I am out tuning my car tonight and I hear this strange plastic sounding tapping at idle and it gets louder with the RPMs. I look at the crank pulley and the side used to line up the timing is completely behind the lower timing belt cover and covered up. Upon later investigation, I have found that the crank pulley wobbles when I turn it.

So...I have a bad crank pulley. What is the cause of this and could it be an internal problem like crankshaft bearings?

 

if it was the bearings, i think they'd have to be damn near gone for the crank to wobble that much. plus it'll run shitty along with a possible tapping. that crank pulley is pretty strong just to all of a sudden develop a warp.

 

I f---up mine the same way. I was a retard and slammed it back onto the threaded spline with a ruber mallet an it must of went on crooked. Its sooo easy to it back on crooked that it could be off a tooth and casue it to wobble. Because its off geometry the pulley will tear up the lower timing cover and make it appear that it has "eaten the plastic".

To fix this, check the threads ont he crank to see if they are still OK, use a 30wt oil ont he threads with your new pulley and carefully wiggle it onto place. Make sure it is firmyl seated all the way against the back of the crank. Lube the crank pulley bolt but NOT the washers with 30wt oil. Your bolt may also be warped, replace it if its questionable and crank to spec. Don't use a crappy bar type torque wrench. Also you should defitely use the special HONDA tool to hold the pulley from moving while torquing it down. You can get one at amazon.com for $25! Its where I got mine.

 

I feel like a jack ass offering you advice since you seem to know a lot here but here goes...the pulley may be warped and you can check that out once you take it off by giving it a roll and a good look. The key bit could be losing it's figure too, and that could cause the pulley to come loose and develop pre-mature wear. If you don't realize it and cont. to drive it while it is slowly taking on a new shape, eventually you'll hear something is off.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll check the key, the bolt and the pulley once everything comes apart. I haven't actually removed the pulley yet, but when I manually crank the motor, it is obvious that it is warped and rubbing on the lower timing belt cover.

 

No reason to feel like that. I don't know everything, so I come asking for advice.

Your advice is good and as I think about it, the engine was a little rough running a few weeks before this happened. Do you think that a belt being too tight would warp a pulley like that?

 

I definitely don't think it's a bearing problem. It's either the pulley, or the part of the crank that the pulley goes on. I don't think the pulley is warped, I just think it's not correctly sitting on the crankshaft...it's probably crooked. When was the last time you did any work involving the crank pulley or timing belt?

 

werd. no bearing problem. either pulley problem or the crank is bent a little.

 

Thanks bro, the belt being too tight wouldn't do that. The belt would snap long before it could ever bend metal. However if anything is mis seated the harmonics will be off and over time you will develop an imperfection. Example: water cutting through rocks and making canyons over time. If it is just a hair off, eventually it's gonna show its ugly face. I would check the pulley and the key bit for appropriateness before tearing apart the block.

 

Thanks for the advice. Now, I just need to figure out a way to get the crank pulley off by tomorrow night. :thinking: