crank shaft pulley fell off on the freeway!!

94scnflt

Registered User
Detonation to a bad brand new spark plug what else could go wrong? Well yesterday that question was answered for me. I was running down the freeway at 2700rpm's when I got a check engine light and my rpm's went to zero. Thinking a wire came lose or the throttle linkage came off the TB I moved from the fast lane to the shoulder. I popped the hood and there was my crank pulley, laying on the sway bar, a puddle of oil under the car, and the belts hanging off, What the &*#@!!!
The key is still on the shaft, the pulley has a gouge in it where the key goes and the worst part, the stupid bolt that holds the pulley on snapped off at the head, the rest of it is still in the crank. I think I can get the bolt out by drilling and using an easy out. Now, for the pulley, I don't know what to do. I have a '94 and the pulley, vibration dampner and I guess it is the CPS sproket is all one piece. I need some expertise on this matter. I know the pulley has to be balenced, so can I buy a new one and put it on? I would think that my timing won't be messed up? There was oil coming out of crank seal, is that bad? I want to drop my oil pan to make sure the crank isn't broke, is that a good idea? If anyone can help me with this issue that would be great. I will post a pic when I can. Thank you for your help. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
Your harmonic balancer broke! It happens a lot. Its goign to be a bitch getting all the stuff out of there. What really scares me is that you say you have oil coming out of the front seal. Hope you didnt brake the crank cuz if you did, just read up on my story on the So Cal board. How did you get home? Can you snap some pictures of it? So we can see exactly where it is leaking from.

Al
 
I had the car towed home. Allstate was going to make me wait 2 hours until they could get a truck. I was about a foot from the fast lane so I called the cops and they got a truck there in 20 minutes. I had a trail of oil, and there was oil all over the oil filter and a pool of oil on the ground right under where the crank shaft sticks out. I would say there was only about a cup and a half of oil that came out. Is the oil pan a pain to remove, I havn't even looked yet. I am going to get a pic and post them soon.
 
Oil might simply be the oil filter got whacked by something and punctured. The pan is a tough one as I believe you have to drop the front sub-assembly or pull the engine to get it off.
 
Yeah, screw that!

I just looked at the oil pan, that thing is not coming out. I don't know anyother way to check the cranck besides pulling the engine or trying to fix the first problem and if she runs great, if not then the engine will have to come out. Do you think that any internals got messed up when that pulley came off??
 
There is no reason to believe that the crank was damaged unless you ran it without oil for a period of time. But then why look, you already know it's damaged.

But simply throwing a harmonic balancer shouldn't damage anything internally. Just check the front cover to make sure it's solid and you should be o.k. That is if sitting with a broken balancer and a bolt stuck in the end of the crankshaft can be considered o.k. :(
 
resize them ;) or just post a link...

I dont know the programs you have on your computer but ... if you got photoshop then its easy, maybe you could do it in paint.
 
I can't do anything with the pics. My computer is old and they are on a cd disk and the bites are to big for the forum to post.
 
When you go to remove the bolt use a easy out and be very carefull that you dont damage the threads in the crank. I bought a 93 that the owner tried to get the bolt out and striped the threads and as a result the motor was pulled and the crank replaced. Take your time and remove as much as possable.
The fan and radiator are a must. If you are keeping you SC mostly stock then a factory replacement will do just fine.
By the way, how many miles do you have on your car?

Mark J.
 
Ouch!

You're not having ANY luck lately. Sorry to hear about that.
Sounds like you're getting some decent advice, but if you spend any time on the SoCal forum, you'll see I'm into computer graphics. Like our friend in Jersy, if you need anything in that line, my e:mail's listed in the Members section under 90 or 90 35th as Lee Maust.

Good luck & keep us posted.
 
94scnflt, got your email...

ok been down this road before.First things first, before you touch anything you need to find out where the oil came from, and also look at everything under the hood, and see what the crank pulley hit if anything. Sounds like you were going pretty fast. I would think there is extra damage, but who knows, and plus i can't figure out why your pulley was just sitting there on the sway bar, but i guess it had no where else to go.

Let us know where the oil came from.

As far as crank shaft goes, when you get the mess cleared out put the bolt in without the new pulley and try to turn the crank with a wrench. maybe throw a compression guage on each cylinder while doing this, you won't get real readings, but you should be able to see some movement. I don't see why your crank would be messed up, mine was just fine as well as others who have had this problem.

As for getting the pieces out. Get your self some room. Take the fan out, and anything else that makes for a pain in the butt.
I guess EZout would work for whats left of the bolt-- don't remember how i got mine out.
As for whats left of the hub still on the end of the crank shaft, the best that i could come up with is this--

Find a drill bit that is just about the thickness of the hub and drill that piece that is stuck on. Drill about 7 to 8 spots around it, and try to be real carefull and not score the end of the crank shaft too much. then use a screwdriver and pry the pieces around and out. Then you need to get your oil seal out.
then clean the area real well, maybe try pouring some oil in from the front hole there to push any debris down into the pan.
Then give yourself an oil change.

Replace front seal. Replace Crank position sensor, make sure its aligned properly to new hub.
As for new pulley/dampner try the BHJ from www.supercoupeperformance.com or just get another aluminum one from the dealer. there have been a thousand threads here about how the pulleys and hubs are balanced, either together or not or whatever. I'm still confused on the matter. And your 94 i don't know because i have a 92. so to make things easy just buy the whole thing.
put your fan back on and give it whirl.

if you need clarification or i wrote something confusingly email me or post here.


jim
 
james and billabong

Billabong, I sent you some pics, whatever you can do with them would be great.

James, thanks for the info. I can't tell where the oil came from, nothing else looks damaged, oil filter looks fine, but then again I only looked for a couple of minutes while I took the pics. I could swear that the oil looked like it came from the crank seal, when I popped the hood on the freeway that is where I saw the oil but I can't say for sure because there was oil everywhere. Now the pulley, CPS gear, and HB all came off in one piece. The only thing I have to deal with is that bolt. This is going to take some time so it looks like I will miss the bakersfield meet. I can't win right now. I have the car in the garage and I'm not going near it, I am to pissed off.
 
Here are the pictures,

They are hosted on my server, so they should stay online for a while... but feel free to save them just incase... ;)


image1.jpg


image2.jpg


image3.jpg


image4.jpg


image5.jpg
 
no kidding

gee i must be in the dark, someone turn the lights on.

I didn't know that the 94+ SC's came without the Hall effect sensor for crank. whats that type of sensor called i forgot, variable induction something or other.

This makes me think cool things.
I wonder what it would take to retro fit an older bird.

there is this company that sells computer controll stuff, and they have one of those toothed cranks sensor things for the mustang with like 56 teeth or something, dam# that would make starting easy.

anythoughts..??

sorry to change the subject

jim
 
It all looks good from the pics. Replace the balancer with the pully. When I bought mine it was the only way I could buy it.
The rubber in the balancer is old and caused vibration and thats what snaped the bolt off. DO NOT use a impact on the new bolt. I know its a pain to hold the motor from turning but a impact will flat side your bearings. good luck
 
Your oil leak is where the balancer fell out. The balancer is sealed by the front cover. You have nothing plugging the front cover, and it allowed your oil to leak.

You might want to change the front timing cover seal.
 
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