Camshaft Bolt Coming Loose After Perrin Pulley Install
 

I installed the Perrin pulley about one month ago. This afternoon I heard a chirping sound coming from under the hood. When I looked at the pulley the crankshaft bolt was slightly wobbly. When I installed the pulley the first time I followed the directions exactly. Today I tightened it again to the recommended lb ft and even a little more this time. Has this happened to anyone else? Anyone have any suggestions in case the camshaft bolt comes loose again?

I assume you mean crankshaft bolt. Torque is all it should need unless the threads got messed up with the switch.

You're right, I did mean the crankshaft bolt. I hand threaded the crank bolt in as much as I could until I needed to use my torque wrench. I didn't feel any issues with the bolt while I was tightening it.

Loctite?

Given the torque procedure and Perrin's instructions it seems like this bolt is torque to yield. If it's coming loose I'd replace it ASAP. Maybe talk to Perrin and get them to measure the bolts height down to the thousands of an inch and compare that to yours if you have the means. Otherwise, I'd be at the dealership tomorrow.

Damn thats scary. You're lucky you caught it before the bolt actually came out, that could have been pretty bad i'd imagine.

I ordered one of the pulleys, and now im scared lol. On previous cars i've used loctite on the threads, and put a little grease on the dowel. The pulleys on past cars never had instructions :(... curious to see how the Perrin pulley instructions go.

And I hope that your car is ok!

I'm confused. How loose was the bolt? Were you able to easily turn it with/without the wrench?
The wobble you saw could have easily been the normal vibrations of the engine.

Be very careful with this- It's easy to ruin a crank this way.

probably the scariest thread iv read all day

Yeah i will be checking mine tomorrow.

Yup I will also be checking mine tomorrow.

To the OP I would suggest going to the dealership website and ask to order a new one. They will most likely send you a diagram via email of the engine with a part numbers. Pick the corresponding one and order. Personally, I would never use loctite in that area.

Did it come loose again after you re-torqued it?

I guess I'll get some loctite before installing mine.

The bolt was still tight but I was able to turn it 3 or 4 times until it was fully retorqued. Once I retightened the bolt the bolt head did not wobble and the squeaking/chirping noise stopped. I haven't driven it more than 3 miles since then. However when the bolt was slightly loose the engine didn't feel like it was operating any differently. I am also unsure as to how long it was loose but it couldn't have been long at all since I didn't hear the squeaking/chirping until tonight. I will definitely be ordering a new crankshaft bolt tomorrow. I will be checking the bolt constantly until the new bolt is ordered/installed.

Is it possible that the crankshaft bolt was very overtightened and thus stretched out when it was installed at the factory? I only ask because it was definitely torqued to over 150 ft lbs because that is as high as my torque wrench goes up to and it took more torque than that to break it loose when I installed the pulley. Anyone have any thoughts?