Suddenly my power steering disappeared and I heard a flopping noise in the engine bay. PUlled over and noticed that several belts slipped off of their respective pulleys. I'm not too sure what they connected to (I don't know much about engines/mechanical goods), but I think it's the power steering pump and A/C unit.

Took the car to a mechanic and they took off the belts and crank pulley. It appears that there is a key (on the crank) that fits into the pulley in order to allow tight fitment between the pulley and crank. Well, the mechanic showed me that the key basically sheared off of the crankshaft end, and sat in the pulley's groove (the one that accepts the key) sliding all over the place. The inner ring of the pulley looks like it was sanded down due to the play between the crank and pulley.

They gave me two options: 1) weld the key back on and replace the crank pulley with a new one; 2) replace the crank (in other words, take the whole motor out of fvcking car.

What do you guys think I should do?

~MDP

 

I had the same problem and the pulley is fucked,key is smashed to hell and the end of the crank shaft is flared and fucked.What did I do you might ask?New crank,new key and new crank pulley.Its a good thing the motor was apart and being rebuilt.

 

Why would they weld the woodruff key on? Is the slot in the crank gone?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JV &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why would they weld the woodruff key on? Is the slot in the crank gone? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Look at me I know the specific name of a crank pulley key JFWY....

I would get a quote for the crank replacement...

It's probobly going to cost you as much as a swap would...

Get a number from them...

DO NOT let them weld it in... that's sooo far beyond ghetto I can't even believe a shop with a license would even suggest it as an option.

it will NOT hold... it will snap off just like it did when there was 15x's more holding power (in the stock WOODRUFF journal).

I'd say either get it done properly or get a swap and pay someone on hear a couple hundred to drop it in since you said you're not too mechanically inclined.

I'm DAMN sure you could get another motor for less then that job will cost you... granted probobly not anything better than an ls but still... that's WAY better than paying out the pooper just to have your old engine back to normal.

 

hmm.....any suggestions on how to get a reputable swap?

 

What do you mean that the inner ring looks like it was sanded down?

I would just get a new key and pulley, no need for a whole new crank. It sounds to me like he's trying to take you for a ride.

 

If the crank is damaged I would replace it. DO NOT let them weld the key on the crank. Also, you don't have to remove the engine to replace the crankshaft. It can easily be done from under the car. Your best bet would be to find a used ls block and swap the parts over, unless you can find the crank/pulley/key seperately.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sleeper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If the crank is damaged I would replace it. DO NOT let them weld the key on the crank. Also, you don't have to remove the engine to replace the crankshaft. It can easily be done from under the car. Your best bet would be to find a used ls block and swap the parts over, unless you can find the crank/pulley/key seperately. </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Your solution was implemented by the mechanic. I think that the other person I spoke with was confused about the damage to the key and pulley. Thanks again for your advice.