Thank you for sharing this. I need to replace the crankshaft pulley on my 1994 Subaru Legacy wagon, because the pulley is wobbling and I hear knocking in that area. Your videos have saved me a lot of time.
It's not a loud noise. It's a VERY SUBTLE roughness in how the engine runs. Whatever it is (was), it predates the cylinder head job. Actually, I drove the car yesterday, and it does seem to run better now.
Thanks MDG. Your video is really going to help. Especially the port into the flywheel. What a find! Unfortunately I have a 1990 Legacy and tbe OEM is $150. The aftermarket stuff is MUCH more affordable but I have been unable to confirm that the stuff they make for newer models will work with the 90. They look the same to me but search engines haven't satisfied me with a firm aftermarket match yet. At any rate GREAT channel learning so much. Databyter.
First off I want to say thank you for they Videos. I have the same exact car that my daughter drives and using your help i was able to do some of the work on it myself.. She just told me yesterday that the car was making a odd noise so I investigated and I can see the crankshaft pulley wobbling and the noise was coming from that area. It is not horrible however it is noticeable. I hope it is just this same problem and I can get it back up and on the road ASAP.. She is not a fan of public transportation.. hahaha FYI.. Got this car from a older lady that bought it from an older lady... 77000 miles..
+MercedesDieselGuy One thing that I wanted to ask you also was would one belt being tighter than the other cause this? Just recently I had to replace the alternator.. By recent I mean about 2 months ago.
Thanks. I don't know for sure if the later ones will interchange. You could always grab a junkyard part and try that. For the most part, first and second generation EJ22 Legacies will be (almost) mechanically identical.
I am working on a 2004 outback and have no clue where this flywheel spot is u are talking about. Could u give me a location hint? But your video is very helpful
The best and easiest way to stop the engine from turning is to simply use the alternator belt roll it on itself over the alternator and crank pulley and that is enough friction to stop the engine from turning for both tightening and loosening the bolt. This job is basically less than five minutes if you know what you are doing. Subaru engineers made this super easy if you use their method. Twist it to the left side of the crank pulley when taking off and to the right side/driver side when tightening . Do 96ft/lbs and not the 80 as the manual states. It will come loose if you do 80. They changed it later to 96 as many of these bolts would work themselves loose over a decade. If you take the cover in the rear and jab the flywheel with a flathead you could damage something. And make sure you only turn this engine clockwise. NEVER counterclockwise! Also, don't ever user lighter aftermarket pulleys on these engines. You will kill em. The heavier the pulley the better these run and longer.
I just re-watched that portion. I'm not sure what you're hearing. Then again, this is how the car sounds to me. If something's a bit "off," I'm used to it. As for jamming the flywheel, there's an access cover on top of the engine, passenger side. If you pull that cover off, you can jam a screwdriver or chisel in there against the flywheel teeth to stop it from moving.
There's not much I can do to help. The access port is definitely there on a 1995 model, rear of engine, under the throttle body, just toward the passenger side, where the engine meets with the transmission. Once the access port is off, you can brace a big screwdriver or maybe a chisel in there against the flywheel ring gear to keep the engine locked in place while you remove the crank pulley bolt.
It is the same thing that happen to praytopesci 4 months ago. Your response to praytopesci was "Can you take the new balancer back off and check the mating surfaces for cleanliness and flatness?" Took the new balancer off and the surfaces were clean and flat. How do you put a new key on the crankshaft?
In my experience, a bad radiator is related mostly to how it was cared for (or not). I had to replace a Subaru radiator once. It wasn't a big deal. I've never had to personally replace a Mercedes radiator.
Another thing I will forewarn you about is that the radiators, thermostats, etc. typically go bad on these Subarus and usually Mercedes as well once they approach the 200k mile range. If it hasn't happened already that's a good thing but if you notice any unusual behavior particularly with either of those two components, my advice is don't take a chance.
It SHOULD come off by hand. Sometimes, they stick. If that happens, work CAREFULLY with a pry bar and/or tap it with a hammer to get it going. A PAPER-THIN coating (or less) of anti-seize on the back of the new one should help prevent future sticking.
Thank you for these vids, I haven't done any serious wrenching in many years. My ex just bought a 98 Subaru legacy outback wagon for my son to use at it has over 200,000. AAA came out and changed the battery and informed her that the alternator was bad.... so tomorrow I will be changing the alternator and belts..... Anything else I should be looking at????? 200k seems like a lot to me and not sure where to direction my attention.
TosonDrums Well, I do have a separate video on alternator replacement, but it is pretty self-explanatory. Aside from that, check the condition of all your cooling/heating system hoses. Best of luck with the car.
+drumzmagoo I can't say if it's worth it. You need to assess the damage and decide if it's worth it to you. Access it pretty easy, but you need to remove the alternator/power steering belt and AC belt, the harmonic balancer, and timing covers. Probably also the timing belt. After that, it should be press-fit to the crank, but not tight. You should be able to get it off.
do you know why a brand new balancer would wobble? my old balancer went completely out. it worked its self off and the woodruff key broke or was lost. after fixing timing, I put brand new key and balancer on and it wobbles noticeably. I'm afraid to drive it.
Read your blog, very interesting indeed.... Do you work as a mechanic? I may be commencing an apprenticeship soon in mechanical and I just want to know, you are very mechanically minded and helpful. Thanks.
I noticed that the old balancer had a sprocket-like thing on the back like it was for a crank sensor of some kind but the new balancer did not. Did that cause any engine running problems or maybe the old balancer was already an incorrect replacement. Incorrect but harmlessly incorrect if you know what I mean.
Are you referring to mine, or what was on your car? I actually don't have this car anymore, so I wouldn't be able to check and verify, but I don't recall any difference between the two harmonic balancers.
MercedesDieselGuy I was referring to yours, the one in the video. It's up to you, of course, but if you were to review the video, I'm sure you would see what I was talking about. The back of the old balancer is a bit different than the new one. Since you don't own the car anymore it probably doesn't matter much but I was wondering about the difference.
mailpup OH! I see what you're talking about. No, that was just an optical illusion. That's the imprint of the crankshaft timing belt pulley which sits behind the black plastic timing cover. There really was no gear on this. The dark parts are just dirt and oil buildup.
I don't know if you'll reply. I can't remove the harmonic balancer on my 95 subaru impreza 1.8. I have the bolt out but it seem like the pulley is stuck.
Thank you for your response. I actually had a typo in my first comment. It is a 1996 Subaru legacy. So the crankshaft should have a key way where the pulley is keyed to crankshaft?. Is it possible for the key way to break off the crankshaft and if so how hard is it to replace/repair the crankshaft?
I assume that a 1996 engine would be the same. Only an assumption, though. I have heard of the keys breaking off, mostly in cases where the pulley was not originally tightened down enough and the wobbling broke the key. But, it's entirely possible that maybe you just can't see the key from where you're standing if the engine is still installed. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about repairing that portion of the crankshaft.
hey also, there was no mention of needing to do anything with the key slot in the harmonic balancer in the video. Is there not a key that needs to be put in that slot? Thanks, Tom
I've got a 2003 Outback that I will replace the crank pulley on. I'm considering to put a Grimmspeed light weight pulley on that weighs ~1.2lbs vs stock ~5lbs. Do you think there are any downsides to having less rotational mass?
nice video, is there any reason, that this pulley would just come off, does it work it self loose over time? After replacing the alternator and belts after about two hours of driving, the lights come on again. So I tried to make it back home, and then I loose this pulley..while driving...smh..Is this drivable? Want to drive to a garage to have it serviced? What do you think?
Whoa - you're telling me that the pulley came off while driving? That's bad. That's also very odd in terms of timing with respect to replacing your alternator. Stranger things have happened, I suppose. But, replacing the alternator would have had zero effect on the harmonic balancer or its bolt. Replacing the alternator would not have caused this to come loose. The only reason that would have happened would be if the pulley bolt backed itself out of the crankshaft. That can happen if the bolt wasn't tightened enough. I would not drive it in that condition. Without that pulley, you have no alternator or power steering. You need to get towed. Best of luck.
+MercedesDieselGuy unless the belt was put back on wrong, it could pull the HB. Mine is about ready to fall off, have 4 misfire codes. doing it today, my auto instructor ordered it last night but they seem to go for $350 so this will be a problem...
How can you tell when it needs to be replaced? Also what is the other pulley to the left of that one called? I ask because mine is making a terrible squeaking noise and I'm thinking it's gone bad. Will I have to replace both or typically just one or the other? Thanks
Weston Isham In my case, I replaced it because I suspected it was causing the engine to run out of balance. I had, in fact, mis-diagnosed a slight misfire that was the actual problem. I doubt it would squeak. If that's the case, I'd replace the drive belts. The pulley to the left is the power steering pump pulley.
I had a balancer go bad on a 1999 legacy and when I took the belt off I found that the bolt was not even hand tight ... I noticed you didn't put a wooodruff key in when you installed the new one ..... was there one on there already or does it not require one
Watched your video on harmonic balancer replacement. I have a 1997 Subaru Legacy 2.2 and recently the battery light and brake light came on. Tested the alternator by pulling off one of the battery cables and the car stalled. Replaced the alternator and notice the harmonic balancer needed to be replaced. My question is, is there no key way. After watching your video a few times I didn't see you use a key way.
I haven't worked on an EJ22 that new. I think a '97 would be a phase II engine. Not sure if there would have been a modified crank on that. Possibly. I haven't had one of these apart in a while, but I do remember the crank pulley being keyed.
So the rubber seal on my Harmonic balancer railed and the pulley detached itself while I was driving. The bolt is still in place. I have a manual Subaru, would this procedure be the same with a manual as an automatic?
MrMAZINGERZ74 I would go for neutral, but you need to stop the engine from moving. Under the intake manifold, where the engine meets the transmission, on the passenger side, there's a small access plate you can remove to give you access to the flywheel or flexplate. You can use that access point and jam something in there to stop the engine from moving. Once you have it secured, you can tighten the pulley.
The exact same thing happened to me. The harmonic balancer bolt apparently just backed out and fell off! Fortunately it was in town driving slow, so it doesnt appear to have damaged anything. What should be the torque on this bolt and should I use locktite? and what size pin should I use? Thanks, Tom
Tom Malcolm Hi Tom. I'm not aware of any pin. There's a woodruff key, but I've never removed/disturbed it. As for the torque, I don't have a handy reference for that. I'd recommend consulting a repair manual for that, or trying a quick Google search.
There's an inspection cover plate you can remove on the upper passenger side (left hand drive) where the engine and transmission meet. Through there, you should be able to temporarily jam something in to lock the flywheel or flex plate in place to keep the engine from turning.
Ryan Gull This car was a 2.2L. I've had a number of 2.2L cars and the bolt always loosened the same way. I also had a 1.8L Impeza a number of years ago. Same story on that one.
Second person to inquire about this recently. Perhaps new harmonic balancers are being shipped with a new woodruff key as standard. Mine wasn't, however many years ago I did this job. I didn't have to replace the key in my case, so unfortunately, I can't be of help.
Hey Mercedes diesel guy, I had a friend help me remove my crankshaft pulley bolt. He did this by putting a screw driver next to the flywheel(this wasn't based on your recommendation-I just saw that you did this as well). Well, I haven't gotten it fixed yet and I need to move it, but the car seems to be stuck in park-even when I move it into neutral-I'm just trying to push it out of my barn. It just seems locked up..I understand if you can't give advice, but my landlord is being uptight about it and none of my friends no why this is happening. Any ideas? Iamb willing to send you a check for your advice
+MercedesDieselGuy hey..okay, my brother in law told me to jack up each wheel and the front wheels don't move and the back do. So that could be it-not sure I'm a novice. Thank you so much for your response, your videos are great, I appreciate it.
The water pump pulley isn't visible anywhere in this video. The water pump is behind the black plastic timing covers and is driven by the timing belt. There are four pulleys visible here - AC compressor (not hooked up - undiagnosed AC problem), alternator pulley (up top), harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley (replaced in this video) and power steering pump (top left). I looked again, and I think what you're seeing is just an optical illusion - the printed info/logos on the belt as it spins.
It was the power steering I was talking about. Sorry, not too familiar with the subarus just yet as I had just picked one up not even a year ago. My mistake.
The A/C didn't work in this car (nor in my present one). Running the A/C belt would have been pointless. Someday, I'll add A/C diagnosis and repair to my skill set.
Thank you for sharing this. I need to replace the crankshaft pulley on my 1994 Subaru Legacy wagon, because the pulley is wobbling and I hear knocking in that area. Your videos have saved me a lot of time.
We actually found it. Thanks so much for this video. My wife is very happy to have her car back together now.
It's not a loud noise. It's a VERY SUBTLE roughness in how the engine runs. Whatever it is (was), it predates the cylinder head job. Actually, I drove the car yesterday, and it does seem to run better now.
Thanks MDG. Your video is really going to help. Especially the port into the flywheel. What a find!
Unfortunately I have a 1990 Legacy and tbe OEM is $150. The aftermarket stuff is MUCH more affordable but I have been unable to confirm that the stuff they make for newer models will work with the 90. They look the same to me but search engines haven't satisfied me with a firm aftermarket match yet.
At any rate GREAT channel learning so much.
Databyter.
First off I want to say thank you for they Videos. I have the same exact car that my daughter drives and using your help i was able to do some of the work on it myself.. She just told me yesterday that the car was making a odd noise so I investigated and I can see the crankshaft pulley wobbling and the noise was coming from that area. It is not horrible however it is noticeable. I hope it is just this same problem and I can get it back up and on the road ASAP.. She is not a fan of public transportation.. hahaha FYI.. Got this car from a older lady that bought it from an older lady... 77000 miles..
+shannon fisher Best of luck. Thanks for watching.
+MercedesDieselGuy One thing that I wanted to ask you also was would one belt being tighter than the other cause this? Just recently I had to replace the alternator.. By recent I mean about 2 months ago.
Thanks. I don't know for sure if the later ones will interchange. You could always grab a junkyard part and try that. For the most part, first and second generation EJ22 Legacies will be (almost) mechanically identical.
I am working on a 2004 outback and have no clue where this flywheel spot is u are talking about. Could u give me a location hint? But your video is very helpful
The best and easiest way to stop the engine from turning is to simply use the alternator belt roll it on itself over the alternator and crank pulley and that is enough friction to stop the engine from turning for both tightening and loosening the bolt. This job is basically less than five minutes if you know what you are doing. Subaru engineers made this super easy if you use their method. Twist it to the left side of the crank pulley when taking off and to the right side/driver side when tightening . Do 96ft/lbs and not the 80 as the manual states. It will come loose if you do 80. They changed it later to 96 as many of these bolts would work themselves loose over a decade. If you take the cover in the rear and jab the flywheel with a flathead you could damage something. And make sure you only turn this engine clockwise. NEVER counterclockwise! Also, don't ever user lighter aftermarket pulleys on these engines. You will kill em. The heavier the pulley the better these run and longer.
I just re-watched that portion. I'm not sure what you're hearing. Then again, this is how the car sounds to me. If something's a bit "off," I'm used to it. As for jamming the flywheel, there's an access cover on top of the engine, passenger side. If you pull that cover off, you can jam a screwdriver or chisel in there against the flywheel teeth to stop it from moving.
There's not much I can do to help. The access port is definitely there on a 1995 model, rear of engine, under the throttle body, just toward the passenger side, where the engine meets with the transmission.
Once the access port is off, you can brace a big screwdriver or maybe a chisel in there against the flywheel ring gear to keep the engine locked in place while you remove the crank pulley bolt.
Thanks for the compliments. Actually, I'm a writer by trade. However, the subject matter is automotive. Best of luck if you take that apprenticeship.
It is the same thing that happen to praytopesci 4 months ago. Your response to praytopesci was "Can you take the new balancer back off and check the mating surfaces for cleanliness and flatness?" Took the new balancer off and the surfaces were clean and flat. How do you put a new key on the crankshaft?
In my experience, a bad radiator is related mostly to how it was cared for (or not). I had to replace a Subaru radiator once. It wasn't a big deal. I've never had to personally replace a Mercedes radiator.
Another thing I will forewarn you about is that the radiators, thermostats, etc. typically go bad on these Subarus and usually Mercedes as well once they approach the 200k mile range. If it hasn't happened already that's a good thing but if you notice any unusual behavior particularly with either of those two components, my advice is don't take a chance.
Thanks for the video, it really helped me today!
that sounds exactly like my subi! i have to get this done and wanted to see what was going to happen. thanks.
Best of luck with the repair.
It SHOULD come off by hand. Sometimes, they stick. If that happens, work CAREFULLY with a pry bar and/or tap it with a hammer to get it going. A PAPER-THIN coating (or less) of anti-seize on the back of the new one should help prevent future sticking.
That's the first time I heard of that. Can you take the new balancer back off and check the mating surfaces for cleanliness and flatness?
Glad to hear it. If it was helpful, consider subscribing :)
Awesome. Glad I could help.
Thank you for these vids, I haven't done any serious wrenching in many years. My ex just bought a 98 Subaru legacy outback wagon for my son to use at it has over 200,000. AAA came out and changed the battery and informed her that the alternator was bad.... so tomorrow I will be changing the alternator and belts..... Anything else I should be looking at????? 200k seems like a lot to me and not sure where to direction my attention.
TosonDrums Well, I do have a separate video on alternator replacement, but it is pretty self-explanatory. Aside from that, check the condition of all your cooling/heating system hoses. Best of luck with the car.
could the loud noise possibly have anything to do with the head gasket & cylinder head replacement?
My woodruff key is stripped, is it worth it to try and replace it? Is it tough to get the crankshaft sprocket(?) off? Thanks great video
+drumzmagoo I can't say if it's worth it. You need to assess the damage and decide if it's worth it to you. Access it pretty easy, but you need to remove the alternator/power steering belt and AC belt, the harmonic balancer, and timing covers. Probably also the timing belt. After that, it should be press-fit to the crank, but not tight. You should be able to get it off.
I have not attempted to change it but my 97 legacy wagon has the same motor and the crankshaft pulley wobbles badly when running.
do you know why a brand new balancer would wobble? my old balancer went completely out. it worked its self off and the woodruff key broke or was lost. after fixing timing, I put brand new key and balancer on and it wobbles noticeably. I'm afraid to drive it.
Read your blog, very interesting indeed.... Do you work as a mechanic? I may be commencing an apprenticeship soon in mechanical and I just want to know, you are very mechanically minded and helpful. Thanks.
I noticed that the old balancer had a sprocket-like thing on the back like it was for a crank sensor of some kind but the new balancer did not. Did that cause any engine running problems or maybe the old balancer was already an incorrect replacement. Incorrect but harmlessly incorrect if you know what I mean.
Are you referring to mine, or what was on your car? I actually don't have this car anymore, so I wouldn't be able to check and verify, but I don't recall any difference between the two harmonic balancers.
MercedesDieselGuy I was referring to yours, the one in the video. It's up to you, of course, but if you were to review the video, I'm sure you would see what I was talking about. The back of the old balancer is a bit different than the new one. Since you don't own the car anymore it probably doesn't matter much but I was wondering about the difference.
mailpup OH! I see what you're talking about. No, that was just an optical illusion. That's the imprint of the crankshaft timing belt pulley which sits behind the black plastic timing cover. There really was no gear on this. The dark parts are just dirt and oil buildup.
MercedesDieselGuy Thanks for clearing that up. It all makes sense to me now. Good video, BTW.
I don't know if you'll reply. I can't remove the harmonic balancer on my 95 subaru impreza 1.8. I have the bolt out but it seem like the pulley is stuck.
Try tapping it with a rubber mallet. Chances are there's a light coat of rust holding it in place. Best of luck.
Thank you for your response. I actually had a typo in my first comment. It is a 1996 Subaru legacy. So the crankshaft should have a key way where the pulley is keyed to crankshaft?. Is it possible for the key way to break off the crankshaft and if so how hard is it to replace/repair the crankshaft?
I assume that a 1996 engine would be the same. Only an assumption, though. I have heard of the keys breaking off, mostly in cases where the pulley was not originally tightened down enough and the wobbling broke the key. But, it's entirely possible that maybe you just can't see the key from where you're standing if the engine is still installed. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about repairing that portion of the crankshaft.
hey also, there was no mention of needing to do anything with the key slot in the harmonic balancer in the video. Is there not a key that needs to be put in that slot?
Thanks,
Tom
Tom Malcolm I've never removed the woodruff key from the crankshaft. It's never come into play.
I've got a 2003 Outback that I will replace the crank pulley on. I'm considering to put a Grimmspeed light weight pulley on that weighs ~1.2lbs vs stock ~5lbs. Do you think there are any downsides to having less rotational mass?
nice video, is there any reason, that this pulley would just come off, does it work it self loose over time? After replacing the alternator and belts after about two hours of driving, the lights come on again. So I tried to make it back home, and then I loose this pulley..while driving...smh..Is this drivable? Want to drive to a garage to have it serviced? What do you think?
Whoa - you're telling me that the pulley came off while driving? That's bad. That's also very odd in terms of timing with respect to replacing your alternator. Stranger things have happened, I suppose. But, replacing the alternator would have had zero effect on the harmonic balancer or its bolt. Replacing the alternator would not have caused this to come loose.
The only reason that would have happened would be if the pulley bolt backed itself out of the crankshaft. That can happen if the bolt wasn't tightened enough. I would not drive it in that condition. Without that pulley, you have no alternator or power steering. You need to get towed. Best of luck.
+MercedesDieselGuy unless the belt was put back on wrong, it could pull the HB. Mine is about ready to fall off, have 4 misfire codes. doing it today, my auto instructor ordered it last night but they seem to go for $350 so this will be a problem...
How can you tell when it needs to be replaced? Also what is the other pulley to the left of that one called? I ask because mine is making a terrible squeaking noise and I'm thinking it's gone bad. Will I have to replace both or typically just one or the other? Thanks
Weston Isham In my case, I replaced it because I suspected it was causing the engine to run out of balance. I had, in fact, mis-diagnosed a slight misfire that was the actual problem. I doubt it would squeak. If that's the case, I'd replace the drive belts. The pulley to the left is the power steering pump pulley.
I had a balancer go bad on a 1999 legacy and when I took the belt off I found that the bolt was not even hand tight ... I noticed you didn't put a wooodruff key in when you installed the new one ..... was there one on there already or does it not require one
It would have been there already. I don't recall ever replacing a woodruff key.
Watched your video on harmonic balancer replacement. I have a 1997 Subaru Legacy 2.2 and recently the battery light and brake light came on. Tested the alternator by pulling off one of the battery cables and the car stalled. Replaced the alternator and notice the harmonic balancer needed to be replaced. My question is, is there no key way. After watching your video a few times I didn't see you use a key way.
I haven't worked on an EJ22 that new. I think a '97 would be a phase II engine. Not sure if there would have been a modified crank on that. Possibly. I haven't had one of these apart in a while, but I do remember the crank pulley being keyed.
See @ 4:19 in the video. There is definitely a notch in the pulley where it is keyed to the crankshaft.
So the rubber seal on my Harmonic balancer railed and the pulley detached itself while I was driving. The bolt is still in place. I have a manual Subaru, would this procedure be the same with a manual as an automatic?
+Aaron Bilbao I've had both manual and automatic Subarus. The procedure is the same.
I need to do this. Do I need a puller or does it come off easily by hand?
Did you put the shift on Neutral or drive while taking or tightening the crank pulley? Thanks
MrMAZINGERZ74 I would go for neutral, but you need to stop the engine from moving. Under the intake manifold, where the engine meets the transmission, on the passenger side, there's a small access plate you can remove to give you access to the flywheel or flexplate. You can use that access point and jam something in there to stop the engine from moving. Once you have it secured, you can tighten the pulley.
The exact same thing happened to me. The harmonic balancer bolt apparently just backed out and fell off! Fortunately it was in town driving slow, so it doesnt appear to have damaged anything. What should be the torque on this bolt and should I use locktite? and what size pin should I use?
Thanks,
Tom
Tom Malcolm Hi Tom. I'm not aware of any pin. There's a woodruff key, but I've never removed/disturbed it. As for the torque, I don't have a handy reference for that. I'd recommend consulting a repair manual for that, or trying a quick Google search.
+Tom Malcolm (tomRmalcolm) 86-101 Ft. Lbs. according to ShopkeyPro.
I’m just trying to torque mine down by putting it in 5th with the e brake on and I try to torque it down and the pulley is still turning
There's an inspection cover plate you can remove on the upper passenger side (left hand drive) where the engine and transmission meet. Through there, you should be able to temporarily jam something in to lock the flywheel or flex plate in place to keep the engine from turning.
This is a 2.2 or a 1.8? And would the bolt loosen the same way for both
Ryan Gull This car was a 2.2L. I've had a number of 2.2L cars and the bolt always loosened the same way. I also had a 1.8L Impeza a number of years ago. Same story on that one.
What about the keyway? My new one came with a new insert. Can’t get pulley on.
Second person to inquire about this recently. Perhaps new harmonic balancers are being shipped with a new woodruff key as standard. Mine wasn't, however many years ago I did this job. I didn't have to replace the key in my case, so unfortunately, I can't be of help.
The crankshaft pulleys typically do go bad after about 180k or so
Hey Mercedes diesel guy, I had a friend help me remove my crankshaft pulley bolt. He did this by putting a screw driver next to the flywheel(this wasn't based on your recommendation-I just saw that you did this as well). Well, I haven't gotten it fixed yet and I need to move it, but the car seems to be stuck in park-even when I move it into neutral-I'm just trying to push it out of my barn. It just seems locked up..I understand if you can't give advice, but my landlord is being uptight about it and none of my friends no why this is happening. Any ideas? Iamb willing to send you a check for your advice
+drumzmagoo Are you sure the brakes aren't just locked up?
+MercedesDieselGuy hey..okay, my brother in law told me to jack up each wheel and the front wheels don't move and the back do. So that could be it-not sure I'm a novice. Thank you so much for your response, your videos are great, I appreciate it.
what did you use to brake it after you removed the small cover?
+Lopee Novelo I believe I braced it with a small chisel.
If that's so, I would first make sure the pulley is properly torqued-down.
where did you purchase the pulley?
Well... it did. I had low compression in one cylinder and ended up replacing the car.
What exactly do you use to jam into the flywheel?
I don't recall. Probably a big, beefy screwdriver or a chisel. Something that would fit, but wouldn't snap.
Maybe it's just me, but when the car was running at the end of the video, the waterpump pulley seem to wobble a bit.
The water pump pulley isn't visible anywhere in this video. The water pump is behind the black plastic timing covers and is driven by the timing belt. There are four pulleys visible here - AC compressor (not hooked up - undiagnosed AC problem), alternator pulley (up top), harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley (replaced in this video) and power steering pump (top left). I looked again, and I think what you're seeing is just an optical illusion - the printed info/logos on the belt as it spins.
It was the power steering I was talking about. Sorry, not too familiar with the subarus just yet as I had just picked one up not even a year ago. My mistake.
do you consider your self "Shade tree mechanic" ??
The A/C didn't work in this car (nor in my present one). Running the A/C belt would have been pointless. Someday, I'll add A/C diagnosis and repair to my skill set.
I'm really more of a DIY guy, not that there's much of a difference.
I have a 1998 Subaru legacy Brighton and the pulley bolt keeps getting loose, I need a new pully that's for sure.
+Lopee Novelo How do you know you need a new pulley? Is the keyway damaged?
+MercedesDieselGuy the pulley isn't balanced so it vibrates a lot
How much was the balancer? American , canadian funds?
+ChiefJustice Middleton I don't remember what I paid. Rockauto.com currently has it for as cheap as $31.79 USD.
MercedesDieselGuy
Thanks
Well, then I caught it in time.
If nothing else, save a few dollars on the belt.
rockauto dot com