crank cancer

[thecrew2999]

question is what is crank cancer exactly? i mean i seen pics of it before and im sure i dont have it but i was wondering how it is caused?
is it when the crank pulley isnt bolted down tight enough and the vibrations work the key apart?
stupid question i guess but i dont know really since i never had it i didnt bother to learn... thanks anyone

 

[Off Road SHO]

"crank cancer" is when the bolt that holds the harmonic balancer pulley onto the cranks becomes loose. When it is loose the pulley will move ever so slightly in relation to the crank. This movement between the two is not good, in fact there is a slot in the crank and one in the pulley, with a woodruff key halfway in each slot to hold the slots perfectly together. If the bolt is not tight, the key tends to widen out the slot in the crank. The wider slot causes the timing to change slightly if the cancer is into the timing gear side enough. On the pulley end, it can be heard as a knock.

It's not a good thing.

Tom

 

[thecrew2999]

thanks tom.
i think after hearing that im gonna check my pulley bolt like once a month and make sure its down to 150 ft lbs lol

 

[SASHO91]

I could turn the bolt with my hand...

 

[mlatten]

I've been having trouble lately in that my MTX won't rev past 5k in any gear, have had a slight hesitation even noticable in 5th, and the tach is a little sketchy upon startup (even though there is no trouble with the car starting). I finally decided to check the timing real quick and found the rust dust.

Immediately I thought "the cancer" and went to investigate the harmonic balancer. The bolt unthreaded easily by hand, and the pulley had walked out about a fifth of an inch.

I've used 3 different balancer pullers, and the dampener won't pull off! I can't tighten the bolt to push it in.

DAMN YOU CRANK CANCER!!!!!


But, if the crank is shot, I'm pullin it off the road and swapping in the 3.2 I've got. hehe

THANK YOU CRANK CANCER!!!!!

Matt

 

[SASHO91]

harmonic balancer.

Harmonic Dampner.

No such thing as a harmonic balancer.

And yeah, a 3.2 swap is the perfect cure for crank cancer.

 

[thecrew2999]

or some machine work if the engine is still good