PSA on Cheap crank pulleys

[Loktai]

This is not the usual doom and gloom that "A LIGHT PULLEY WILL BLOW UP YOUR ENGINE!". And OBVIOUSLY most of us do not need ME to tell them to avoid a cheap crank pulley or cheap ricey parts in general. I was changing mine because half the junk in my engine bay is corroded beyond belief and I said F. it. Not because of TEH GAINZ.

At least on a boxer engine it will not damage anything to run without a "harmonic balancer". It may have some kind of effect but not that Ive seen. This is a story about the Godsnow/Rxmotor pulleys you see floating around on ebay and amazon for so cheap there HAS to be something wrong with them. Right? Well there is actually.

The water pump and alternator pulleys are fine. Even look nice and dont seem to cause any detriment. The issue is with the crank pulley.

Is it unbalanced? No. The issue is with the thickness of the pulley in the center where it engages the shaft of the keyway. Its not thick enough.


I have pictures of the stock crank pulley and how it fits. Of the Godsnow/Rxmotor pulley and another VERY cheap pulley the Circuit Werks pulley kit.
Edit: The circuit werks just to be clear fits perfectly. No issue with the circuit werks. Just pointing out that the rxmotor / Godsnow is the odd one out here.

http://imgur.com/a/I1xzz

If you install this crank pulley and dont understand how it should look you could easily make the mistake of tightening down the bolt and thinking its done. In fact the pulley will have play back and forth on the keyway. This is not good for a lot of reasons such as possibly throwing a belt or causing vibrations or other issues. Not good.

I informed the company and they insisted "We have sold a lot of these and nobody has mentioned this".... So in other words they dont care. Thats why Im posting this just in case someone ever comes across them or does a google search to see if they are legit. They arent.

[swarb]

How did your engine bay get corroded so quickly? Are you using the lower tray? I knew corrosion was a little bad for this car, but not that bad.

Anyone know if there is something to slow the corrosion?

EDIT: Surface corrosion. Not a big deal. Thanks @Tcoat

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by swarb

How did your engine bay get corroded so quickly? Are you using the lower tray? I knew corrosion was a little bad for this car, but not that bad.

Anyone know if there is something to slow the corrosion?

Many of the parts on my engine have a thin layer of surface rust or oxidation if they are not painted. Even if technically correct the term "corroded" may be a bit strong though. There is no actual damage and won't be for several decades (if ever) but my some of the parts look like they are way older than they are. It is simply one of the perils you live with and accept when you drive any car year round where they salt the roads. It is not restricted to these cars by a long shot. For those that can't live with it they can do as OP is and swap out for nicer looking coated parts, paint them or just clean the coat of oxides off every year (not as simple as it sounds).
I will take some pics of my engine bay and the parts in question just to give the California crew fits.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by swarb

EDIT: Surface corrosion. Not a big deal. Thanks @Tcoat

Well Swarb it is ugly as fuck and I can totally understand why many would be bothered by the appearance but in my case the only people that see my engine are the dealer techs and me when I do my semi annual check to make sure the engine is still there. It is fun to watch the tech's reaction when he opens the hood on my spotlessly clean car and reveals the very bowels of hell that is my engine bay.

[Loktai]

Right as pointed out a proper cleaning with a wire brush would return my crank pulley to a fine looking state. Obviously nothing is rusting through.

Yes I use the lower tray and it's only been off 2 weeks because I installed a whiteline lower control arm brace and the tray needs a light trim to go back on the brace is in the way..., and I also have a Tomei header waiting to go on, so I left it off... though I may also just get the beatrush tray , undecided. I don't normally run without it. The car has seen 4 years of new England weather so....

[ls1ac]

You should have seen the look on the face of a mechanic in Florida when I took my ten year old plow truck from Wisconsin in for service.