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Main pulley/harmonic balancer Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:34:13 In Reply to: Loud Engine Whine - Need Some Advice & Suggestions, Dave C., Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:05:45 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Ås Everett suspects, it is most likely the main pulley, aka Harmonic Balancer. It is a sandwich of two pulleys, connected by a rubber bit. That rubber bit dies over time, and the two parts can spin independently. The most common symptom is a loud screech - and I mean LOUD, at start-up, that goes away in a few seconds. The more you drive the car, the longer and longer it takes for the sound to go away.
With the hood open, look down at the face of the pulley ( a flashlight helps). If you see any rubber pushing out of the face of the pulley, it's shot. While the engine is cold, take a piece of chalk (or white paint, or white grease pencil) and draw a line across the face of the pulley. Start the car two or three times. Check the line (an inspection mirror helps). If the line is broken - indicating the inner and outer portions have rotated - replace the pulley.
DO NOT WAIT. DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR IF THE PULLEY IS BAD. It sounds like you've been living with this for a while. Not good. The pulley does not heal with age. Two main failure modes - (1) the pulley just flies apart - all the belts come off, and you lose your water pump, power steering, and alternator. The car has to be stopped immediately or you'll overheat and destroy the engine. (2) the outer portion of the pulley starts to move backwards, and starts chewing into the face of the oil pump. That can also make for a fun screech. Keep going, and you'll destroy the pump.
Main pulleys are good for about 100K miles - if yours is original, or even 150K miles old, I'd suspect it.
posted by 75.11.4...
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