what would make my crankshaft pulley come flying off a second time?

[T-Funk]

i replaced the nonexistent key the first time it happened with a new one, but this time it happened AGAIN while i was driving around
im sure most people have never heard of a crankshaft pulley loosening itself off once let alone twice lol

anyways i checked it out this time, and the key was completely disintegrated, like it was in the pulley slot where it should be but it was just dust and crumbled apart in my hand

WHAT COULD BE MAKING IT DO THIS?? PLEASE HELP ME LOL
i have checked all parts over and over and over and there is no reason i can think of for this happening

im just glad its happened at low speed both times and not on the highway where it could fuck up someones car if the pulley didnt wedge itself in the engine bay

[Oldblueaccord]

heh

well join the club.

New bolt/washer and locktight and hope the threads in the crank arn't the problem.


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[bobafett]

is your motor in good condition? low miles, high miles?

i have NEVER heard of this happening personally, but what if ur bearings are fucked and the crank is wobbling, and that wobbling just eventually wears down/breaks the key?

thats scary though. did you use the right washers/plates/etc when installing the cp?

[T-Funk]

300,000 kms engine

ive got oil leaking out either the crankshaft seal or the camshaft seal, but Im not sure if thats affecting the pulley bolt or the key

the washers and everything are perfect and right where they should be

anyways once i start working evenings ill be able to do my seals, valve cover gasket, and timing belt and water pump and distributor, so maybe ill just take it a little further :D

[bakwudzgurl]

hey !!!
This just happened to me AGAIN also !!! we just put on
1 new crankshaft Pulley
1 new keyway
1 new bolt/washer
along with some loc-tite
and a special Tap almost 40 bucks itself !!
got it all together and the thing was very hard to start and stalled as soon as we put it in gear !!!
what the hell?? I'm a Chevy/GMC girl, my daughter got me this car when the gas prices went thru the roof, I'm starting to think I'd rather be driving the Suburban and paying extra at the pump......Way Less of a Headache !!!!:deadhorse:

[Dr_Snooz]

When you install it, are you sliding the pulley all the way onto the shaft until it is fully seated or are you kinda getting it in the general vicinity and then going gonzo with the air gun? Best practice would be to do everything carefully by hand, obviously. If you don't get the key in there correctly, it can wedge between the pulley and shaft and make things a lot more interesting.

[Hauntd ca3]

if you are torquing it with a torque wrench, a bit of grit or something on the threads can give a false reading , leading in under torquing.
if you are using a rattle gun, dont forget that these are not terribly accurate or consistant inthe torque and most of the time you can put more torque on a fastener witha plain 18 inch breaker bar

[LX-incredible]

When you install it, are you sliding the pulley all the way onto the shaft until it is fully seated or are you kinda getting it in the general vicinity and then going gonzo with the air gun? Best practice would be to do everything carefully by hand, obviously. If you don't get the key in there correctly, it can wedge between the pulley and shaft and make things a lot more interesting.

This is what I believe happened.

I like to put a dab of silicone on the back of the key to keep it from sliding out. The crank should be recessed no more than about 1/8" back from the bolting surface of the pulley before installing the bolt. If you can't install the pulley by hand it probably needs some more cleaning or a different key.

[ghettogeddy]

hahah talking about a 4yr bump lol

[2oodoor]

seems like with three belts on there it would not "come flying off" but would raise hell, you would lose ps assist, belts would squeal like a stump broke pig, etc.. and you would see it wobbling a good bit before it gets to the stage of departing from the vehicle...

Ive seen Harm balancers break, and pulleys get lose and those are the tells.
Unless of course your racing or on a nice long pull somehow and the warnings are not heard in time?
I don't doubt it happens but I think not too often like OP says.

[Oldblueaccord]

Well when mine came off I ran it over stopped to see what I had hit,it was night, and the whole time it stayed running somehow.

I think the above new posters timing may have jummped now.


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[2oodoor]

^^i am trying to guess, new owner of the same car? why was the pully off to begin with?
Ran over it, :cool:

[Oldblueaccord]

Yeah it was real funny I picked it up and was like " damn look at this balancer wonders who thiss......." then I broke off running back to my car 100 yards away. Even getting the hood open flashlight out it stayed running. :dunno:

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[Dr_Snooz]

Walt, are you sure that's not an urban legend...?


I managed to get a pulley on without the washer once. It didn't make a lot of noise but it did give an odd whumping sort of engine vibration. Scared the crap out of me when I figured it out.

[Oldblueaccord]

Sometimes I think my lifes an Urban legend....

But I laugh about it. its was on me I had done the timing belt a pretty long time ago. Worse part was I had just worked a hell 14 hour shift to get some product out at a place I had worked so that kinda topped it off.

Thinking doh there are 2 bolts sizes on that crank pulley. They are pretty close in thread size maybe there using the smaller bolt in the larger hole. I think the break is around 1987 or so. It was a big deal at the dealership to get me the correct size for some reason.


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