the warnings on here about crank pulleys!
Next, the belt flew off again at start up (at home this time my car was trying to warn me!!
)! I Reinstalled, and still knocking noise and crank pulley wobble was approaching ~ 3/8 or more. Due to the purchase of a mini van for the wife, I let the Laser sit, started searching for pulleys, and drove the 5th Ave. It was winter anyway, and wanted to keep the Laser as free as possible from road salt and other drivers!! I considered an under drive pulley option, but after reading Mach Vs recommendation I decided against it. Since most under drive pulleys are not dampened, they do not recommend them for a daily driver. This is because accessory load belt shock could increase crank bearing wear. The rubber dampens shock to crankshaft due to the belts. They did state there was no real data to support this, but it made sense to me. Buscher sells a rubber dampened under drive pulley for $300, which is just too much for a 10-15 HP gain in my opinion. (I can get NOx for about that!) So I found an OEM unit on line at www.chryslerpartsdirect.com, I had found this site about two years ago when looking for parts for my 5th Ave.
Cost of pulley with shipping was $120. Took them about a week to ship, and a few more days for it to arrive, so they not real speedy, but it is a genuine Chrysler (
Mitsubishi made?) part! Even though it not a hard job to do, I decided to take it to my mechanic anyway, and he installed it for $40. For that much $$ it just not worth my time lying in the snow to do (I have no garage
..yet!). He also observed the knocking noise and checked it; noise was the pulley and it gone now. He also checked rear wheel bearing, which is starting to whine and I will replace this spring when I do rear brakes.So this morning, in 5 degree weather, I started it and turned on the accessories as listed above, and, no problems. While it may be too early to tell, all seems OK.
