Harmonic Balancer, Crank Support, Lower Pulley

dazwelding

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My supercharger belt got tore up (one tooth of the belt), and the diagnosis is the lower pulley bushings are shot. As a result, I am attempting to purchase a new balancer and lower pulley vs just replacing the pulley alone. My standard MO is “while I have this apart I may as well replace ______”….
I am having trouble figuring out exactly what I need, and I am looking for some input here.

So far I have selected the Innovators West balancer with the Metco adapter. Obviously I will need a Metco pulley ring to go with that. What I cannot figure out is what replaces the OEM Crank Support Cage? I see there is a Metco Crank idler relocation kit, is that all I need and the OEM Support is no longer used?
 
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MG0h3

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The factory lower pulley assy is often referred to as a “caged lower”.

There are a few aftermarket caged assy but they are spendy.

If this is an otherwise stockish car, I’d just replace the bushings.

Have you verified that they are in fact worn out?

Haven’t changed anything else recently? Alternator by chance?


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com
 

hotcobra03

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Caged lower pulley is 1 piece.

Rest stays

Sadly these aren't available new any longer
Cost was 700 area,

I did try replacing the bushings on mine

Got a few more years of use,,finding something to fit tight to repair wasn't easy and fun job to do.

I went with a metco replacement without cage ..

Some pop up used,but beware bushings are old now even it good it may not last long
 

dazwelding

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I did not personally verify the bushings, but I stood right next to the tech when he was working on it. He showed me the wiggle, and it does have a little over 100k miles on it, so it seems reasonable to me.

I have a new alternator, new belt, replaced the AC with an idler pulley, new billet idlers and new supercharger pulley.

stockish, yes, 477hp/517torq

Future max planned power would be full port and do the M122 rotor hybrid rebuild at the most, if I even go that route. Either way this would be the max I am looking for. Call me crazy, but I would like to keep the Eaton on it.

so no cage? Just seems odd to me. Does the OEM cage not provide much support?
 

lOOKnGO

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It's the bushing inside the center of the large pulley. Unless you're concerned about originality go aftermarket. Lethal is a sponsor here and has the best deal.

Lower Pulley Kits




If you want an original, I have one but it would cost more. $450 PLUS shipping
 

dazwelding

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Ok, so is this correct:

Inovators West Balancer with Metco Adapter
Metco Crank Idler Relocation Kit
Metco Pulley Ring
 

MG0h3

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You just replaced the alternator?

With what?

You probably have a pulley alignment issue now. It’s quite common after Alt replacement if it’s aftermarket.


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dazwelding

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You just replaced the alternator?

With what?

You probably have a pulley alignment issue now. It’s quite common after Alt replacement if it’s aftermarket.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

That is what the techs originally thought, but they put a laser on and all the pulleys are aligned.
Is a PA Performance alternator.
I did drive it for 500ish miles with a base tune to break in the trans and clutch, and had no issues. The belt got damaged on the drive home from the dyno. They did put a new belt on for me, and it’s been ok so far. However, I have been taking it easy on it now that I know something is wrong.
 

hotcobra03

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When mechanic showed you wobble on pulley

Was this in hand ,,

It will look loose,,its dishes installed.

Pulley bushings only do turning of pulley

Pulley it self will tighten when installed
 

P49Y-CY

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The factory lower pulley assy is often referred to as a “caged lower”.


If this is an otherwise stockish car, I’d just replace the bushings.

Have you verified that they are in fact worn out?


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

i'm in a similar boat to the op and would love to replace the rubber bushings on my stock lower, but it seems very difficult to do since you have to remove that center tribar piece to get the new bushings in.

for me it's tough enough just getting the whole damn assy off the crank lol
 

hotcobra03

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I did mine twice ,first time was abitch off the car, I. Thinking it would be easier on car being the amout of force needed to get it loose,and holding pulley in car may be easier,,
 

dazwelding

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What balancer puller/installer are you all using? I have an old one I inherited but I am not sure if it will work or not.
 

03cobra#2

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I'm using a IW damper, Metco ring, and J2Fab crank support. I have my stock lower sitting on a shelf what has pretty much perfect bushings that I'm holding onto. Figure that part will be worth a bit one day.
 

IllCobra

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I'm using a IW damper, Metco ring, and J2Fab crank support. I have my stock lower sitting on a shelf what has pretty much perfect bushings that I'm holding onto. Figure that part will be worth a bit one day.
That is the way I want to go in the future. But spending $2,200 on those three things is a hard pill to swallow. However, the peace of mind that your crank is bullet proof is nice.
Any clearance/alignment issue this yours?
 

dazwelding

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Installing the new balancer today.
I got the pulley puller and install tools from harbor freight. They are not something I would recommend if you would be using these tools frequently, but for once in a while they are fine.

You can see in the photos the bushings were definitely shot. Very loose. I showed some pictures where you can see some cracking in the rubber on the balancer. I don’t know if that is detrimental or not, but it made me feel better about replacing it after I saw the deterioration.

Enjoy the photos!!
 

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03cobra#2

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That is the way I want to go in the future. But spending $2,200 on those three things is a hard pill to swallow. However, the peace of mind that your crank is bullet proof is nice.
Any clearance/alignment issue this yours?

Everything fit pretty well. I did need to purchase a special tool to press in the front crank Seal, remove the fan for clerence but everything was good. On a side note I did a couple wide open pulls on the highway yesterday and I was seeing more boost then before the crank support.So I'm thinking my belt was slipping slightly. All good.
 

cj428mach

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Installing the new balancer today.
I got the pulley puller and install tools from harbor freight. They are not something I would recommend if you would be using these tools frequently, but for once in a while they are fine.

You can see in the photos the bushings were definitely shot. Very loose. I showed some pictures where you can see some cracking in the rubber on the balancer. I don’t know if that is detrimental or not, but it made me feel better about replacing it after I saw the deterioration.

Enjoy the photos!!

The only thing the bushings do is cushion everything while it's turning. The bushings have no effect on if the lower spins straight.
 

Foxbody83

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Caged lower pulley is 1 piece.

Rest stays

Sadly these aren't available new any longer
Cost was 700 area,

I did try replacing the bushings on mine

Got a few more years of use,,finding something to fit tight to repair wasn't easy and fun job to do.

I went with a metco replacement without cage ..

Some pop up used,but beware bushings are old now even it good it may not last long
I know this is an older post but if this helps anyone with what I did with my supercharger pulley repair, it will still be a help. I bought my stock 2003 Cobra with worn out supercharger bushings. I could have gone out and bought a used 2003-2004 lower supercharger pulley cage, but still would have ended up with 18 or 19 year old bushings. I want to keep my Cobra as original as possible, so I didn't want to buy an aftermarket kit. The bushings in my pulleys were actually nonexistent with the three metal studs they had insulated. The studs were digging into the pulley holes and elongated them ( See the before and after pictures. The second and third pictures are the, "after" pictures. After watching a YouTube video, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mnh8AsSkAg, I bought the bushing material that was recommended on the video from McMaster Car. Big thank you to Mike's Garage for posting this video. Then, I went to a friend, Chuck C. who is a metal fabricator. My friend made a tool to take the hub apart. He then welded in the portion of the pulley that was elongated to make the holes perfectly round. Then he got 1/2" bolts ( I believe they were 3" long with their smooth shoulders) and welded them into the front "crowfoot" portion of the hub. The smooth, shoulder portion of the bolts rode in the bushings. He cut the bolts to be the same length of the three metal studs. He then used the bushing material purchased from McMaster Car and pressed it into the hub. Chuck did a quality repair on a part that could have ended up in a scrap pile. The car runs great with no noises from the repair of the pulley.
 

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