I think that it will depend on how and why it came off. For example, is there a broken bolt in the crankshaft? Did the car overheat while the pulley was off? I doubt that the timing would change as long as the chain tensioner was good to begin with.
Crankshaft Pulley replacement help needed
2zz-ge engine, 2001 body.
I'm going to keep this short and save you all some second hand frustration. I picked up my car this weekend after 4 months of being repaired. New alternator, tensioner belt, PCV bleeder and some solenoid for VVTLI. After driving it for 1, one, hour at speeds between 55 to 75, I heard a loud clunk, looked in my rear view mirror to see if I ran over anything, and see the crankshaft pulley sailing away at ample speed. Took the next exit, looked at the engine, and yep its gone. Somehow the belt was intact too...Got a tow, and now car is at a friend's house.
My questions are:
1. Will this do any permanent damage to the engine?
2. Can I just get a new pulley and put it on there, route the belt and be fine?
3. Is there any way that I can see if the timing is incorrect without dropping the engine and removing the timing chain cover and looking at the teeth? Maybe through the OBD port?
I know a pulley tool can be rented from amazon and have all the manuals...just debating on calling an import/enthusiast shop in town and see what they charge because I live 40 minutes from where the car is located so I can't take other photos.
Open to suggestions/advice and thank you.
![Crankset Bicycle tire Automotive tire Bicycle frame Automotive lighting]()
I'm going to keep this short and save you all some second hand frustration. I picked up my car this weekend after 4 months of being repaired. New alternator, tensioner belt, PCV bleeder and some solenoid for VVTLI. After driving it for 1, one, hour at speeds between 55 to 75, I heard a loud clunk, looked in my rear view mirror to see if I ran over anything, and see the crankshaft pulley sailing away at ample speed. Took the next exit, looked at the engine, and yep its gone. Somehow the belt was intact too...Got a tow, and now car is at a friend's house.
My questions are:
1. Will this do any permanent damage to the engine?
2. Can I just get a new pulley and put it on there, route the belt and be fine?
3. Is there any way that I can see if the timing is incorrect without dropping the engine and removing the timing chain cover and looking at the teeth? Maybe through the OBD port?
I know a pulley tool can be rented from amazon and have all the manuals...just debating on calling an import/enthusiast shop in town and see what they charge because I live 40 minutes from where the car is located so I can't take other photos.
Open to suggestions/advice and thank you.
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
See if you can just slip the new pulley onto the crankshaft. But first, check for the woodruff key. The key is set into a slot in the crankshaft. It prevents the pulley from spinning around. You can see on the pulley there is a matching slot for the key. If the key is not on the crankshaft, you can buy a replacement key. I can't recall whether on this engine it's possible for the key to drop down behind the timing cover. On some other engines, that can happen. That would not be good. If the key is not in the slot where it belongs, there is some possibility it's behind the timing cover. My suspicion is it dropped down there and the mechanic never knew it when they put the pulley back on. That would explain how the pulley came off. But if the key is still right where it belongs, you're good.
Hard to tell without a proper examination. Good thing you stopped at the earliest chance.
There is an oil leak from the picture. The timing chain cover may have to come out anyway. you mentioned to me that your mechanic was trying to fix an oil leak, did they by any chance remove the timing chain cover?
There is an oil leak from the picture. The timing chain cover may have to come out anyway. you mentioned to me that your mechanic was trying to fix an oil leak, did they by any chance remove the timing chain cover?
It didn't overheat much...temps got to 215 F and I ran the fans with the engine off, opened the frunk and lid. I think the bolt must have worked its way out of there. The nut/bolt was loose and I tightened it as best I could but wasn't torqued down...which I was counting on the person who worked on it to do that.I think that it will depend on how and why it came off. For example, is there a broken bolt in the crankshaft? Did the car overheat while the pulley was off? I doubt that the timing would change as long as the chain tensioner was good to begin with.
I assume you did not recover the pulley. The crank shaft looks a little buggered, but with some filing/polishing, a new keyway, bolt and seal, you might be good to go. Internal engine damage would be related to overheating if you ran it without the drive/serpentine belt turning the water pump too long. That said, your alternator would also not be driven so your electric fuel pump would have drained your battery pretty quickly, so I’m gonna guess that you didn’t overheat.
PS. The crankshaft pulley does not affect the valve timing in any way shape or form. It's just along for the ride on the crankshaft. The timing chain is set onto a gear that is behind the timing cover.
No, this was not removed. The leak was only from the PCV breather tube...I think that is the name of the tube near the backside of the valve cover at least.Hard to tell without a proper examination. Good thing you stopped at the earliest chance.
There is an oil leak from the picture. The timing chain cover may have to come out anyway. you mentioned to me that your mechanic was trying to fix an oil leak, did they by any chance remove the timing chain cover?
Oh thank you so much, that makes me feel better already, Frank! The oil seal is there and I believe that is where the leak is coming from.PS. The crankshaft pulley does not affect the valve timing in any way shape or form. It's just along for the ride on the crankshaft. The timing chain is set onto a gear that is behind the timing cover.
I was going 75 mph...no pulleys were recovered lol. The overflow tank cap did not pop out but the bottle was steaming a bit. The engine was run for less than 5 mins total after the pulley flew off. Temps never reached above 220 F from my readings with my code reader. (one was a few mins after the other so I guess it had cooled off 5 degrees from the first reading)I assume you did not recover the pulley. The crank shaft looks a little buggered, but with some filing/polishing, a new keyway, bolt and seal, you might be good to go. Internal engine damage would be related to overheating if you ran it without the drive/serpentine belt turning the water pump too long. That said, your alternator would also not be driven so your electric fuel pump would have drained your battery pretty quickly, so I’m gonna guess that you didn’t overheat.
My opinion it is critical to know what happened to the Woodruff key. Potentially it could drop into the oil pan Which would not really be an issue. If on the other hand it is laying around with something that can get caught in the timing chain it would be very bad. Ask Frank mentioned your camshaft timing will not change. You will need the pulley, Bolt, key and seal at the minimum. Good luck
That’s good news. Five minutes is not going to damage your head gasket.I was going 75 mph...no pulleys were recovered lol. The overflow tank cap did not pop out but the bottle was steaming a bit. The engine was run for less than 5 mins total after the pulley flew off. Temps never reached above 220 F from my readings with my code reader. (one was a few mins after the other so I guess it had cooled off 5 degrees from the first reading)
What I would do in your situation is inspect where are the oil leak is coming from and address it before putting on a new crank pulley. The next thing I would do is inspect the crank to make sure it’s not damaged in someway that would make the crank pulley come off again.
Paul and Carl knows a shop in the area that does very good work. I would trust that guys opinion.
yeah pal you better believe it if you run the engine with the pulley off then oil is gonna gush out of that big gaping hole. There is oil lfying around in every direction back there, that's why the put a seal around the pulley.Oh thank you so much, that makes me feel better already, Frank! The oil seal is there and I believe that is where the leak is coming from.
Well, yes of course. But there is still a rubber seal present from when I looked at the hole. Oil wasn't on the ground when I parked the car and for the proceeding 6 hours until a tow truck came.yeah pal you better believe it if you run the engine with the pulley off then oil is gonna gush out of that big gaping hole. There is oil lfying around in every direction back there, that's why the put a seal around the pulley.
Very good, time to source those parts!My opinion it is critical to know what happened to the Woodruff key. Potentially it could drop into the oil pan Which would not really be an issue. If on the other hand it is laying around with something that can get caught in the timing chain it would be very bad. Ask Frank mentioned your camshaft timing will not change. You will need the pulley, Bolt, key and seal at the minimum. Good luck
Check your oil level to see how much oil has been lost.Well, yes of course. But there is still a rubber seal present from when I looked at the hole. Oil wasn't on the ground when I parked the car and for the proceeding 6 hours until a tow truck came.
It will be a nice sign if the idiot oil light never came on. Still checking oil level is a very good idea.
Well, the steaming is not good. Remember that once the pump stops, the coolant circulation stops also, so you are no longer reading the temperature inside the engine. I would not want to run an engine for 5 minutes without coolant circulation. It is a good thing that your coolant did not blow.... The overflow tank cap did not pop out but the bottle was steaming a bit. The engine was run for less than 5 mins total after the pulley flew off. Temps never reached above 220 F from my readings with my code reader...
Damn! Sent PM about parts i have
The rubber seal seals against the pulley. If you remove the pulley there is a gap between the seal and the crankshaft. Out of this gap, any oil being flung around for splash lubrication behind the timing cover can splash out. So in other words, the rubber seal is there, but it is not providing any seal, because of the sizable air gap between the seal lip and the crankshaft. Look at your own photo, the gap is about 1/4-inch. When the engine is not running, any oil behind the timing cover flows down by gravity into the oil pan sump, so nothing would come out from this gap. But if you look while the engine is running, you would see oil splashing out. The oil is not under pressure behind the cover, so it does not spray out with force, it just splashes out randomly. The further you drive with the pulley off, the less oil splashes out, because more oil has splashed out already, until there is not enough oil left to splash out. At that point, if you run the engine, and you see nothing coming out, then you know that you are possibly in quite serious trouble. Hope this helps.Well, yes of course. But there is still a rubber seal present from when I looked at the hole. Oil wasn't on the ground when I parked the car and for the proceeding 6 hours until a tow truck came.
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