Piggyback pulley problems! (long)

Mustang92 · 01-16-2001, 04:03 PM

Just thought I'd share my recent experience with everyone.

I had a set of piggyback style pullies on my 2000 GT. I bought them used and put them on in August. I've had some misfire check engine lights on my car and it was suggested that it may be my crank pulley not torqued correctly. Lately I had also noticed it had a slight wobble to it while running. As it was I also decided to buy a Steeda timing adjuster so I figure to fix two problems I would buy the Steeda pullies and get rid of the piggyback style.

Now I have no idea what brand the piggyback pullies where. They had a steel center hub and an aluminum outer section that had the actual ribs on it. They bolted together with four bolts like a rim pattern.

I picked up the Steeda pullies and decided to swap them out this weekend. The stock dampener came right off as it should, the piggyback crank pulley would not. Because of the pulley bolt pattern you could not put three bolts in it at once like a regular crank pulley you had to use two at a time. I stripped out two sets of bolts and had to retap the crank hub. Then I tried grade 5 bolts and bent the hub pretty bad.

After two hours of fighting it I gave up before I did any real damage. The next morning I tried a couple other thing and nothing I couldn't get it to budge. At this point on Sunday I gave up and put the car back together so I could drive it to a local shop (Rieth Motorsports). I drove the car with no crank bolt or dampener and a wobbling crank pulley.

They tried the same methods as I had with the same results till finally the hub broke where the bolts screwed into. With a little creativity they welded on a pinion bearing carrier and used a bearing separator on the bearing/hub. Only problem with this tool is that it is huge so my fan, radiator and ac condenser had to be pulled out. Finally after all day at the shop it popped and came off like it should have orginally.

Apparently once the pulley got the wobble in it wore a grove in the pulley and froze up. The crank was undamanged but I can't say the same for the pulley. Now the new pulley is on after a lot of stressing by me. The pulley was originally torqued on at 116ft lbs so I know it was done correctly. I don't know if the pulley was bent before I put it on or if something flew up and bent it aftwards. I do know I won't be buying anything else like this used again.

One thing I can't say enough good about Rieth Motorsports they stuck through it and got the problem fixed. And for those of you with the option to buy balancer pullies or piggyback style don't bother with the piggyback style unless they are really robust looking.

------------------
00 GT, MAC Offroad H, Pullies, 4.10’s, Flows, UPR shifter, subframes, LCA’s, air filter, Weld Pro Stars, Nitto DR’s 13.19@103.86 (1.82 60ft) 244.6 RWHP
M/M 100
88 LX coupe X-FHP, 12pt Cage, UPR K-member, 31 spline rear, full spool…

Stefan · 01-16-2001, 04:44 PM

Sorry to hear about your problems. Hey, this is probably an obvious question but how do you differentiate the piggy-back style pullies from the others? Apparently the Steeda brand isn't piggy-back, but what about March, ASP, and FMS? I'll be getting a set eventually and want to do it right the first time.

------------------
66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe
Laser Red 96GT Ragtop
Both are slow but easy on the eyes!

Mustang92 · 01-16-2001, 07:08 PM

There are only two companies making the balancer style pullies. ASP and Steeda. The difference being that ASP and Steeda pullies incorporate the dampener into the pulley and the other use the stock dampener bolted to the front of the underdrive crank pulley.

Stefan · 01-16-2001, 10:24 PM

Thanks for clearing it up.

------------------
66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe
Laser Red 96GT Ragtop
Both are slow but easy on the eyes!

01-16-2001, 04:03 PM	#1
Mustang92 Drag Racer! Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Lake Worth, FL USA Posts: 757	Piggyback pulley problems! (long) Just thought I'd share my recent experience with everyone. I had a set of piggyback style pullies on my 2000 GT. I bought them used and put them on in August. I've had some misfire check engine lights on my car and it was suggested that it may be my crank pulley not torqued correctly. Lately I had also noticed it had a slight wobble to it while running. As it was I also decided to buy a Steeda timing adjuster so I figure to fix two problems I would buy the Steeda pullies and get rid of the piggyback style. Now I have no idea what brand the piggyback pullies where. They had a steel center hub and an aluminum outer section that had the actual ribs on it. They bolted together with four bolts like a rim pattern. I picked up the Steeda pullies and decided to swap them out this weekend. The stock dampener came right off as it should, the piggyback crank pulley would not. Because of the pulley bolt pattern you could not put three bolts in it at once like a regular crank pulley you had to use two at a time. I stripped out two sets of bolts and had to retap the crank hub. Then I tried grade 5 bolts and bent the hub pretty bad. After two hours of fighting it I gave up before I did any real damage. The next morning I tried a couple other thing and nothing I couldn't get it to budge. At this point on Sunday I gave up and put the car back together so I could drive it to a local shop (Rieth Motorsports). I drove the car with no crank bolt or dampener and a wobbling crank pulley. They tried the same methods as I had with the same results till finally the hub broke where the bolts screwed into. With a little creativity they welded on a pinion bearing carrier and used a bearing separator on the bearing/hub. Only problem with this tool is that it is huge so my fan, radiator and ac condenser had to be pulled out. Finally after all day at the shop it popped and came off like it should have orginally. Apparently once the pulley got the wobble in it wore a grove in the pulley and froze up. The crank was undamanged but I can't say the same for the pulley. Now the new pulley is on after a lot of stressing by me. The pulley was originally torqued on at 116ft lbs so I know it was done correctly. I don't know if the pulley was bent before I put it on or if something flew up and bent it aftwards. I do know I won't be buying anything else like this used again. One thing I can't say enough good about Rieth Motorsports they stuck through it and got the problem fixed. And for those of you with the option to buy balancer pullies or piggyback style don't bother with the piggyback style unless they are really robust looking. ------------------ 00 GT, MAC Offroad H, Pullies, 4.10’s, Flows, UPR shifter, subframes, LCA’s, air filter, Weld Pro Stars, Nitto DR’s 13.19@103.86 (1.82 60ft) 244.6 RWHP M/M 100 88 LX coupe X-FHP, 12pt Cage, UPR K-member, 31 spline rear, full spool…

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01-16-2001, 04:44 PM	#2
Stefan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Manhattan, KS 66502 Posts: 599	Sorry to hear about your problems. Hey, this is probably an obvious question but how do you differentiate the piggy-back style pullies from the others? Apparently the Steeda brand isn't piggy-back, but what about March, ASP, and FMS? I'll be getting a set eventually and want to do it right the first time. ------------------ 66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe Laser Red 96GT Ragtop Both are slow but easy on the eyes!

01-16-2001, 07:08 PM	#3
Mustang92 Drag Racer! Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Lake Worth, FL USA Posts: 757	There are only two companies making the balancer style pullies. ASP and Steeda. The difference being that ASP and Steeda pullies incorporate the dampener into the pulley and the other use the stock dampener bolted to the front of the underdrive crank pulley.

01-16-2001, 10:24 PM	#4
Stefan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Manhattan, KS 66502 Posts: 599	Thanks for clearing it up. ------------------ 66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe Laser Red 96GT Ragtop Both are slow but easy on the eyes!