clean your pulleys
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 5,107
Likes: 50
From: Central Florida
clean your pulleys
something i never see mentioned is pulley imbalance but after cleaning several pulleys and noting that most of the ones with excessive fron't stat gear bearing wear had caked dirt inside the pulleys. several ounces doesn't seem like much in an imbalance but it is outside of the proper balance specification of the engine if the dirt is built up in odd places on the pulleys throwing the balance off(and i do see it built up on one side more than the other alot).
it isn't a huge issue but it is something that should be done periodically, i see dirt build up in as low as 30k miles on engines or less depending on where you drive(dusty roads build up quicker obviously). the higher the performance your engine is the more this is something you should add onto your maintenance charts to do every few years while cleaning things up around your engine.
by cleaning them i mean remove the main shaft pulleys completely during cleaning, the inside of the inner main pulley as well as the outside of the front pulleys are the most susceptible to collecting dirt and causing imbalances.
the front stat gear bearing already takes the most stress from driving the accessories, it doesn't need help from outside sources in it's wear pattern.
it isn't a huge issue but it is something that should be done periodically, i see dirt build up in as low as 30k miles on engines or less depending on where you drive(dusty roads build up quicker obviously). the higher the performance your engine is the more this is something you should add onto your maintenance charts to do every few years while cleaning things up around your engine.
by cleaning them i mean remove the main shaft pulleys completely during cleaning, the inside of the inner main pulley as well as the outside of the front pulleys are the most susceptible to collecting dirt and causing imbalances.
the front stat gear bearing already takes the most stress from driving the accessories, it doesn't need help from outside sources in it's wear pattern.
something i never see mentioned is pulley imbalance but after cleaning several pulleys and noting that most of the ones with excessive fron't stat gear bearing wear had caked dirt inside the pulleys. several ounces doesn't seem like much in an imbalance but it is outside of the proper balance specification of the engine if the dirt is built up in odd places on the pulleys throwing the balance off(and i do see it built up on one side more than the other alot).
it isn't a huge issue but it is something that should be done periodically, i see dirt build up in as low as 30k miles on engines or less depending on where you drive(dusty roads build up quicker obviously). the higher the performance your engine is the more this is something you should add onto your maintenance charts to do every few years while cleaning things up around your engine.
by cleaning them i mean remove the main shaft pulleys completely during cleaning, the inside of the inner main pulley as well as the outside of the front pulleys are the most susceptible to collecting dirt and causing imbalances.
the front stat gear bearing already takes the most stress from driving the accessories, it doesn't need help from outside sources in it's wear pattern.
it isn't a huge issue but it is something that should be done periodically, i see dirt build up in as low as 30k miles on engines or less depending on where you drive(dusty roads build up quicker obviously). the higher the performance your engine is the more this is something you should add onto your maintenance charts to do every few years while cleaning things up around your engine.
by cleaning them i mean remove the main shaft pulleys completely during cleaning, the inside of the inner main pulley as well as the outside of the front pulleys are the most susceptible to collecting dirt and causing imbalances.
the front stat gear bearing already takes the most stress from driving the accessories, it doesn't need help from outside sources in it's wear pattern.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 5,107
Likes: 50
From: Central Florida
i've seen plenty of people who clean their engines regularly neglect this.
in fact i'm working on a 30k mile motor that was making 500 to the wheels that was cleaned quite often that had a bit of imbalance due to dirt in the pulleys that i know i cleaned out during the rebuild several years ago which had excessive front bearing wear, beyond specification where new bearings were used when it was built.
in fact i'm working on a 30k mile motor that was making 500 to the wheels that was cleaned quite often that had a bit of imbalance due to dirt in the pulleys that i know i cleaned out during the rebuild several years ago which had excessive front bearing wear, beyond specification where new bearings were used when it was built.
Also, cleaning the main pulley specifically should keep the timing markers from wearing. And as some of us find out the hard way, pulleys only match the hub they come on. They do not interchange! Well, some may, but the marks can be off regardless.
