Crankshaft Pulley?
 

I was recently told that my crankpulley is going bad. I thought it was normal but a friend of mine told me it isn't normal. It makes a chopping sound and looks like it's wobbling. When I spray Brake Cleaner the sound goes away for a few minutes then comes back. I noticed there's oil around that area too. Do I need to replace the crankshaft pulley? Where could I get one? I read something about it's only common for the 89 - 91. I figured I should post here since it's a fuction > form website.

1992 Miata
5 spd
mspnp

do a search on locktight fix asap and dont drive it
trust me i just pulled my motor yesterday because the crank failed

Loctite? It works o_O. Let me search on that a bit more.

Loctite Crank Fix -part 2

Where could I get the woodruff key?

Rosenthal Arlington Mazda Parts Store

One of many places.

I'm going to try that loctite fix.

I'll post a video tomorrow before I attempt that loctite fix

Update:

I started the car and noticed, it's not really wobbling. Although it is making a weird chopping sound. Like the pulley is worn or just needs to be lubricated. I also that when the vehicle gets warm, the sound goes away.

This chopping sound, is it like Emeril Legassi or more like Hong Kong Phooey?

If you have a '92 and it's the original motor then you don't have a short nose crank. The bolts holding the crank pulley and harmonic balancer on may just be getting loose. The harmonic balancers can really wobble around when they get old but as long as it's just the rubber flexing everything is good.

so, do i tighten the center bolt? Yes it is the original motor.

Personally, I would pull the balancer and inspect.

Check the woodruff key
Check the keyway in the balancer/hub
Check the keyway in the crank

Inspect the balancer for alignment.
Inspect the rubber in the balancer.

IMHO, if the isolator rubber is showing distortion, wear, age, replace it.

Maybe I am overly ----, but is the Mazda Engineer who designed it want to run off center, it would run that way from the factory.

It would take , what, a hour or so to pull, inspect and reinstall?

No!

The main bolt only holds a plate on to the crankshaft. After that, you bolt your harmonic balancer/belt pulley on with 4 m6 bolts. Those might be loose.

Also, it requires ZERO lubrication. Most likely, it's wobbling and scrapping on your plastic timing belt cover, and your brake spray "trick" is merely quieting that action temporarily.

As others have said, do NOT drive this car any further. If the main bolt is indeed loose (which can happen on a long nose crank car), any further running of the engine could damage the key way on your crank, requiring you to replace your crankshaft. If that main bolt is loose, don't just tighten it up, take it off and as Bogus said, inspect the key, key way, and pulley.

Still new to wrenching, maybe times 1 hour by 3 lmao. I'll record the sound tonight after work

Ditto!! This issue is prevalent on pre-91's, but later cars are not immune.

I would treat this as an opportunity to refresh the timing belt and water pump. When were they last changed?

There are cheap timing belt/water pump combination kits on E-bay. Rosenthal also has a kit for ~$200. That's the route I went. Includes new accessory belts, crank seal and two cam seals. You already know your crank seal is bad from the oil leak.

While you're doing this, you'll be able to give your crank and pulley parts a good look. Buy additional parts as needed.

I can tell you that a loktite fix is a good repair. Mine held up for 50K (including 15K turbo'd) before I decided to swap in a crate motor (my current project). The downside to the loktite fix is that it is difficult to disassemble the crank gear from the crankshaft if you ever need to replace the crank seal down the road. Requires a LOT of heat and a puller to accomplish that. If your crank keyway isn't worn, I'd skip it. Red loktite for the bolt (always), loktite 660 (liquid metal) for the crank keyway (if needed).

Good luck.

I double checked my pulleys and noticed the water pump pulley had some play. Found some scrape marks on the timing cover and some coolant dripping. It wasn't oil, it was coolant mixed with the left over residue from replacing the valve cover gasket. The water pump pulley was wobbling more than what I expected.

Anyways, I checked if there was any play on the crank pulley. No play. The bolt was on very tight and so are the 4 mini bolts.

Looks like I'll be doing my water pump and timing belt soon.

Yup, sounds like a bad water pump. You'll have to take the crank pulley off anyways, so it's a good time to check the key way, just in case.

The long nose fails too, trust me on that. If it looks like it wobbles check the crank for runout after you take off the pulley.

Will do.




I know this is off topic, but have any of you guys used the garage star upgraded pulley?

Garage Star - Alternator and Water Pump Pulley Set for 1.6L and 1.8L Miata


or the obx drive pulley?

Looks like a good way to spend money in exchange for a shiny part which serves virtually no useful purpose whatsoever.


Danger, Will Robinson!