Hey Guys,

I am having a new problem with my truck.

While the engine is running, a loud squeak is emitted from the balancer pulley every few seconds. When this happens, it looks like the pulley is getting sucked towards the engine. Also, my serpentine belt is starting to fray on the side closest to the engine....

What's the problem? Need a new pulley? Is there anything that can get greased? I am not sure why it squeaks when it pulls towards the engine.

Thanks for the help...

I went outside and dropped the front skidplate to get a better look.

All of the rubber looks like it is in perfect condition - no bulges, rips, or tears anywhere.

I moved the pulley around as much as I could....it would move front and back a bit, and it would turn without turning the damper a very small bit...just enough to show that the rubber is doing its job....wtf.....I started the truck again and low and behold the noise was gone.....wtf......

I guess I will just chalk it up to all the mud and dirt I have been driving through lately.....is there anything I can apply to the rubber to lube it up a bit....besides ky jelly of course....

Take a gander at CowRacer's thread a lot of similar discussion http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81627

I have been following his thread. His problem seems to be with the tensioner.

Mine is 100% with the crank pulley....when it makes the quick grinding noise the noise is accompanied with the pulley sucking in towards the dampner...

Mind you, the noise is gone for now...but when it shows back up maybe I can provide some more information....

Like I said, the rubber looks to be in excellent condition....perhaps just too much dirt and debris got kicked up?

This is like what came first the chicken or the egg? Some people who've lost engines noticed this pulley slipped and the crankshaft snapped. What came first though?

You could have sheared the key the holds the dampner from spinning on the crank, and the bolt could have backed out. Just happened to a friend of mine and he broke the crank right behind the the #1 and 2 rods. He was lucky and it didn't take the block.

Bolts are all in there.

It did the same thing last night, so I took the skid plate off again and sprayed the front of the pulley with some WD 40. The noise disappeared again...

It looks like the pulley sucks in towards the damper when it makes the squeaking noise....the pulley only moves at the most 1/4"....

If it does it again, I will look for a new pulley....or an engine if the crank happens to snap.....18:1 here I come.....lol....

Bolts are all in there.

It did the same thing last night, so I took the skid plate off again and sprayed the front of the pulley with some WD 40. The noise disappeared again...

It looks like the pulley sucks in towards the damper when it makes the squeaking noise....the pulley only moves at the most 1/4"....

If it does it again, I will look for a new pulley....or an engine if the crank happens to snap.....18:1 here I come.....lol....

You won't be able to see the bolt for the balancer unless you take the pully off and then inspect to see if the key has been sheared or if the bolt has come loose.

Try running it with the belt off to see if the noise and movement stops, check all the other stuff, alt/vacuum pump/idler/waterpump for smooth operation, if one is starting to seize it could be showing up in the H balancer

also I've seen belts make the same noise you describe, next time you spray with WD-40 use water in a spritzer instead, and hit the belt only with water, if the noise goes away try replacing the belt, maybe with the belt starting to fray something is out of alignment.

You won't be able to see the bolt for the balancer unless you take the pully off and then inspect to see if the key has been sheared or if the bolt has come loose.

Correct me if I am wrong, but if the key sheared, I should be able to turn the pulley and balancer without the crank moving...this does not happen...

Try running it with the belt off to see if the noise and movement stops, check all the other stuff, alt/vacuum pump/idler/waterpump for smooth operation, if one is starting to seize it could be showing up in the H balancer

also I've seen belts make the same noise you describe, next time you spray with WD-40 use water in a spritzer instead, and hit the belt only with water, if the noise goes away try replacing the belt, maybe with the belt starting to fray something is out of alignment.

I was going to try taking the belt off, but I didn't have a big enough snipe to move the tensioner (I work on my truck at the farm with a fully equipped shop - I don't have all those tools here in the city)...

I will take the belt off and check the accessories when I get back to the farm this week....

The belt itself isn't making the noie - the H pulley is....when it makes the noise the pulley sucks in towards the engine....I am sure that this is what caused the belt to fray a bit....

It hasn't done it since I sprayed the rubber on the H pulley with WD 40....the next time it starts acting up I will take a short vid of it for you guys to see....

Thanks for the suggestions guys :) ....

Correct me if I am wrong, but if the key sheared, I should be able to turn the pulley and balancer without the crank moving...this does not happen...

Maybe somebody that that has tried moving the balancer by the pully could answer that one. Mine was tight coming off and the new one going on was tight.

If it the key has be sheared and the balancer has been spinning on the shaft, it seems as though the balancer would be loose enough that you would be able to tell by the pully but I've never tried that so I don't know for sure.

All right....it started doing it again....this time I got a little video of it...if you watch the video and strain your eyes you can see that the harmonic balancer pulley sucks in towards the harmonic balancer when it makes the squeaking noise....

http://video.dieselplace.com/video/b156eefb-c414-4ea6-8c12-6b6624330348.htm

Hmmm.....video doesn't seem to be working yet....I sprayed it with WD 40 again....stopped the squeaking and the pulley moving in and out.....watch the vid when it finally starts working and please offer some suggestions...

Not sure if the video worked for any of you guys but it did not work at all for me. I had to use putfile to get the movie to show correctly.

I am thinking I may have to take the pulley off and see what is going on...please have a look and let me know what you think...

http://media.putfile.com/H-pulley

You got some serious problems there, new balancer and pulley for sure, just for giggles remove the belt and do the push pull thingy on it and watch for crank movement, does it knock under load at all, i'm wondering if the crank isn't broke in such a way that its still turning everything?

Take the belt off, it takes 30 seconds to that, all you need is a 3/8 ratchet. Remove the pulley (4 13 or 15 mm bolts ) and inspect the balancer really good try moving it back and forward and left and right. With the belt of you will get better feeling for any looseness. Removing the fan helps a lot and that's pretty easy only like 4, 13 mm nuts.

:grd:

Dont try to fix it with WD40

I just took the pulley off and there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it - other than it is a little dirty/greasy (probably from my WD 40 fix)...

When I took it off I tried to move the balancer itself and it would not budge indicating that my crank is fine. The truck does not knock at all.

When I hold the pulley and push on the big rubber insert I am able to move the center of the pulley away from the outside if that makes sense...I will get a clip of it later if I can....

I am just going to clean it up and put it back on and see what happens....

Just as a follow-up. I cleaned the pulley and there was quite a bit of sand inbetween the center shaft of the pulley and surrounding ring. I cleaned it all out with soap and water.

I just finished putting everything back together and the noise is gone...the pulley doesn't move in or out anymore either with the engine running. I will run with it like this until it starts acting up again at which point I will go with Rigger's advise and pick up a new pulley. The balancer itself is in good shape - no bulging rubber or anything and I couldn't move it in/out/or sideways by cranking on it by hand with the pulley removed. All of the accessories turn easily by hand (except the vaccuum pump which takes a little bit of effort which I assume is normal due to the diaphragm moving inside). I could use a new belt though....that will get put on tomorrow.....

I hope it is just the pulley. I noticed one on eBay last night for less than 100 bucks on a "buy it now button". If it happens again take the skid plate out from under the front of the truck and take a video from underneath. That way we can tell if the balancer is moving also. If they are both moving - really bad news.

I could not get the video to work on the website here either. The putfile one worked great.

Thanks Jason.

I am one step ahead of you - I left the skidplate off from when I took the pulley off just in case it started acting up again.

If it does start squeaking again I will get a video of it from underneath the truck so you guys can see it too...

I just put on a new belt to rule out the old belt as a potential culprit (it was frayed quite bad)...

Censored

Damn thing started squeaking again....sprayed the center of the crank pulley with spray grease and the noise stopped and the crank stopped sucking in towards the engine.....time for a new crank pulley....the local dealer wants $374 (with my discount)....I know there is one on ebay for cheap but I am not really a big fan of ebay....prefer if one of you guys had an extra one kicking around....see this thread please: http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1141518#post1141518

Thanks

How difficult was the vaccum pump to turn? it should not be that hard at all.

vaccuum pump was not terribly hard to turn.....you could tell when the diaphragm was flexing though.....it would be hard to get it over the 'hump' and then it would be fine....are you thinking that an accessory is putting strain on the crank pulley?....if so, why would spraying the center of it make the squeaking go away?...any more thoughts?...

I can not see it being anything other than the crank pulley. If it was the crankshaft the engine would have been dead by now. You are creeping up on a month since the problem first showed up. $374 seems pretty steep. I was sure I paid $260 for mine but that was over two years ago. Standard Motors ordered it in for me.

I *might* order the one off of ebay....any American members want to help a guy out? If you do send me a PM and I'll fill you in on what I need....it would help me out quite a bit....

$374 seems pretty steep. I was sure I paid $260 for mine but that was over two years ago. Standard Motors ordered it in for me.

Standard price was over $450 :eek:

I *might* order the one off of ebay....any American members want to help a guy out? If you do send me a PM and I'll fill you in on what I need....it would help me out quite a bit....

lol.....nobody wants to try and smuggle a crank pulley across the border to help a poor student get away with not paying duty????....I may have to just suck it up and order the damn thing anyways....:p:

...found a different loophole...no duty for me...

thanks for nothing....



):h j/k...

I just bought mine off ebay works great perfect fit and only $70. Here is a link to a current auction from the same guy I bought from on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BRAND-NEW-GM-6-5-DIESEL-CRANK-PULLEY-DAMPENER-CHEVY_W0QQitemZ8076021920QQcategoryZ38656QQssPageN ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Good luck

That's the one I'm buying....glad to hear it is decent quality....

I would have offered to bring it up from the states for you but I am off work until the 26th. The I would not be back until the first week of July. I could have brought it on personal exemption. There should be no duty anyway. Just PST and the GST, unless these things are made overseas. I assume you are getting the shipper to send it as agriculture parts anyway - I am sure it is for the fuel truck. Make sure you get it shipped USPS (US mail) because if they ship it UPS (brown dudes with shorts) you are going to get hit with some really ridiculous customs brokerage charges.

Thanks Jason. There would have been duty because it is actually made in Korea (stamped right on the front of the pulley on the one in my truck and on the one in the auction). I worked something out with the shipper so it will make it over the border safe and sound. I never thought of getting it shipped as ag parts.....as a matter of fact my truck does have farm plates - all of my vehicles do....that way I can run whatever color of fuel I desire ;) ....oh and I also made sure that it is coming usps.....

Next time you are up in Saskatoon give me a shout....I'd like to see that hotrod of yours (the truck of course)....

I just got back from Cancun and guess what arrived?

My new HB pulley. Looking at the new one I now understand what was wrong with my old one.....

The center section of the old one can be pushed away from the outside section with very little effort....

On this new one it does not move away from the outside section....

I will get this thing installed ASAP....

Installed.....night and day difference in sound......

You need to get a camera and post a pic of the defective pulley.

I'll do you one better.....here is a link to a video showing me pressing the outer ring away from the inner ring....

http://media.putfile.com/pulley

:eek: That's pretty scary!