krisfnbs

so about 6 months ago I lost my power steering and quickly noticed the pulley was wobbling. I just let the car sit for a few months, its a beater. got busy with work and just let it be. about 2 weeks ago...I bought a new pulley and new key...but when I took the old ones off... I unfortuantely noticed the crankshaft itself is chipped at the key slot. I did what everyone semmed to do and jammed a piece of a nail inside to help keep the key from moving. It looked like key had a good amount of catch to it.... but just this morning I can hear the pulley from inside the car and its wobbling again. The belts are still on as of now... but its only a matter of time before they pop off.

I really dont want to replace the crankshaft in this beater. But the engine and transmission are SOLID, even with 161k. Exterior is lacking, but its an A to B car. The car has literally given me nothing but basic issues in the 7 years I have owned it, and I want to give the car to a friend so he can use it.

I have heard people welding the pulley on, but its a ticking time bomb? How many miles are we talking? I could probably get someone to weld it on for $75 or less, but if its only going to last for 5k then not really worth it.

Looks like I can buy a used crank for about $75 or so. Im assuming I would be able to find someone on the side do the job for maybe $200 at the lowest.

If the car wasnt in good shape, I would just get rid of it for $300 and have it towed away, but I know it can have good use to a friend of mine.

fonkernuckle

iTrader: (5)

There is a you tube video on repairing the keyway with jbweld (on a Mazda)just make sure you torque the crank bolt to at least 100 althought the manual says about 134 ft. lb (I do believe) and have the minimum of belts that you can get away with. Who knows how long this will last.
I was in this same boat and if I were to do it again I would just buy a crank in good shape and do the work myself. do your research and you will see you can do it.
Having a Helms manual for your car is an indispensible.

DumpdEJ6

JB weld will not hold on a crank, the shearing torque will destroy it in quick order. Replacing the crankshaft is about the only thing OP can do that will work that I know of.

EDIT: I just had a thought though...if you got a dremel in there and was able to notch out the crankshaft larger and cleanly, and make a matching sized notch on the pulley, it might be possible to use a larger key...if anyone has done this, chime in. It could be worth a try.

fonkernuckle

iTrader: (5)

I thought about the dremel but considering how much you have to remove and how many wheels you have to go through and how little material would be left for the keyway and the limited space= not worht the hassle

jbpnoman

$200 to replace a crank? You're high, or you're begging for a spun bearing. When the crank comes out, so do the main bearings. They'll need to be replaced to do a proper job of it. The rod bearings have to come off - you'll need to replace those, too. Even if you find someone willing to do that, it wouldn't even be a properly done job if you didn't pull the pistons and replace the rings. Fresh rings, you should hone the block.

See where I'm going with this? You can't just "replace" one part on it's own on the lower end. It's a system, and the system has to be taken care of as a whole. $200 will barely even get you the parts, let alone the labor.

red Teggie

I've had that happen once to by teg. My mechanic busted out a welder and welded some metal in and ground it close to stock size and fitted a key in there and it held up just fine for another 50k miles until I sold it.
His reasoning was that since the pulley has little load compared to the other side, simple fix like that should work without too much issue.

krisfnbs

Thanks for the responses guys. Looks like I am just going to keep it sitting around for a while. I'm not going to dive into fixing this crankshaft knowing one thing will lead to another when its just not worth it. My GF has a del sol, same motor etc. Car insurance is $20 a month, doesnt really cost anything to sit for the time being. If anything goes wrong with the del sol I will just take the parts from this civic. Eventually I will drop the engine/tranny along with any other useful parts that could swap to the del sol and get rid of the shell. Thats the best solution I see with still getting use out of the car, just in a different way.

jbpnoman

Another option for you: For the price of replacing the crank (I.E. rebuilding the bottom end, like I mentioned) you could find a running replacement motor in decent to good shape to just drop in.

purgat0ry

iTrader: (3)

I was wondering if this was an option...
I wouldn't trust it entirely, but ...

Depending on where you sourced the block, this is a very viable direction to take.

jbpnoman

At this particular moment, I can pick up 6 D16 variants in good working order, within a 3 hour drive, for $300-$400, and I'm not even looking for one spend enough time browsing local sale forums, Facebook groups, and other popular selling places, and you're bound to trip over a half dozen D's from people swapping in B's, K's, J's, or whatever the "cool" swap is these days.

axis11

I have seen shaft and pulley on other machines that doesn't use the square key. Instead a hole is drilled between the shaft and pulley, internal threads are made, and a matching bolt inserted into place. It basically serves the same function as a square key with the added precision and locking ability. You could make a combination of these bolt keys to ensure you have enough to counter the shear forces in the shaft.

krisfnbs

not worth doing in the car, its a beater. Plus im not that mechanically inclined/have a garage full of tools and engine lifts. A good friend of mine usually does most of the work but hes always busy at his shop, and hes 2.5 hours away 1 way.

just too much work for the car. It might have been possible if I had a garage/space.

this is way beyond something I could do.

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If anyone local to DC/MD/VA area would like to tackle this project and get the pulley to stay in place using there tools/expertise for a reasonable cost, PM me.

I do appreciate the input everyone.

Toofpik

get a new engine for ur daily beater