wobbling pulley : (

[camzaro28]

the last few days i have been hearing a lil rattle from teh engine bay. popped the hood and it was coming from the pulleys, but i couldnt tell which one. well today when i was about to head to lunch i started the car up and the rattling now sounds like a real loud tap. more rpm +ed fastest knocking. so i popped the hood and noticed the pulley underneath the alternator was vibrating like crazy. it is on its way out. to the point wher i am not driving the car again till i fix it.

anyone know which pulley this is? or where i can find a diagram to get an idea? i would appreciate it very much

thanks in advance, brian

 

[etc1006]

I think thats your tensioner.

 

[laxmax327]

no, thats the a/c compressor. really dont know why its doing that though. you could possibly try tightening that pully, maybe it jsut came loose, but doubt it. actually dont even think you can tighten that one really, not sure. but my temp fix i would say is to just go to autozone and buy a shorter belt to bypass that. its on here somewhere which belt to get to do taht. but obviously its just a bandaid, but at least the car will be drivable until summer comes.

 

[ManySHOs]

the last few days i have been hearing a lil rattle from teh engine bay. popped the hood and it was coming from the pulleys, but i couldnt tell which one. well today when i was about to head to lunch i started the car up and the rattling now sounds like a real loud tap. more rpm +ed fastest knocking. so i popped the hood and noticed the pulley underneath the alternator was vibrating like crazy. it is on its way out. to the point wher i am not driving the car again till i fix it.

anyone know which pulley this is? or where i can find a diagram to get an idea? i would appreciate it very much

thanks in advance, brian

5 speed or automatic? Is the pulley directly beneath the alternator or below it and to the side? I think that you are describing your belt tensioners; its the only pulley that I can fathom coming loose and wobbling

Ian

 

[camzaro28]

wow, fast replies guys!
ok it is the one about 6-8 inches directly under the alternator pulley.
if it is just a tensioner, i will try and get a socket on there and tighten it.

ive only had 2 mess with pulleys once b4 and that was on my 89 blazer 4.3. and it did the same thing but it was teh idler. ill see what happens and get back to ya.
thanks again guys.

 

[camzaro28]

oh yeah, the car is an 1994 auto.


i have my sig saved but it never has showed up when i post

 

[NiNeTy Fo SHO]

oh yeah, the car is an 1994 auto.


i have my sig saved but it never has showed up when i post

You have to check the box that says "show sig when I post"

 

[laxmax327]

well thats the ac, well on an mtx is it, highly doubt its diff on an atx right? but yea, im pretty sure you cant tighten it and you might need to pull the ac and have it repaired or replaced. but for the meantime i would jsut bypass it so its safe to drive.

 

[camzaro28]

^ haha i am pretty sure i did that a few times now, gave up though and figured the mods didnt liek it or soemthing. i will go try again right now and see what happens though

edit: redid sig and saved, clicked show signature along with the other 2 options under it. i took a screenshot also, if this dont work i will save it and post a pic to see what the **** i am doing wrong!

 

[camzaro28]

just thought of soemthign i should have mentioned earlier. like i said earlier, it has been noticeable the last few days. well whenever i turn the heat on is when i noticed it. so i would just turn the heat off when i heard it. maybe that will give u a better idea!

 

[camzaro28]

ok i went out there and took a look at it. ( mind u, the hood is only stayin on the car due to the locking latch. as in, its not bolted up to the brackets near the windshield) so i couldnt get a real good look at it, as i was having to hold the hood up with one hand. anyway this pulley must be 2 piece? cuz it is on there tight, yet the outside has alot of play. i can grab it and turn it as many times as i want. i started the car up afterwards and it shakes real badly.

i am gonna have to have heat, so i dont think i will be able to bypass it.

 

[HoustinoJillian]

ummm the hood latch isnt all that great, i'd actually bolt your hood on first. THEN replace the pully, THEN drive it again. 1 and 2 can switch as long as 3 stays last.

 

[Mike Kelly]

It's more than likely the a/c clutch. They do come apart and become very loud. If you need heat, just turn the vent to heat. The clutch wont try to engage on vent. Mike

 

[camzaro28]

i think u r right about the a/c clutch. but even if all the air is off, the car still shakes and the pulley is knocking real loud. how would i go about bypassing it? and if i did would i have heat?
someone mentioned earlier in the thread about a a shorter belt. i did a search and didnt come up with anything. anyone know where to find out what belt is needed to bypas it?
thanks again guys, brian

 

[Mike Kelly]

The pulley is still being spun by the belt, even when your not running compressor. You would still have heat thru the vent setting if you bypassed the compressor. I have no idea of the belt size when you bypass the comprressor, but you can take the old one with you to the parts store. Mike

 

[laxmax327]

i believe 69.5 inchs is the correct length.

 

[camzaro28]

thanks guys. i am goin to work on it tomorrow, didnt feel like dealing with it today. i will let u guys know how it goes when i get into it.

how hard is it to replace the compressor? if that isnt expensive ill just do that and have it done correctly.
thanks again

 

[etc1006]

You should be able to do just the pulley/clutch assembly, unlike most other Fords... Is your R134 or R12?

 

[Entropy]

I too believe that it is the clutch on the compressor - it has happened to me before and gave the exact same results. I would also tend to believe that if the pulley on the A/C is that loose, you sheared the clutch off the front of it (this too has happened to me). Check out the following link and see if the front of your A/C clutch looks like it. If not, and I am correct, it will look like a noodle strainer and be very loose.
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=FAA&mfrpartnumber=57365&parttype=387&ptset=A

Also take the time to consider WHY is happened. Grab a hold of the compressor and try and turn it by hand - more than likely, it is locked up and the pulley is just free-wheeling....

 

[camzaro28]

entropy, sounds like i am having the same issue. that is the piece. and yeah the very outside edge is free and moves up/down/back and forth. but wont totally come off.
i looked up the price for the part and cannot afford it at the moment. so if it is possible, i would like to bypass it for the time being.
laxmax mentioned earlier the a 69.5 belt would do that, can anyone confirm that length?

thanks again guys, brian

edit: right now the car is parked out front in about 6inches of snow, and it si to cold out to work on it. i am gonna have to drive it almost 1 mile to the shop to work on it. think it will make it? i drove it about 3 miles yesterday on teh way home from lunch hoping it was gonna make it.