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It could be already failed Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Tue, 17 May 2005 06:05:11 In Reply to: Harmonic dampner/pulley, No Snaab, Mon, 16 May 2005 18:10:54 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The pulley consists of three pieces - the inner pulley attached to the crankshaft, the outer pulley that drives the belts, and a rubber sandwich between them. Over time, the rubber breaks down. The squeal you hear is the inner pulley turning faster than the outer pulley. Eventually the outer pulley catches up (it is driving loads). But every time that happens, the rubber gets chewed up.
What are the downsides? The outer pulley is essentially floating with respect to the crankshaft. If it drifts towards the engine, it will start chewing through the front cover of the oil pump. Given enough time, it can rub through, and you'll get a catastrophic oil leak. If the pulley drifts away from the engine face, it can drift right off. This is the least nasty result in that you'll just lose all your belts. The critial ones are the loss of power steering and water pump; the car will be undriveable until repaired. The last possibility is that the outer pulley doesn't drift, but the rubber core just disintegrates to the point where none of the belts turn. This also disables the car (driving without a water pump is NOT recommended, even for a few minutes).
If the pulley is indeed slipping, it's hard to say how long it will be before something really comes apart. If the pulley is resting against the oil pump face, it could go quite a while before nasty things happen.
Do yourself a favor and climb under the car and look. If you see obvious signs of wear, don't wait - replace. If the rubber in the middle is cracked and sticking out, replace immediately. If it looks OK, draw a chalk line across the face of the pulley, and start the car a few times. If the line is still straight, the pulley is probably OK, and you're hearing something else. If the line isn't straight, the pulley is shot.
The pulley doens't have a 'graceful' failure mode. When it decides to go, it won't be pretty. The best case will be needing a tow.
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