[Brendan]

Crank Pulley

On the weekend the pulley at the end of the engine block, on my 1979 99 Turbo stop turning, thus not charging the battery, thus meaning I can only drive the car till the battery goes flat. I did a ruff picture below showing what I mean (incase my explaination is bad)

So the pulley don’t turn, cause the pulley don’t turn the generator don’t turn, etc. Cause they only just fitted the engine in there is no room to actually have a look as to what the situation is. Can anyone help me? I don't have a workshop manual as my last one was stolen :x, and hasn't been replaced yet.

 

[Tomarse]

That pulley is generally called the crank pulley as it is fixed onto the end of the crank shaft!

check this thread which is a similar problem.
You could also have a search through this forum. There are likely to be pictures of it in a few threads. (the big threads by nutcase and me for starters)

Firstly check that this pulley is actually not turning. Are you sure it is not the alternator or the A/C that has siezed? - so the crank pulley is stil turning but the belt is not. This is more likely.

If it is definately the crank pulley that is not turning then there are 3 possibilities:

- The bolt that holds it tight has come loose, and the woodruff key that holds it in place has broken so that when the crank spins the pulley doesnt spin with it.

- I think that the pulley is made from 2 pieces joined by a rubber section (to stop vibration). That could have perished and broken so that the centre of you pulley is still spinning but the outer section is not.

- Your crank shaft has broken and the bit with the pulley on is no longer attached and turning with it.

You can look at the pulley if you use a torch and look hard, but you cannot remove it without either taking the engine out, or cutting a big hole in the bulkhead from the inside (nobody here has yet tried this and posted a report/pictures!). I took my engine out!



If i were you i would first try removing the drive belt(s) and see if the crank pully spins when there is no belt on. If it does then check if you can turn the alternator or the AC by hand or if they are siezed up.

If the crank pulley doesnt turn with the belt off then look at the 3 reasons i listed.

 

[Brendan]

- The bolt that holds it tight has come loose, and the woodruff key that holds it in place has broken so that when the crank spins the pulley doesnt spin with it.

It looks like this is what has happened. I have jacked the car up and had a look from underneath.

It looks like the crank pulley has come off the end of the crank shaft. I have marked the edges of the pulley and the crack shaft in red so that you can see how it has moved. The thing is actually wedged and is refusing to move . Looks like its going to be an interesting task to get this fixed.

 

[Tomarse]

Its a definate engine out job i'm afraid (unless you want to hack a very big hole!)
Once the engine is clear it isnt hard to see what is going on. It does look like you will have to lever the pulley off and see if you can clean it up and put a new key and nut in (assuming it hasnt damaged the pulley itself).
Hopefully the oil seal is also fine, and it hasnt dropped any bits inside the engine..

My landrover did the same thing. the key totally disentegrated and was ground into the end of the crank when the pulley turned on its own. It damaged and scored things a bit but it's gone back together and seems to have held!

 

[Brendan]

After looking at it I realized that it was a engine out job, I'm also going to get a very long list of other things done that need doing at the same time.

In a months time the car will be a lot better.

For those of you who haven't seen my car here are some pics

more pics at http://saab.burdon.id.au

 

[nutcase]

Drool! Looking good Apart from the pulley of course...

 

[Swade]

Ain't it the best shape and the grooviest front end you've ever seen? :cheesy: Character by the bucketload!!

 

[ShadowWorks]

You dont have to take the engine out i was told, someone say it could be tilted or dropped a little to give access, the steering rack comes out and its still a big job.

This happened to me once and i really considered cutting a hole in the fire wall, nothing big you understand, just a small round hole so i could open the nuts and pull the pully off.

In the end i had a mechanic do it for me, i was beaten that time.

 

[Brendan]

I recieved an email explaining how it is done

It is quite a simple operation to replace your pulley without removal of engine or touching steering rack. It is a simple matter to loosen the back mounts and lift the engine slightly to remove it

but I think this is a fix for this problem:

- I think that the pulley is made from 2 pieces joined by a rubber section (to stop vibration). That could have perished and broken so that the centre of you pulley is still spinning but the outer section is not.

not my problem. Is this the caes?