I am near the end of a major whole car rebuild of my originally purchased 94. I would like to powder coat many of the pulleys that cannot be simply replaced with anodized replacements such as the AC, idler, and air pump pulleys. Can these pulleys be placed in the oven at 400 degrees after coating without cooking or destroying the grease and the plastic seals in the bearing sets? Many of these bearings cannot be removed or removed easily.

Any experience?
Thanks Mike

 

The AC pulley can actually be easily removed, 10mm bolt in the middle then a snap ring and the whole works comes off. It does have rubber in it to dampen the shock of engaging/disengaging the magnetic clutch.

The idler pulley you can get one from Pettit that's billet aluminum. It's just silver color.

Air pump is trickier, never tried to dismantle one. It also has a magnetic clutch so the metal side that engages with the magnet can't be coated.

AC pulley is usually best with just some good gloss black spraypaint, it's so low in the engine bay you just want it to look clean.

Dale

 

I was in the same boat as you, I purchased some blue anodized alloy pulleys and wanted my water pump idler pulley and a/c idler and a/c and p/s pulleys the same color.
so instead of power coating them i painted them first silver metallic and then candy apple blue and did light coats until they matched the other pulleys, and they looks 95% the same.

 

I have everything off and cleaned. I did paint the AC and idler pulley a few months ago with higher quality duplicolor auto paint in candy color with even the adhesion spray first, but since then I already have scratched a little of the paint off in moving them twice. I am afraid what they will look like after wear and tear with water and weather gets to them. That's why I would love to powder coat them (I have my own unit). The worry I have is that the bearing sets grease will cook and cause premature failure. Any thoughts??

The air pump has been disassembled and cleaned. The external bearing at the pulley cannot be removed. It would be in danger too of cooking. The internal bearings are out.

P.S. If anyone ever tries to rebuilt the air pump be very careful and label every part to go back the exact same way. The internal vanes must go back in the exact same slots and the back ring is balanced and must go back in the exact same holes or it will be out of balance and will destroy itself and you could suck pieces into the engine intake. Not good.

Mike

 

Your concern is valid; 400 deg F is pretty toasty. There will definitely be an affect, whether there will be damage...hard to say.

 

the air pump is just like the AC compressor, comes right apart.

 

The air pump actually has a second front bearing. There is the bearing on the pulley itself, just like the AC pulley, but there is also a bearing in the front of the housing itself, below the pulley, that cannot be removed and is pressed into the housing.
Mike