Crank Pulley decided to go for a walk...

[dorifto-san]

1998 Gen 2.5

I was pulling out of my driveway a couple of weeks ago and lost power steering temporarily. I figured it was cold and maybe the fluid was just really viscous, then about 2 blocks later I completely lost steering and my battery light kicked on. By some miracle I was able to drive it back home and into my driveway. I popped the hood and noticed that none of my pulleys were turning. I shut it off and manually moved all the belts and pulleys, so nothing was locked up. I know the crank pulley bolt is a common issue for these engines but the prior owner told me he already updated the bolt and did the timing belt. Long story short, he didnt.

Thankfully the timing belt didn't slip off, but the crank pulley pin sheered off and I have a decent amount of leaks behind the timing cover. Soooo, I'll be doing my timing belt, water pump, crankshaft seal, front and rear cam seals, belts, hoses, updated crankshaft pulley bolt/washer, new pulley dowel, etc...
Yay.

I'll post up pictures in a little while.

:smilies27

 

[Jay Ayala]

That happened to me once on my way home from a long drive. I was about 8 miles from my house. I didn't try to drive home, I just had a tow truck come get my Raider.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Holy geez you were lucky, I put it on my calender to check mine tomorrow.

 

[BOPOH]

i can't see if there any pictures, i'm at work. But what happen to your bolt, did it get loose or broke?

 

[dorifto-san]

I can honestly say I'm relieved it wasn't much worse than it was. BOPOH, basically the bolt loosened up and allowed the crankshaft pulley to walk off. The guy I bought the truck for told me it had just recently had a ton of maintenance done to it (this was in September) but it seems like pretty much nothing he said was done. I recently did plugs, wires, valve cover gaskets, trans flush, diff fluids, etc... now at least I'll have the peace of mind about the timing belt when I'm done. I love the truck and would have been really sad if the motor went. I'll post more pics/updates this Saturday when I finish tearing it down.

 

[BOPOH]

i'm really glad for you that's nothing major broke, believe me it is sad when motor dies - mine did :smilies27

 

[nwoods]

So... what exactly do you check, and how do you go about it? Just check the crank bolt for torque?

 

[dorifto-san]

nwoods, the first step is to determine whether or not you have the updated version. The updated verson is much shorter than the older versions and also includes a newly designed washer. Their is another thread that was started that shows the difference between the two. If you are able to get a socket on the bolt without having to remove too much, then I would go in and make sure it's tight until you are able to replace it with the updated bolt/washer setup.

 

[BOPOH]

when you buy new bolt from dealership MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT PART NUMBER, i've called couple dealerships in my town and parts department always said they 'do have updated version' but some of them had "previous updated bolt" not the latest one and they would still sell it. So i had to call each dealership and check if they had that specific part number - of course only one had it, 30 minutes away.

 

[nwoods]

Pretty sure I do have the correct updated bolt. I had the timing belt, water pump, etc.... replaced a few months ago, and I sourced the bolt (and all the other parts) myself based on Jay's parts list. But I didn't do the work, thus the hesitation in trusting it was done right. I'm confident it was done better than I myself could have though -

 

[jeep-N-montero]

when you buy new bolt from dealership MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT PART NUMBER, i've called couple dealerships in my town and parts department always said they 'do have updated version' but some of them had "previous updated bolt" not the latest one and they would still sell it. So i had to call each dealership and check if they had that specific part number - of course only one had it, 30 minutes away.

Or you can just order it online from several vendors who do have the correct part with pictures and bold print stating it's the updated version.

 

[BOPOH]

Or you can just order it online from several vendors who do have the correct part with pictures and bold print stating it's the updated version.

we all know what YOU CAN DO, the fact of the matter is that there are people who will try to screw you over with "bold print stating it's the updated version" and you need to make sure it doesn't happen

 

[dorifto-san]

I used the part # from Jay's list as well and confirmed that it was the most up to date bolt/washer available.

 

[dorifto-san]

Had to make a tool, it worked flawlessly and only cost $7 to build!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Had to make a tool, it worked flawlessly and only cost $7 to build!

What size flat bar is that and diameter of the hole, and size of the bolts?