I know this is a double post but I need help

My crank pulley keyway sheared yesterday and the pulley came off the crack shaft it is not in bad shape

I am curious if this could cause any other problems

I was told that now my bearings are now shot is this a possibility

This in on an ls/vtec turbo need to know before I drive it anymore

Thanks
Hobbie

 

As I understand it, the crank pulley is part of the balancing system for the engine rotating assembly. Some people don't even like lightened pulleys.

But if you didn't do any extreme driving on the engine without the pulley I can't see your bearings being toast. I mean you still had oil pressure and all that. It's just that now you might have some larger forces on the mains than usual. But those loads are RPM dependant. Did you rev the **** out of it at any time after the pulley went?

I mean if your pulley came off you weren't charging the battery and you didn't have power steering so you noticed something wrong and pulled over right away?

I suppose pulling the oil pan is the only way to say for sure.

 

No I noticed it immediately watched the pulley run away

I was like a half mile from home no revving or anything

If I pull the pan what exactly should I look for on the main bearings

Thanks
Hobbie

 

The bearings have several layers to them, you just want to look for signs of abnormal wear. Drastic material removal on the surface so you can see the layer below. Scoring, circumferential scratches.

You can measure the thickness and see if it's still within spec.

I wouldn't sweat it though, pulling the pan and the main caps is a PITA. I seriously doubt the loads at low engine speeds for short durations are enough even without a crank pulley to do much if any damage.

If you were maxed out in 3rd gear at WOT and 20 psi of boost when it happened that might be another story though.

 

Thanks alot I didnt feel that it would have done any major damage being as it wasnt being ran hard

So do you even feel it is worth taking apart

 

No, doesn't sound like you were running hard enough or long enough to do any damage.

PS

You saw your crank pulley rolling sown the street? In retrospect that must have been hilarious, although at the time I'll bet some choice words were spoken.

 

It was quite funny at the time it took off and past me up

Hit an I beam for a gaurd rail and laid it open about an 1/8 inch or so then wedged itself into a bush

Then I babyed it home

 

By the way how did the keyway manage to shear? Did the crank pulley bolt vibrate loose? I guess that's why those things are so @#$%&* tight from the factory.

 

I have no idea but you can see a few spots on the crank where it hit and left little rectangular marks the shape of the keyway

I guess we will never know exactly what happened