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Pacer Crank Pulley

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Jim76 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jim76 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Pacer Crank Pulley
    Posted: Sep/28/2022 at 11:05am
Guidance / Advice please.  1976 AMC Pacer; Is there anything difficult in changing a front crank pulley at bottom front of engine for a novice mechanic?  Here's the story...recently had the harmonic balancer replaced professionally at a shop and mechanic said although car is much improved, I should shop for a replacement front crank pulley as there is a wobble.  With searching, I found a replacement and am being cautious; don't want the new balancer or something else getting goofed up.  I have an electric impact wrench.  Looks like the radiator may have to come out.  
Jim Stulga
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PacerLarry View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PacerLarry Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/28/2022 at 1:15pm
If your balancer was visually wobbling, your car would be shaking apart. The pully is probably just a little bent. Replacement is as straightforward as it looks. Loosen the belts and remove the 3 screws pictured. You should be able to sneak it out without removing anything else. At most, just the fan shroud and the fan will have to be removed. If you have to remove the fan, it is marked "front" and "back". It CAN be installed backwards. Then you get a pretty circle cut into your radiator and a puddle on the ground....don't ask how I know that. 

Be careful with the impact wrench. The bolts are small and will strip easily. Make sure there is no dirt or crud behand the pully preventing it from sitting flat. That would cause a wobble too. 
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Jim76 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jim76 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/28/2022 at 8:33pm
Oh, wow, it's just removing those three bolts and not the one in the middle that made me a little scared. The replacement pulley hasn't arrived yet so I didn't know that. I'll watch it with the fan direction.

Yes, the car was running very rough before the balancer was replaced. 

Thanks Pacer Larry!!  Jim
Jim Stulga
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Buzzman72 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Buzzman72 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/29/2022 at 6:50am
Not sure why this is a Transmission & Drivetrain question, though.
Buzzman72...void where prohibited, your mileage may vary, objects in mirror may be closer than they appear, and alcohol may intensify any side effects.
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tomj View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tomj Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/29/2022 at 10:59am
Never, ever, NEVER, use an impact wrench on pretty much anything in a car. Wheel lug nuts, maybe. Disassembly of ancient stuck core parts for rebuild, sometimes. General engine repair, NEVER.

With experience you'll get a sense for bolt torque with hand wrenches, but if unsure, and especially if you're new, buy a small torque wrench.

Generally speaking, AS TIGHT AS POSSIBLE is never the right answer.  Most non-critical, non-specialized fasteners are simply not torqued as tightly, with as much force, as people think. That's why ordinary hand tools are small. 

For those three pulley bolts? Tightening them will be two or three fingers pulling on a box-end wrench, or small ratchet and socket.

YOu can easily twist the heads off. Don't!

Taking them off might need more torque, as they're "stuck" around the edges of the bolt head and washer. Nothing serious, it's called "stiction" and also, possibly/probably, the minor corrosion that happens right at the place where bolt contacts pulley.

As a general rule, "don't force it". Though without experience it's hard to know by hand what "too much" is.


But looking at the photo, and knowing that the balancer was just replaced, and seeing shiny new fasteners, they won't be stuck. 

In fact -- assuming that your mechanic is competent, carefully feel how tight they are NOW. Then loosen one, noting exactly how much you turn it (quarter, half turn) -- then put it back. That is how it should FEEL when you tighten them after replacing.  

You know your body; you live in it. You have a sense of force on your hand. You need to learn to calibrate that sensation to what the fasteners want. Don't overtighten. 

Lock washers should flatten out, and then (ROUGHLY, DONT QUOTE ME) an eighth to a quarter turn more. Once the washer flattens out, or bolt head hits the pulled, or flat washer whatever is under the bolt head, torque goes way up very fast.

Not appreciated by novices, excuse me if you know this, is that bolts fasten by STRETCH not how hard you turn it, exactly. The threads are an inclined plane; they convert the rotation to stretch. The bolt is basically a rubber band holding the pulley on. RTFM fasteners....



Edited by tomj - Sep/29/2022 at 11:05am
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Jim76 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jim76 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/29/2022 at 12:40pm
Thanks for all the great advice tomj.  Yes, it's very good that the pulley was recently taken off and put back on concerning stuck bolts.  Jim
Jim Stulga
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