Pulley problems!

[Guest]

I bought a new alt pulley (GSF) and did an alternator conversion last week. Did less than 100 miles and this happened!!! we could smell burning rubber and hear a hiss so i panicked as you tend to like its almost inevitable. pulled over opened the engine lid expecting to see a white mess from the firetec but this happened...

Pulley nut properly torqued to 43ft/lbs, the front half was still in place and intact with the correct shims, belt tension was spot on. The belt didnt even snap! the inner half just disintegrated leaving it a nightmare to get the top nut off as there was nothing to grab other than the fan from the rear of the dog house and the engine was cooking hot yesterday in the weather, kids and the wife werent happy....

I've never ever seen one break like this before... :confused0068:

anyway thats the end of the alternator as the sheared metal got inside and ate the commutator, i think the end is swappable but the shop responsible might replace the alt too. damn right they will.... :fighting0030:

ignore the green hose as its just temporary

 

[purpledog07]

What a POS. It' an outrage! Get your shit replaced and then you can name them. Was the pulley unbranded? I use a scat black billet top pulley and would highly recommend them. Stays looking nice and seperates really easily.

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

 

[StuF]

Ive had exactly the same except mine exploded and nearly punched a hole in the side of the bus when it let go
Cheap and nasty pattern parts - use an expensive billet item now as I couldnt find an OG one at the time
Meant getting recovered to GSF and buying parts there to sort it - same sort of damage to my alternator too!

 

[Robcod]

I just brought an alternator conversion kit from somewhere and when I fitted the pulley wheel I span it up and it was not circular. You wouldn't know otherwise. If I had left it in that would of mullered everything. I brought a replacement from somewhere different which sadly is the same cheap brand and it looks spot on. I have to say I'm seriously considering buying another Better one just to be sure after seeing what had happened to stu in his thread. Now seeing this I definitely will.

 

[Bobster]

Gulp, I've just ordered a conversion kit yesterday. It does come with a fl4t pulley which I'm hoping are top quality

 

[Robcod]

The buckled one I have says Kafer on it

 

[Guest]

The buckled one I have says Kafer on it

thats funny mine is the same brand! i was told by the manager "we sell hundreds of these and never had any problems...." i smell a turd. it was the only one they stocked on the shelf. Billet was an order in item.

Stuf i cant believe the damage on that split top pulley and i thought mine was bad! i'll bet it was kafer too.

I got borrowed a genuine VW pulley from a 1303 which is much heavier and has two teeth on the front half and two holes on the back half to stop the front plate moving independently from the the back. I'm just pissed off as my good alt is destroyed now they want me to produce reciepts etc....

cant be arse pulling the engine and getting the alternator out is a pain in the ass with the engine still in the bus. rant over :sign0001:

by the way, anyone else had a dodgy pully branded 'kafer' or similar post the details up here for ammunition.

 

[StuF]

I ended up having to change my alternator a couple of years down the line due to the damage too.
Although it can be done without removing the engine.
Just drop the engine down off the moustache bar whilst being supported.
With that clearance I was able to remove the whole fan shroud and alternator assy
Im sure there are some pics on my thread as it was done in a field at Dubs@TheCastle!!

 

[Guest]

I ended up having to change my alternator a couple of years down the line due to the damage too.
Although it can be done without removing the engine.
Just drop the engine down off the moustache bar whilst being supported.
With that clearance I was able to remove the whole fan shroud and alternator assy
Im sure there are some pics on my thread as it was done in a field at Dubs@TheCastle!!

didnt think of that, but thats a good tip.

 

[Guest]

I keep saying to myself i'll never buy crap from GSF again... but when you havent got 3 days to wait on postage what can you do...

 

[speedwell68]

The moral here is do not fit repro pulleys. I only fit genuine VW these days as all repro stuff is shite. I have my doubts about these billet pulleys too.

 

[StuF]

Done a few thousand miles with my billet pulley with no issues at all
It wasnt cheap but I couldnt get a decent OG VW one at the time and havent had any reason to change it since

 

[Elibomrod]

I had a inexpensive pulley from Heritage and inner diameter was a loose fit so they aren't much better.
Opted for Spin True pulley, a little more expensive but vastly better quality.

 

[Guest]

Christian from Coolair sorted me out, next day delivery across the water too... :bliss:



running true and straight and with a beefier 11.3mm belt. Billet pulley kit included the billet nut as well. I wonder if GSF will replace my shot alternator... i somehow doubt it.

(please ignore the green hose, a temporary fix )

 

[atafonso]

That doesn't happen with Gen Vw pulleys, even the 40+ yrs old ones.
People think because is stock, parts are useless. Most of the times when we use the original stuff we don't get trouble.
Abel

 

[Guest]

That doesn't happen with Gen Vw pulleys, even the 40+ yrs old ones.
People think because is stock, parts are useless. Most of the times when we use the original stuff we don't get trouble.
Abel

very true but its getting harder to get genuine at short notice though thats the issue, you pay < £10 for a pulley and you take your chance or you buy billet >£50 and know its not going to leave you by the side of the road. Haven't seen anyone have issues with billet pulleys yet but im sure someone will have a story.

 

[Webbaldo]

Ironically this happened to me at the weekend as well, luckily just a mile away from home, nearly the same spilt mark.

Pulley was of unknown origin though, from the bus when it was in the US.

Ordered stock one off VWH but now I'm thinking oh bugger

 

[Tofufi]

That doesn't happen with Gen Vw pulleys, even the 40+ yrs old ones.
People think because is stock, parts are useless. Most of the times when we use the original stuff we don't get trouble.
Abel

very true but its getting harder to get genuine at short notice though thats the issue, you pay < £10 for a pulley and you take your chance or you buy billet >£50 and know its not going to leave you by the side of the road. Haven't seen anyone have issues with billet pulleys yet but im sure someone will have a story.

Even billet at £50 isn't too expensive in real terms.

The genuine Porsche alternator pulley I bought for my van a few weeks ago cost around £100...

 

[chrisvrscrx]

Shit, I've just fitted a Kafer one and a new alternator from GSFafter my Just Kampers one failed.

Hope it's ok. Although the GSF one does look much better quality.

 

[Peter Good]

Sorry to question your diagnosis, but I disagree with the cause of the failure. What is happening is that the pulley nut has effectively bottomed on the shoulder just below the threads on the alternator shaft. As a consequence what feels like a fully tightened pulley nut is in effect applying a much reduced pressure on the pulley itself. The photos clearly shows the cause is a loose pulley even though the pulley nut was tight but ineffective.
The argument about fitting a 'quality' pulley, better made, higher grade of steel / material, is by and large masking the problem for longer before it surfaces again. Unless you address the real cause it will eventually re-occur.
Peter Good