Engine Pulleys.

5.0notslow · Aug 8, 2014

Ok so I was driving home from dinner and I start hearing a rhythmic tapping sound, when suddenly power steering goes out and couple seconds later battery light comes on. I pull over and my belt has hopped off the track. The crankshaft pulley was very loose and the bolts walked out some. I purchased an underdrive pulley kit because I was going to replace them any way. I have never changed pulleys on a fox body, just on a 94 GT. Any tips? Also since the car was running with a wobbly crankshaft pulley is there anything I should check for or be concerned with before I change the pulleys and start driving again?

jka · Aug 8, 2014

Yes check the balancer while you are replacing the pulleys..the crankshaft pulley should not be wobbly.

5.0notslow · Aug 8, 2014

Ok I'll take a look at that too. The pulley was wobbly as in not on tight. Would move back and forth cuz the bolts walked out some. Hopefully everything is OK. How would I check the balancer?

mikestang63 · Aug 10, 2014

Is your balancer PULLEY loose or the BALANCER loose. Those are two different things and one is much more serious.

If the pulley is lose, use some medium strength loctite on the bolts and torque them down. Make sure the pulley is square and flat on the face of the pulley. Make sure the pulley is aligned with the other pulleys or the belt will keep jumping.

If the balancer is loose DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR. Remove the balancer bolt, washer and then the balancer. Inspect the balancer and crank snout for signs of damage. The balancer itself may have separated, as it is 2 pieces held together by rubber material which over time fails. You will need to rent or borrow a balancer puller and installer kit from Autozone.

If you see any rubber material peeking out the side of the balance, replace it as it is over 20 years old

5.0notslow · Aug 10, 2014

As of right now it's just the pulley. To when I was trying to get the belt back on and lining it up I felt that the pulley was not on tight cuz it moved back and forth. Felt the bolts and the were not tighten in. Next day I have off I'm going to pull the pulley and check it out more. Hope I can just tighten it down and she'll run again. Thanks for the help guys. If it's the balancer, will there be noticeable damage? Or should I have a mechanic look at it?

FoxMustangLvr · Aug 11, 2014

Why did you get an under drive pulley kit? They spin your accessories SLOWER at idle and low rpms, not the best for a street driven car as the popular consensus has it if that applies to your use of your vehicle.

5.0notslow · Aug 11, 2014

Well I want it to be a drag track car that I can drive to work too. Should I not get the pulleys? It seems like they run better as far as they are lighter and have less drag. I will hopefully get to check out the balancer after work today. If it looks fine and is secured fine, no separation or rubber peeking out of the side, it should be fine right? And no need to replace the balancer?

7991LXnSHO · Aug 11, 2014

Cooling and charging May be affected. You can get a high output alternator swap done, then slow it down with the pulleys and who knows how that will work. All I for sure know is someone put the factory pulleys back on mine before I got it, and I have the high output alternator swap.

mikestang63 · Aug 11, 2014

I have run U/D pulleys on Mustangs for decades with no problems. As long as you are not stupid and use a race crank pulley and use the alternator pulley that is designed to keep the battery charged, you'll be fine. You will need to upgrade the alternator to a 130amp 3g, but you should do that regardless.

7991LXnSHO · Aug 12, 2014

The monster stereo might have needed the full speed pulleys in my car. Watch the temp gauge on hot days and slow speeds or stuck in traffic time. They are not for 4th of July Parades in many cases. I doubt Ford would have sucked a lot more power with pulleys than needed.

5.0notslow · Aug 12, 2014

Well I was able to tighten down the stock pulley last night and feel the balancer all around.. Felt like there was some rubber sticking out of the back side of it. Other than that is looked and felt fine.. Should I look into replacing the balancer? It drove fine to work today.. I'll see how it does on the way home from work..

mikestang63 · Aug 13, 2014

5.0notslow said:
Well I was able to tighten down the stock pulley last night and feel the balancer all around.. Felt like there was some rubber sticking out of the back side of it. Other than that is looked and felt fine.. Should I look into replacing the balancer? It drove fine to work today.. I'll see how it does on the way home from work..

YES- replace the balancer . It is $60 of cheap insurance

5.0notslow · Aug 23, 2014

Well I put on the new pulley kit today, except for the alternator pulley, and that fixed everything. She did run a little hotter but it's probably because it was a hundred degrees outside... The old crank and water pulleys looked horrible and old. The water pulley didn't have any raised edges and the new one does. I'm still going to look into getting a new balancer.. I see that there is a 50oz and a 28oz. Which one is right for me? I'm assuming 50oz since it's stock. Thanks again for all the help everyone.

mikestang63 · Aug 24, 2014

50oz is what you need. They are about $60 from autozone. You will need to rent a harmonic balancer puller.

5.0notslow · Aug 24, 2014

Ok cool. Thanks. Pretty difficult to do? Basically take off fan, fan shroud, crank pulley, and then pull and replace balancer?

Gearbanger 101 · Aug 24, 2014

Pulling the crank pulley is easy. Don't stress it. Swapping to underdrive pulleys is probably The cheapest and easiest low buck horsepower mod you can do.

If you're concerned about charging, hit up eBay and buy yourself an overdrive alternator pulley for about $20.

5.0notslow · Aug 24, 2014

I more concerned with the balancer.. I've never replaced one before. I already did the pulley kit. I left the alternator pulley stock... Sorry for the possible dumb questions.

mikestang63 · Aug 24, 2014

5.0notslow said:
I more concerned with the balancer.. I've never replaced one before. I already did the pulley kit. I left the alternator pulley stock... Sorry for the possible dumb questions.

If you left the alt pulley stock, it is going to turn slower regardless, as you decreased the size of the crank pulley. You now need to reduce the size of the alt pulley to compensate. I think it's 1 11/16 or 1 7/8 size that is needed.

Not trying to give you a hard time, but if you buy the pulley kit, install all the pulleys with the kit as they are designed to work together. March sell a kit that comes with the proper sized smaller pulley.

Regarding the balancer, it is not hard at all. Just make sure you get out the washer before you put the puller on. It Also helps to lightly emery off the crank snout and heat up the inner ring on the new balancer to get it to go on. The stock replacement should be fine though. Line up the keyway, put a little wd40 on the snout, use a new bolt from ARP and with the pulley tool used an an installer, tighten it up. It will go on as far as the other on came off. ( make note of the gap on the old one to the timing cover) . Torque the bolt down- I believe stock is 90 ft lb? but check. I use medium loctite on the pulley bolts as insurance.

Here is a pic of my seteup. You can see how small an alt pulley I am using. I also have a Pioneer SFI balancer .

5.0notslow · Aug 24, 2014

This is the alt pulley that is on. I'm assuming it's stock.

5.0notslow · Aug 24, 2014

Ok I will have to take the alt off and take it somewhere that has some air tools. I can't get the pulley off.. Also thank you for the input on the balancer. I appreciate all the help. I'm not the smartest when it comes to Fox body's, but I do know a little and I'm willing to learn..

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