Another lower pulley issue

[phil a]

Hey guys

I rebuilt my stock lower - new bearing, new McMaster bushings, etc. Drove the car three times - maybe a total of 15mins, just around the neighborhood as it'd been apart for about a year, see if anything leaked, etc. Got into boost a couple of times. Needless to say, not a lot of driving and no sustained pulls etc.

Thought I was dealing with an alternator/charging issue, but turns out the small-end threads on the caged lower stripped and the tribar/pulley was not engaging and turning blower/alternator.

I'm on the fence here. These caged lowers are a pain in the ass to install/remove, disassemble/rebuild, etc. I've stripped the small-end threads before just taking them apart. I have a 2.9 whipple, 25lbs, stock engine aside from head studs. I run the stock lower pulley (obviously) with a 3.0" upper.

I'd like to go with another cage for the support it gives to the crank snout. But having trouble finding one that doesn't need to be taken apart and rebuilt. And that's a gamble as the threads can gall just undoing the tribar.

I know there are tons of cars out there running IW/Metco or ATI/Metco, which I should probably just do. The question floating out there is "how much support does the cage provide that I'm giving up going w Metco?"

So, any thoughts/discussion would be appreciated. I've combed through lots of threads prior to posting and found pros/cons to either option.

Anyone have a caged lower ready to bolt up and run, good bushings/bearing?

Thanks a lot

Phil

 

[phil a]

 

[MG0h3]

Ugh. Sucks.

I’d say since you’re running so much boost, that maybe it’s stressing things more.

I’m at 20 psi 2.9 Whipple. Stock lower 2.9 upper. Did bushings know mine several yrs ago and no issues.

Weird how some people, even at higher boost, never have issues. Then people in the teens or low 20s have repeated problems.

Wish I had the answer.

Hopefully some of the guys on here running serious setups can chime in.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

 

[01yellercobra]

I think even Malcolm ended up going aftermarket eventually. He was tearing up stockers every couple hundred miles.

I really wish someone would come up with a splined drive set up for these.

 

[03' White Snake]

I upgraded to IW double keyed crank pulley with Metco rings. My street setup is 22 psi, my party setup is 26 psi. Makes 822 on 22 psi for reference.

I had my crank upgraded to an ARP M16 (LS ARP Bolt) bolt and tapped deep enough to reach the fist main cap in the block. Obviously you cannot do this without tearing into the motor, but this is the correct way to fix this problem. Some people stud the end of the crank, this is the comparable way and preferred by my machine shop. The ARP bolt head and washer had to be machined down to fit inside the IW pulley.

 

[NotSatisfied]

I’m running a metco and IW 25# no cage


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

 

[phil a]

Honestly car has been same blower/boost level for a long time. Last year when I did intercooler swap/cooling system, I took the lower off to change out bushings for just a tiny tiny amount of rotational slop....should have left it alone, hindsight 20/20.

The idea of a splined drive makes a lot of sense, and I'd been thinking the same thing each time I try and disassemble one of these things. If the tri-bar has been overtightened over time and stretched the threads even the smallest amount, when you back the parts off of each other, they’re galled. Someone more adventurous may cut new male threads and try and matching insert in the tri-bar but I’m getting tired of dealing with this. If the Metco setup was caged, it’d be a no brained.

Guess the decision is mine, and I have to decide whether or not the deletion of the cage really puts an increased stress on the crank snout.

Thanks guys - this forum never disappoints

Phil

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

Didn’t somebody come out with a crank support for mod motors recently? Was pricey though if I remember

 

[TP03]

Lethal has them but yes... $1500 pricey

2003-2004 Mustang Cobra Lethal Performance Crank Support System (LP-COBRA-CSS) | Shop Crank Support Systems for 2003-2004 Ford Mustang Cobra - Lethal Performance

Order a Lethal Performance Crank Support System (LP-COBRA-CSS) for your 2003-2004 Ford Mustang Cobra. These trusted Crank Support Systems will help your Mustang avoid damage to the #1 main bearing and snout. Grab yours online today at Lethal Performance.

www.lethalperformance.com

 

[P49Y-CY]

if frpp ever were to do a run of these i bet they'd quickly sell every one.

hint hint if they're listening =)

 

[Wings65288]

Metco 6# lower here pushing 28#'s (was on a 3.4 Crusher). Now going to the 3.0. I got tired of dealing with the caged stocker

 

[phil a]

So, fourth times a charm. Maybe…lol
Bought another caged lower. We’ll see how it looks when it gets here, hopefully it is the last time I have to think about this. If not, will probably go with the Metco setup.

Phil