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| CCG Crank Pulley |
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Lightweight crank pullies for Saturns have been around for quite a while. The first were the Boers' pullies, which were made out of pure aluminum. They were fine, at least until the crank or the bearing or something wore grooves into the back of the pulley, allowing oil to leak profusely. Then, MOS decided to make a version of the crank pulley and anodize it, hoping it would last longer with the hard covering. I don't have much feedback on those, but they seem to work alright. Then, Custom Car Grills got into the market, and designed a new crank pulley that was made of aluminum, but had a steel sleeve where the grooves used to form. The steel is hard enough to prevent grooving, allowing for much better durability. I had considered getting a light crank pulley for a while, but I decided there was just too much risk. However, when I considered CCG's design, it made a lot of sense, so I got one from them. You can see the back of the pulley to the right. Here is a closeup of the steel sleeve. It's that ring of different-looking metal around the center cylinder. Finally, here's a shot of the front of the pulley. When I got the thing in the mail, it was fucking amazing. I dunno, I guess I just have a thing for nicely worked-over aluminum. |
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Now, the first thing you've gotta do to install the pulley is jack up the car on the passenger's side, and put jackstands SECURELY under the frame. You're gonna be putting at least ~160 ft-lbs of torque on a bolt, so you better have the bitch stable. It's not my goddamn problem if you fuck up and have a car fall on you. That is definitely YOUR problem. So, heed the fucking warning. STABLE. When you have the car up and secure, take off the splash guard closest to the front of the car, and you'll see the crank pulley, shown to the right. Next, you have to take off the accessory belt. It's a LOT easier to do from the bottom than from the top, which is nice for this job. Just lie on your back and look up above and to the left of the crank pulley, and you'll see the tensioner. The bolt is 14mm, and when you've got the wrench around it right, push towards the back of the car to release the tension on the belt. Pull it off whatever pulley you can reach, and you're good to go. Just leave it hanging there. It won't fuck anything up.
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Ahhhhh...now it is time to remove the pulley itself. People make a huge deal out of this whole process, but with the right tools, it takes about 30 seconds. You're gonna need a breaker bar, a torque wrench, and a 13/16" socket. Get a good one. People always talk about breaking sockets and shit with this job, but whatever. The bolt is torqued to 159 ft-lbs, so just get strong tools, don't pull like a pussy, and you'll be just fine. To stop the crank from turning when you torque on the bolt, set the 14mm wrench you have in between the pulley and the timing chain cover behind it, and use the breaker bar to turn the crank counterclockwise until the wrench is stuck in there tight. Another problem people have with this operation is cranking the timing chain cover due to incorrect placement of the small wrench. As well as I can figure, you've gotta be retarded to crack the fucking cover trying to get this bolt off. Just put the wrench where you see it to the right, and you'll be tightness. Once the wrench is jammed in securely, get the breaker bar in position and lie on your side on the ground, facing the pulley. Get it so the pulley is about at your waist, stick your foot up against the inside of the wheel well, grab the breaker bar, and pull towards the front of the car. If you're not a bitch, the bolt should start to come loose in a couple seconds. Use the breaker bar to unscrew it a bit more, and it'll soon become hand-loose. When you have the bolt and washer completely out, you might have to tap the small wrench a few times in different directions to get it loose again. When you get the small wrench out, grab the pulley and remove it from it's housing by pulling straight out. It's kinda stuck in there, but it'll come out easily enough.
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To install the new pulley, just do the reverse. Stick it into the housing, making SURE it's well seated. Screw the bolt in until you can't hand tighten it anymore, and the stick the small wrench in as you see to the right. Put the 13/16" socket onto the torque wrench, and start pulling. Getting 159 ft-lbs of torque onto the bolt in this position is quite a bit harder than taking it off. I ended up lying on my stomach with my hands above my head, pulling on the torque wrench with both hands. It wasn't that bad. After that's all done, put the belt back on, making SURE it's on all grooves correctly, replace the splash guard, put the tire back on, and lower the car. As always, I almost forgot to tighten the lugnuts back up. Good thing Daniel reminded me. That would've been a sight. If you want to get one of these pullies for yourself, go to Custom Car Grills and hook that shit up. They also have alternator and water pump pullies for sale. Support honest businesses, especially in this market. A lot of companies in the car modification industry are just simply a bunch of shady fucks trying to gouge people on pricing and quality. CCG is run by a decent guy who's not out to rip the shit out of consumers. What that means is, if you're in the market for one of their products, get it through them, not some random asshole out there trying to screw people. Anyhooo, have fun with your new pulley, bitches. And from now on, remember to tell anyone who has problems doing this install that they are a complete pussy idiot.
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