Are underdrive pulleys worth it?

Sonic04GT · Feb 5, 2010

I know they will show minimal gains but I'm getting my tax return and figure I might as well complete the bolt-on spree. Gonna run about $200 + $100 install.

What benefit do these play in the long run?

Hopefully getting the LTs on in a couple of weeks

03 Mustang gT · Feb 5, 2010

i feel like the motor revs up a little quicker

Sonic04GT · Feb 5, 2010

03 Mustang gT said:
i feel like the motor revs up a little quicker

Which ones do you have?

trinity_gt · Feb 5, 2010

IMO, no, not worth it. Just a few HP -- if that -- for hundreds of dollars, plus there's added risk for the oil pump gears when using UDPs that don't preserve all OE damper characteristics.

03 Mustang gT · Feb 5, 2010

i dont know..they were on the car when i bought it ..sry

Sonic04GT · Feb 5, 2010

Thanks for the info. Was thinking the Steedas if I did. Apparently they worked with Ford to get the right dampening characteristics.

scupking · Feb 5, 2010

I have the steedas and love them. Now if you are going to get a blower down the road it won't be worth it as you would need to switch back to the stock ones.

Sonic04GT · Feb 5, 2010

scupking said:
I have the steedas and love them. Now if you are going to get a blower down the road it won't be worth it as you would need to switch back to the stock ones.

It'll be a long time before I get a blower. I prefer to stay N/A for a while, AT LEAST until the end of the year.

I think I might actually do this myself after watching the video. Seems pretty simple. I just need to get myself a torque wrench and probably take the alternator off and bring it to a shop to swap that pulley with an impact wrench.

Anybody do it themselves? Did you need a tool to pull the crank pulley off?

MustangLife · Feb 5, 2010

If your gonna stay a bolt-on car definately worth it. You can find Steeda pulleys for $150 if your try hard. You can install them yourself. I would advise against installing the alternator pulley. It just limits the stock alternator to much. The waterpump and crank pulley are definately worth it. Maybe 10 hp probaly. Waterpump is easy as hell to do yourself and the crank involves a torque wrench but they have directions with it to make it a easy process. $100 for the labor is a rip-off completely. A good mechanic can install 3 pulleys in 30 minutes pissing around at the same time.

Josh

ran260gt · Feb 5, 2010

Sonic04GT said:
I know they will show minimal gains but I'm getting my tax return and figure I might as well complete the bolt-on spree. Gonna run about $200 + $100 install.

What benefit do these play in the long run?

Hopefully getting the LTs on in a couple of weeks

Having someone install them for you , what kind of car guy are you

Just messing with you , still a 100 bucks for some jack to install is a ripoff !

Rickyll7 · Feb 5, 2010

Sonic04GT said:
It'll be a long time before I get a blower. I prefer to stay N/A for a while, AT LEAST until the end of the year.

I think I might actually do this myself after watching the video. Seems pretty simple. I just need to get myself a torque wrench and probably take the alternator off and bring it to a shop to swap that pulley with an impact wrench.

Anybody do it themselves? Did you need a tool to pull the crank pulley off?

You will need a harmonic balancer puller. you can rent one from autozone and the like for a few bucks. Make sure you get the correct bolts to thread into the balancer. i dont know what size the threads are but im sure someone here does.

GettinThere · Feb 5, 2010

trinity_gt said:
...plus there's added risk for the oil pump gears when using UDPs that don't preserve all OE damper characteristics.

Yeah I've read of some pulleys falling apart, and oil pumps grenading. I've been daily driving my Steeda pulleys since 2003 with no problems, but of course that doesn't mean bad chit can't happen tomorrow. The Steeda pulleys (or quality non-piggyback pulleys) are the only way to go. I think they're worth it for a bolt-on car.

An impact gun is helpful but not necessary. Also the alternator pulley doesn't need to be swapped, probably only a horse or two there, not worth it.

COramprat · Feb 5, 2010

If i were to do it again I'd go with the replacement dampner like the Steedas and not the piggy-back style.

sneaky98gt · Feb 5, 2010

Don't buy anything other than the Steedas.

Worth it? Depends on if you can get a deal. I got mine brand new for like $140 shipped, IIRC. Not worth a lot of horsepower, but it's worth the money to me just for how much quicker the car revs up. I could tell a bigger difference down low than up top with the pulleys. I'd guess 7-10 ft-lb and 5-7 hp.

Sonic04GT · Feb 5, 2010

ran260gt said:
Having someone install them for you , what kind of car guy are you

Just messing with you , still a 100 bucks for some jack to install is a ripoff !

Yeah I'll do it myself. I just need to buy myself a good torque wrench.

Thanks for all the info guys. I think I'm gonna go ahead with it and search around for sub-$200 Steedas.

Hit me up if anyone knows where I can get them for less than $200. Thanks!

ItsStock02 · Feb 5, 2010

Check ebay.. I got mine for $90 + shipping. And I borrowed the longer install bolt for the crank from a member on here to install them.

And installing them was a piece of cake. Had to take off the rad fan and the degauss bottle.

Kilgore Trout · Feb 5, 2010

Winters98GT · Feb 5, 2010

I've documented the gains with them on both my 98 and 97. They are worth close to 2 tenths and a solid 1mph. I've done the install probably 6-7 times on my cars and friends cars. It takes about 45 minutes of labor. You can take the alternator pulley off without an impact gun, but it is hard. I would suggest that you just take the alternator off, take it to your local lube/car repair center, and have them take it off. It will take them 30 seconds to take it off and put the new one on. The alternator is simple to take off.

Also, you might need a breaker bar for the crank pulley. I've had a couple of them that just would not come off without some type of extension, while some come off with little effort. Make sure you RTV the new crank pulley correctly, or you will leak oil.

sneaky98gt · Feb 5, 2010

Oh yea, forgot to say anything about the install.

OP, is your car auto or 5-speed? It took me about 2 hours. A solid 45 minutes of that hour was jerry-rigging a bracket to hold the torque converter solid while I broke the crank bolt loose. If your's is a stick, you won't have to worry about this, but if it's an auto, go ahead and plan on it.

And yes, my crank bolt was very hard. It took me pushing on it with all my might (with my foot) and my brother simultaneously beating the crap out of it with a 4 lb hammer to break it loose.

So you don't run into any snags, an hour is probably a realistic amount of time for the first time doing it.

Keep an eye on ebay or the classifieds. Deals do come along.

Winters98GT · Feb 5, 2010

And yes, my crank bolt was very hard. It took me pushing on it with all my might (with my foot) and my brother simultaneously beating the crap out of it with a 4 lb hammer to break it loose.

I've had a similar experience, took two of us. Also one thing to note, make sure you are in a safe position and not under the car when using this much force if you are using jack stands.

Are underdrive pulleys worth it?

Sonic04GT

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03 Mustang gT

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...I can take it. I think.

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Are underdrive pulleys worth it?

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