Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem? Good info in here!!

Driving home I thought I lost my serpentine belt. I looked at it today and saw that Crankshaft Pulley had fallen off.
I was going to just bolt it back on and put the new belt on and on inspection of the Pulley it appears to be damaged from vibrating/ gyrating off.
In the pictures it appears that there may have been a key that was sheared.
There is also now a raised lip where it was damaged by the gyrations.
There was oil leaking from where the Pulley was mounted but not now as I am parked on an incline.
I am thinking I need to replace the front seal.
Does anyone have any advice on what more needs to be done?

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

That is not good news,

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5226

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

Yes this is a major issue, I have an extra harmonic balancer I can sell you for $270 shipped. Ill ask my mechanic about replacing the seal, hes done about 15 of these... If you are interested call or text randy @ 760-622-0148

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

After studying this "major issue" all week I know what to do.
I'm looking for a Harmonic Balancer for around $300 ,risydnb can't do it and the dealer wants over $575. with tax.
I can get a Dorn for less than $200 but as it is a very critical part I don't want to risk it.
I am thinking about going without the rear air as it has been noted that it puts more stress on an already over stressed H. B.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

marquimarl said:

I can get a Dorn for less than $200 but as it is a very critical part I don't want to risk it.

Click to expand...

I have bought & installed several of these. The aftermarket part is a complete failure! All of them failed (outer ring came off) in less than 6 months.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

I am replacing my HB this weekend. My Sprinter doesn't have rear air, so the single pulley HB breaks too. Berry Dodge has the part for:
PULLEY-CRANKSHAFT
Make: Dodge | Part#: 5103998AB
List Price: $561.00
Your Price: $364.65

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

Is this a problem on all sprinters, mine is a 2005 I only have 55000 miles is there something I should worry about? No rear air.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

They seem to be failing after 100k (usually after warranty) and one guy was saying, to be safe, he was replacing them every 50k after that.
Mine went after 186k but it might have been replaced as I bought it at around 138K.
There was signs of damage as I had to replace the radiator fan (with some tools that Jackbombay sold me) that had a couple of vanes messed up.
Do any the H.B. gurus think it could have lasted 186k without replacement?

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

Mine has a number on it (A 611 030 03 03) I guess part number and (12-4-05) I would say date and (CFW 300-340 HZ) not sure what that is. It looks good to me so I guess I will just look at it often. Any particular things to look for?
Thanks

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

Ordered a HB and parts from Berry's, rep said it was his last one and he said I could mount the second AC pulley after taking it off the old one.
How many here know that it is a one piece HB?
Oh well I can send it back or just go without rear air.
This is what it looks like when you "swing the radiator group" out of the way.
You have to remove every hose and transmission line including both intercooler hoses.
The only line left on are the AC lines.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

Called Berry Dodge back today and confirmed it was the right HB.
I also ordered All of the rubber hoses a new Water pump and gasket both idler pulleys, one with the tensioner spring.
Total. Less than $700. $189. for the water pump and around $325. for the Harmonic Balancer with a new bolt, key, and front seal.
This is what you can do when they say you have to replace the whole radiator because one of the transmission cooler lines will no longer seal on the radiator connection.
This has lasted almost four years without a drop leaking out.
This is a high pressure fuel line hose. I forget the diameter but it was tight enough to fit over the transmission line but first had to be screwed on over the transmission cooler connection and then it was hose clamped on both sides.

I tried every other trick there is and you can see my engine bay would have been a lot cleaner without that constant drip from the Tranny cooler from 4 years ago.
So if you end up losing the seal on the compression fitting on your Transmission cooler because you had to Swing out your radiator group, you could try this instead of replacing the entire radiator.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

marquimarl,

After looking at the pictures of your pulley it has become very clear that your crankshaft has damage also.

Could you post a picture of the crankshaft & keyway?

Thanks,

Wayne

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

http://www.sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=199423&postcount=132

Well you got me. It looks just like the one in this post "keyway pdf" but not as big across.
Just a chip.

jacobkoski had his put back together and has had no problems with HB since and nobody commented on his chip missing from the crank.
I was thinking of filling it in with a spot weld to the Key. Do you think it might make it too brittle or strengthen it?
Pictures will be forth coming.
I will be keeping the Sprinter and if it fails completely I would buy a rebuild from abittenbinder rather than put in a new crank.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

I'm getting ready to install my new HB. It has a film on the HB bore. Should I clean that film off or leave it? It feels like a very thin coat of grease or lubricant. 2006 Sprinter.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

Wow, our 06 has 540,000kms on it. Something i should be looking at i guess

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

marquimarl said:

... I was thinking of filling it in with a spot weld to the Key. Do you think it might make it too brittle or strengthen it?
Pictures will be forth coming...

Click to expand...

I'd be worried that it might make things worse in general. Another issue is that the welding currents might find their way back through a bearing(s) and cause some other problems.

If your backup plan is a replacement engine then except for possible reliability issues if it fails far from home, you really have nothing to lose. I've seen some pulleys installed on some questionable shafts with good results. If it aligns properly so that the bolt can bind the balancer down into proper position it may last the life of the engine.

Good luck. vic

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

I use my MIG welder for a lot of stuff, but I wouldn't use it for that, you just won't get any penetration into the crank with that little of a space to fill and I don't think it would really serve any purpose anyway.

I really doubt that the HB will ever spin on the end of the crank due to the chip.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

I remember some time ago a member was installing a new HB on His t1n and had problems with the keyway not coming out, I don't see any pictures of that on this post, how did it work out for You.

Thanks.

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

Still waiting for parts......The timing belt cover has to come off after TDC is obtained.
The alternator, water pump, belt tensioner, etc. has to come off first though.
After that I still don't know how the "Key Way" comes out yet.

Nobody, after all of these HB failures has done a tutorial with photos yet...............

Re: Crankshaft pulley Major or minor problem?

marquimarl said:

Still waiting for parts......The timing belt cover has to come off after TDC is obtained.
The alternator, water pump, belt tensioner, etc. has to come off first though.
After that I still don't know how the "Key Way" comes out yet.

Nobody, after all of these HB failures has done a tutorial with photos yet...............

Click to expand...

If the key isn't damaged then you then you don't have to remove all of those components. Just leave the key in place. If the key is damages, then disregard the following. I just did my HB today on a 2006. I just removed the fan with clutch and the serpentine belt. The seal pops right out, but be sure, when installing the new seal, to keep it flat and seat it properly. The fun part comes when you torque the HB center bolt. That's 240 FOOT/POUNDS plus 90 degrees. Luckily I had access to a 3/4" torque wrench that was 36" long. You also need the proper flywheel locking tool.