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Help - Crank pulley wobble on Impreza!


JDukesy

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Ok i have sold my supra and picked up an impreza which is now looking like it was a big mistake! Now i have been doing a lot of research and reading but i wanted to ask here as well as i know there are some very knowledgeable members on here so hopefully someone may be able to help.

 

I just got the belts replaced on my impreza yesterday and when i got the car back the crank pulley has a very slight wobble! I checked the headed bolt that holds the pulley on and it was loose. I tightened it up but only as much as i could by hand. This temporarily stopped the wobble but i decided i would take it back to the garage that changed the belts and by the time i got there (about 5 miles) the pulley was wobbling again. The mechanic tried to tell me that the wobble was normal! Im fairly sure its not so wanted to get as much info as possible while i can! Now there is lots of horror stories on the net but i thought i would ask here anyway.

 

Is it likely that the crank itself would be damaged by such little amount of time in this condition (max of 10 miles)?

If the garage deny that there is anything wrong which they seem to i guess i will have to try sort the problem myself. Now i want some options of how to go about this. I guess the best thing to do would be take the pulley off and check the woodruff key/crank for damage/wear and then go from there?

 

Here is a video of the wobble, as you can see its only very slight so im hoping its not serious! Also seems to be whining badly which i think is connected to the same problem.

http://s1033.beta.photobucket.com/user/Dukesy/media/Impreza/Imprezapulleywobble_zpsabdd20b9.mp4.html

 

Any help, advice or opinions would be much appreciated!

Already can't wait to get back in a supra :(

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Ok i have sold my supra and picked up an impreza which is now looking like it was a big mistake! Now i have been doing a lot of research and reading but i wanted to ask here as well as i know there are some very knowledgeable members on here so hopefully someone may be able to help.

 

I just got the belts replaced on my impreza yesterday and when i got the car back the crank pulley has a very slight wobble! I checked the headed bolt that holds the pulley on and it was loose. I tightened it up but only as much as i could by hand. This temporarily stopped the wobble but i decided i would take it back to the garage that changed the belts and by the time i got there (about 5 miles) the pulley was wobbling again. The mechanic tried to tell me that the wobble was normal! Im fairly sure its not so wanted to get as much info as possible while i can! Now there is lots of horror stories on the net but i thought i would ask here anyway.

 

Is it likely that the crank itself would be damaged by such little amount of time in this condition (max of 10 miles)?

If the garage deny that there is anything wrong which they seem to i guess i will have to try sort the problem myself. Now i want some options of how to go about this. I guess the best thing to do would be take the pulley off and check the woodruff key/crank for damage/wear and then go from there?

 

Here is a video of the wobble, as you can see its only very slight so im hoping its not serious! Also seems to be whining badly which i think is connected to the same problem.

http://s1033.beta.photobucket.com/user/Dukesy/media/Impreza/Imprezapulleywobble_zpsabdd20b9.mp4.html[/url]

 

Any help, advice or opinions would be much appreciated!

Already can't wait to get back in a supra :(

 

Maybe use a torque wrench to the correct torque setting?

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No i dont have a torque wrench but its back at the garage so im going to get them to make sure its tightened up enough!

 

I think thats best mate. I reckon if a whole car was built with everything done up hand tight it would be a very dangerous machine.

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No i dont have a torque wrench but its back at the garage so im going to get them to make sure its tightened up enough!

 

I wouldn't have a lot of faith in that garage if they think a wobbly crank pulley is normal

 

Make sure they use a Torque Wrench and torque it to the correct figure if you are going to let them at it again, to tight and it could shear or crack the crank, obviously to loose and your back to square one or worse

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I think thats best mate. I reckon if a whole car was built with everything done up hand tight it would be a very dangerous machine.

Yes i will definitely give it a go! Hoping its as simple a fix as that as reading on the net has filled my head with horror stories! :(

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

I wouldn't have a lot of faith in that garage if they think a wobbly crank pulley is normal

 

Make sure they use a Torque Wrench and torque it to the correct figure if you are going to let them at it again, to tight and it could shear or crack the crank, obviously to loose and your back to square one or worse

 

I wont be taking it to them again but i didn't know what to do as if its a problem they have caused then they should be fixing it.

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Just make them tighten it up. I very much doubt there'll be any damage. You'd have to get the incredible Hulk to tighten it to shear the bolt or crack the crank. Obviously don't run it too much until it's tight.

 

They've taken it off, the bolt came loose, it wasn't tight enough, it's their problem. Dump the car and tell them you'll pick it up when it's fixed. You should have a years warranty on ANY work carried out by a garage. If it goes wrong within that time, it's down to them to repair it FOC. If they don't, ring trading standards.

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Guest scuuby

I do a lot of work on impreza's and the crank pulley should not wobble or any car for that matter! Be careful that it hasn't damaged the crank or pulley as I've seen this happen when incompetent garages do something as simple as leaving them loose!

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Just make them tighten it up. I very much doubt there'll be any damage. You'd have to get the incredible Hulk to tighten it to shear the bolt or crack the crank. Obviously don't run it too much until it's tight.

 

They've taken it off, the bolt came loose, it wasn't tight enough, it's their problem. Dump the car and tell them you'll pick it up when it's fixed. You should have a years warranty on ANY work carried out by a garage. If it goes wrong within that time, it's down to them to repair it FOC. If they don't, ring trading standards.

 

I have left the car with them. Going to phone them in the morning and get them to tighten it up.

 

I do a lot of work on impreza's and the crank pulley should not wobble or any car for that matter! Be careful that it hasn't damaged the crank or pulley as I've seen this happen when incompetent garages do something as simple as leaving them loose!

 

Yeah im hoping it hasn't damaged the crank. I think if i get them to tighten it up and see if its still wobbling as when i tightened it it stopped wobbling but only for a short time as i could not get it very tight by hand. Then hopefully that will sort it, if not it will at least allow me to drive it home so i can get the pulley off to have a look.

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Couple of questions a) Which year and model Impreza is it and b)Is it UK or Import, also, how many miles are on it?

 

Also, for clarification, the crank pulley should not wobble.

 

2002 wrx with 92k miles UK car. Yeah i know :) The mechanic did try and convince me it was normal though :blink:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Watching the video I can't really see any crank pulley wobble? Also, they wouldn't have taken that pulley off to replace the belts - no pulley needs to come off to do that. The pulley bolt shouldn't have been finger tight but it wasn't necessarily his fault. And if he saw what I saw on the video, I can understand him saying it's normal.

 

I'm not defending shonky mechanics, I'd be the first to pounce, but based on what you've said it might not be his fault/problem :)

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Watching the video I can't really see any crank pulley wobble? Also, they wouldn't have taken that pulley off to replace the belts - no pulley needs to come off to do that. The pulley bolt shouldn't have been finger tight but it wasn't necessarily his fault. And if he saw what I saw on the video, I can understand him saying it's normal.

 

I'm not defending shonky mechanics, I'd be the first to pounce, but based on what you've said it might not be his fault/problem :)

 

Think he meant cambelt mate.

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