Way too much! Can you move it by hand in and out or crank in and out when engine is off?

Yup. I took the belts back off again. That thing is toast. I was able to separate the outside from the inside with a few hard tugs by hand.

Fluidamper here I come!

Glad I was able to help . Oh yeah, I love good parts on any car. Especially mine

That damn pulley. Should have read the warnings... It rubbed the timing cover and made a nasty clack/knocking sound. Filed the lip down, and the sound went away.

I think I might not have filed enough down because once I put the belts back on, and tightened them down the noise came back.

I'm done with it for now. Should have gone OEM

Another option aside from OEM that have been proven are ATI or Fluidampr harmonic dampeners.

2gmitsueclipse said:

Another option aside from OEM that have been proven are ATI or Fluidampr harmonic dampeners.

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"That damn pulley" was in reference to Fluidampr part number 630701. It is making sounds still after some trimming of the timing cover lip. Looks like the timing belt cover will need some more grinding. So far I have read Fluidampr can bolt on to 2g or the black timing covers.

I wonder if I can swap on a black lower timing cover onto my 1g 6 bolt.

I'd just go with an OEM one, got mine from JNZTuning last week. The Rockauto brand ones (like Dorman) have been known to fail pretty quickly. I'll take another OEM one as the first one has lasted over 150k.

Isn't there another option called ATI or something? Comparable to Fluiddamper? May want to check that out too.

GSLENK said:

I wonder if I can swap on a black lower timing cover onto my 1g 6 bolt.

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On my Laser project, I opted for the Galant VR-4 timing cover. It is the black cover for 6-bolt motors.

Part #: MD141456

I cannot confirm there will not be any rubbing on the cover as I have not installed the damper though, I will be using a Fluidampr.

GSLENK said:

So far Fluidampr is only proven to truly bolt on to 2g or the black timing covers.

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The backside of my Fluidampr rubbed the lower timing cover on my 7-bolt 2g, too. I noticed it when I pulled the crank pulley to remove the timing belt a few weeks ago, there was a thin plastic layer that was shaved off and stuck to the back of the Fluidampr pulley.

FWIW, I have all the timing belt cover bolts in the correct locations so it wasn't the cover causing the rubbing issue. I'd say from reading this isn't a 1g/2g thing, this is a Fluidampr thing on any model year DSM.

My fluidampr rubbed too on a brand new cover. I noticed on install since I couldnt even turn the crank . After trimming the lip down I think all the way almost it stopped. I have it enough so it doesn't touch at all but still protects like it's supposed to. Would have sucked to not notice and start the engine. Could only imagine the noise and strain it would cause.

Mines doesn't rub on anything. 98 gsx.

All I replaced was the damper/pulley. To be fair... Had I read the instructions in the package: "pre-1995 models: Before installation check timing cover clearance. Trim plastic cover lip if necessary". Shame on me.

Apparently I didn't trim enough off. The first time I started it up, it sounded like knocking, but not rod knock, that's more of a clack/tapping sound, this was duller. I pressed on the timing cover and it suppressed the noise. Then removed everything and the car ran sounded as normal. Did some shaving put it all together, and no belts it was fine, so I put the belts back on, sound is back but a bit fainter. A stethoscope ruled out accessories, its still likely the cover or something beneath it. Ill find out this weekend.

Cooper-97gst said:

Mines doesn't rub on anything. 98 gsx.

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Lucky... But then again we each 1g/2g have our own set of "lucky" nuances.

...lucky or the end play on the crank pushes it out far enough so it doesn't rub.

Kidding!

Torquing it down against a plastic timing cover lip couldn't have done any damage correct? I spun it using a 1/2" ratchet to turn the crank so that I could install the belts and check to make sure everything rotated, and double check torque on each of the 4 bolts. And after that appeared to be smooth, started the car...

In response to:

Dsmkauai said:

Would have sucked to not notice and start the engine. Could only imagine the noise and strain it would cause.

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Not really only put a line into the crank pulley and start shredding the timing cover. Only other thing is it could push against the timing belt alittle if it's close to the edge of the crank gear. Yours didn't seem as bad as mine. I could barely even turn mine when installed properly, it took force and just didn't seem right. When Right before that the motor spun freely so I knew it was the crank pulley. I could also see the line it made from hiting the cover. I had heard someone else's that was making horrible noise, its posted on this site somewhere. And there's was the same thing the pulley rubbing. So right away I knew what to do. You should be ok bro just get the cover trimmed

Always stick to one mod at a time. I was chasing a strange sound even after filing it better than flush after a ton of removing the pulley, removing/replacing belts, test driving... turns out it was excess engine noise caused by an avid timing side motor mount.