@Brian@Vortech perhaps you might want to chime in on this

This was the noise I started hearing which maybe bearing noise from that pulley at this point.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgyYmguXMZQ"]FR-S Vortech Pulley Noise - YouTube[/ame]

Same here.

So many headaches with this kit already

Whats the return policy on this anyways, cannot find it on the vortech page

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2c1be056.jpg

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ps27c506a5.jpg

I've PM'd him and I think he's aware of the situation, he's mostly involved in their social media and marketing so there's not much he can do himself. But I was asked to talk to a tech and that's where it went south for me. I explained what I found and what had happened, and the techs replys were very defensive and seemed to act as if it was my fault. I was asked to send my parts back to Vortech to be looked at to determine what would be done after that. But come to find out another member here that had the same failure as me contacted Vortech and with no questions asked already has another belt and pulley on the way to him. I feel like I've been given the run around and it could have been handled better for me.

My pulley is in perfect condition. It has barely brushed my intake pipe. I did feel nervous about that plastic pulley before install because it did wiggle.

I will say this some of these ground down pulleys "could" be installation error. I still have room to position the pipe higher on the the supplied bracket.

If you are driving the car during the winter do you have a battle plan for a blower heater for cold starts?

My pulley has not touched anything, i don't even think the pipe could touch the idler pulley if I wanted it to. It's ground down because the belt has jumped from the idler wiggling (because bearings failed) and caused the belt to ride on the lip of the idler. Then causing the idler to act like a saw hacking up the belt and taking chunks of the lip with it. My pulley hasn't touched anything. Oh and mine was in perfect shape a few days ago as well.....then it happened. No way it could be installation error. The pulley is pre installed on the blower assembly (but every bolt was checked to be tight before installation like the instructions say to do so) and nothing was loose when I removed the bad parts. I'm an A&P licensed aircraft mechanic. I'm very methodical in my installations. Like I've already stated, its really not that big a deal to me because it was a cheap easy fix. I just don't like how the situation was treated in my personal case by vortech and I would like to warn others of potential future problems and where to get replacement parts with part #s

Just checked my pulley/pipe clearance. No issues.
When I installed, I lifted the pipe before tightening the couplers/bracket for this exact reason

It looks like less from the picture, but there is a good 8-9mm of clearance between pulley/pipe

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/10...ps4bf352a2.jpg

No rubbing

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/10...ps47f6c306.jpg


Also, all owners should check their pipe for rubbing... it took less than 2 minutes with a flat blade screwdriver and a 10mm wrench to pull the pipe and check.

The pipe DOES contact the hood insulation, but it doesn't really put pressure on the hood/pipe and only touches when fully closed.

I am changing the pulley for a dayco/Duralast pulley. I wonder what the mfr. of the pulley that comes with our system is....

Dayco 89003 is the factory vortech part, its molded onto the pulley near the bearing when you remove it you can see it. I haven't been able to find another compatible brand of pulley yet

How about the gates 38006? Its slightly wider, but its steel and the diameter and all other measurements seem to be the same minus the width.

Dayco 89003 Pulley
76mm x 17mm Flat w/Flange, 26mm wide

Gates 38006
Steel Smooth/Backside 76mm x 17mm x 30.5mm

Its listed as a cross-reference for the 89003, and looks like it will actually give more room than the dayco pulley because it does not have the "guide" ridges on the ends of the pulley

Also are you guys removing the blower to change the belt?

It looks like with enough cursing, you don't need to.....

Hmm I will check when i get back in town next weekend for other places i may be rubbing. I am at 1,500-2,000 miles and just checked my idler pulley. Looks perfect. I have a decent clearance and everything is completely centered between pulleys, brackets, etc. I just made sure to line that up when installing. However when i reinstalled the MAF up pipe i forgot to check for clearance. I will verify if maybe instead of rubbing against the pulley if i am rubbing against the chasis on the passenger side.

Although the thought of a potential belt issue is un-easy considering when i get back i have a ~1,500+ mile road trip in the car coming up.

It may work but I'm unsure. Im hesitant on it without the ridges/lips though, I figure they are there for a reason. I also think the kit needs a slightly smaller belt to. After the upgraded compressors were released with the 9psi pulleys the belts were still never changed. So with a slightly smaller pulley I figure the tensioner isn't as tight. I think the gates belt is 98.110" long , maybe a 97.5" or 98" would be better

I checked mine this morning. There's a little wear spot on the pipe but I notices if you make sure to push it in till it hits the throttle biddy it self there's alot more room. I do have to say I am disappointed in Vortech service latley I have been trying to contact the guy that sold me my kit for about two months now.