Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[DashingDaryl]

I was driving down the road yesterday when I heard a loud BANG and then saw a pulley go shooting across the road. After a frantic time pulling over, I find my new water pump came apart.

   

I bought it off eBay as a kit and had it put in less than three months ago.

I bought it from CNS Auto Parts out of El Monte California.

Anyone else have this happen and or any idea what might have happened?

[Rocketman]

I can't really tell from the pic, but I see timing belt. Did the water pump explode, or did your crank snout snap off?

[rcdraco]

That is the bottom end, that's not the waterpump, that's the crank pulley.  I would say it had a bad keyway, but someone told me that our cars _never_ have that problem.  So I guess the mechanic doesn't understand what torque ratings are.

[bhazard]

Sorry to tell you, but thats not a $40 water pump. Thats a $400 engine...

[DashingDaryl]

wow, that's weird. I posted a follow up reply, but it never showed up. So hear it goes again..

Yea, you guys are right. After the shock of the situation wore off, I took a look at the picture again and can see it is the crankshaft pulley.

After reading the posts and a little googling, I know the Miata had the Pulley key problem, but our cars generally don't.

Any chance I am lucky enough the pulley wasn't torqued to spec and it is just a loose bolt that let go?

I am waiting for the weekend to get into it and will let you know what I find.

[Rocketman]

Get us some more detailed pics of the crank snout area, if you can.

The keyway issue is not as common as people make it out to be. It is mechanic generated, where the crank bolt is not torqued properly.

I have seen several instances though, where the crank snout just shears off. This is due to a faulty or low-quality crankshaft, not due to any keyway issues.

Again I can't tell from the picture, but it's possible that the crank bolt was never really torqued down & the whole pulley assembly came off. I would expect some keyway wear with it, but could potentially be salvageable.

[DashingDaryl]

Hey Looking at this picture, I MAY be just in luck. It looks like the missing pulley is secured with a single Bolt. So with a trip to the wrecking yard, I may be able to get a replacement. Anyone know if this is just wishful thinking?

 

 

I found the pic on this Website

[Rocketman]

Ah yes, Perry Moore(on)'s blog. He's stolen nearly all the content he has there, I see he ripped off someone's Miata writeup as his own. Here's the original writeup: http://www.miata.net/garage/timingbelt.html

Yes the lower piece is held on by a single bolt, but as I said I would expect some keyway wear as a result of the bolt being loose. The lower timing cog is keyed to the crank, and without the main bolt there holding everything together, the woodruff key becomes the weak point & will start to wear as it is exposed to stress.

Inspect the crank keyway. Pictures will help us help you.

[DashingDaryl]

Ok, I admit it. I was delusional. The whole Key came off.

 

The worst news is I went to all the Wrecked Capris I knew and they are all missing the top half of their engines. Though I only need the bottom half, I'd rather just swap out the whole thing.

I did find a 89 323 with a complete engine. Could I do an engine swap out of that?

[Rocketman]

Unless the 323 is a turbo (doubtful, super rare) then an engine swap is a no-go, it's a SOHC. Even swapping the longblock wouldn't work, the SOHC pistons have different valve reliefs. Its possible to use the crank from it to repair your engine, though.

Try Car-Part.com, if you haven't already, I've had really good luck locating engines & transmissions trough them.

Swapping in a shortblock really isn't that much more difficult, IMO.