vector01_hungry

ok, so last night on the way to watch the maryland vs duke game (go terps!), i started to hear a rattling coming from my engine bay. I pull over and pop the hood, and it seems like the sound is coming from the tensioner pulley. i had received the updated pulley from Kraftwerks about a year ago and didn't install it since nothing seemed to be wrong. fast forward to today, i install the new pulley and notice a few things:

1. the old pulley that i removed would make a soft rattling noise when you shook it in your hand, and the updated pulley wouldn't.
2. i finish the install and start her up, and the noise is gone, but after about a 15 minute drive, it's back.

Now my question is, could the updated pulley have gone bad in 15 minutes, or is it the tensioner itself, or is it something else? Any help would be appreciated!

Here's a vid of the noise.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gOhss-0Rxk [/media]

R1_Pilot

I think what you have there is the V2 pulley with new bearings ... there is a V3. In order to get the V3 you have to send in your upper pulley/bracket and the lower tensioner.

I used the V2 for well over 10k miles with no problems so I doubt that yours went bad after 15 minutes!!! ... most probably there is something else that got messed up? Just remove the belt and go through the pulleys until you find the one that is bad.

J

vector01_hungry

interesting. didn't know there was a v3. i have over 20k miles on the kit and this is the first problem that i've encountered. i'm almost positive that the noise is coming from the tensioner, but how do you check the other pulleys? do you have to take them off?

R1_Pilot

No, just remove the belt and turn the pulleys. Check for side to side play on them.

J

GrandMasterKhan

What did you tq the new pulley down to? If you don't know the answer then you probably over torqed the pulley and ruined the bearings.

Take the new pully off and see if it spins freely in your hand

vector01_hungry

i don't know what i torqued it down to, so i'll give that a try tomorrow. i do have the old pulley in my hand now and i can spin it freely, but it do hear something loose inside of it when i shake it and there's some kind of lubricant on the inside (for the bearing, i guess).


i just finished a little more troubleshooting, and i was able to get undeneath the car while it was running and stick my ear right next to the blower. at this point it's either some component of the tensioner or the blower itself. i'm hoping it's not the blower since i was able to spin the pulley side of the blower clockwise and not hear any noise. i also took of the intake elbow and didn't see any debris or damaged blades or play in its shaft.

vector01_hungry

I contacted Kraftwerks and OJR did get back to me. i'll be upgrading my pulley set to their v3 variant to see if that fixes things. i'll update the thread after i receive and install it.

R1_Pilot

Awesome, OJR will get it sorted out. Send them the whole tensioner, dont just send the pulley.

J

yarpsx

to Kraftwerks for taking care of their customers.

vector01_hungry

yup, i sent them the old tensioner and the pulley set that's near the alternator.