Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

1: What do you think the noise might be? With a stethoscope it is loudest around the hump in the timing gear cover. The slower the RPM's were, the louder the noise became. When the idle increased I could not hear the noise.

2: What do you think of the wobble in the lower pulley? Is that OK?


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Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Turn it off and check the connection of the fan to the nose of the water pump. Sound like it is about to go. If it is that, it is very dangerous.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Agreed. Key sheared off.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Pos timing gear , alloy or loose centre , If noise is coming from there, Easy check ,

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Remove the belt, verify the noise is gone when running, find the noise

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

OK, tomorrow morning I will remove the belt and check again.

Thanks.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Hi old,

Had these past actual Model A experiences before:

A. Fan:

1. It may take from 25 to 300 miles to wear off the "new" coating on a new powder coated fan; or an enameled painted fan. After the paint wears under the front fan nut, the fan becomes loose on the tapered shaft and makes a "clicking" sound; however, because of tight belt tension, one has to relieve this belt tension to observe that the fan is loose on the tapered shaft.

2. Clean uneven worn powder coating or enamel from under fan nut & re-install fan; if it is an aluminum fan, place a steel washer under the fan nut to protect wear of the soft aluminum under the hard steel nut.

B. Pulley:

1. If you would like a professional opinion on past experiences of two (2) piece pulleys from an engine re-builder who balances high speed Model A cranks, please call Mr. Ron Kelley for his advice on the harmonics of a wobbling two (2) piece pulley. His address and phone number can e found in the MAFCA magazine.

2. A wobbling pulley, wobbling a fan belt, can also contribute to the powder or enamel coating wear under the steel nut on a newly coated fan.

3. Changing to a one piece pulley is never a bad idea for professional engine re-builders or ............... Model A owners who enjoy installing engine pulleys or anything else "once" ........ plus, Brattons has great one (1) piece balanced pulleys.

4. The added bonus of removing the wobbling Model A pulley comes with enjoying fishing ..... two (2) speed wobbling pulleys make the most wonderful inland boat anchors.

Hope this helps to anchor your boat.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Thanks HL.

Is it possible just by looking at the pulley from the outside to see if it is a 1 or 2 piece?

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

From your video, looked like you have a two (2) piece. Never saw a one piece wobble as much as yours.

If your fan is loose, please attend to that first ..... fans can cause great damage to radiators and humans if they are not securely fastened to the shaft.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

I have seen one piece pulleys wobble.... some of the two piece pulleys look like this, they interlock on the sleeve... see if your pulley has these notches, which can be seen without disassembling anything. .. i have used these with no issues in the past...

Did you remove the belt and test as mentioned????

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Hi Old,

For shallow water, usually just the front pulley will suffice ..... for deeper water, use both pieces of the two piece pulley for your anchor.

Happy fishing.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Go figure. I don't get it.

I took the belt off and ran the idle down and low as it would go and no noise, quiet as a church mouse. I ran it for about 10 minutes and while running I used the stethoscope and poked around and no noise anywhere.

I put the belt back on and ran it the same way, nothing, no noise from the water pump, engine, valve cover, timing gear cover, nothing. Where did the noise go? I expected to hear the same as in post #1. I did hear a little light thumping from the generator with the stethoscope. The fan is tight. The noise, it magically disappeared.

Without the belt on the crank pulley what do you think of the wobble and the wiggle by hand. Is it acceptable?


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Available until Jan 27, 2017

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Your bolt in the middle is bottoming out on the crank shaft nose. It should pinch the pulley. Put a big washer in there and tighten things up.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Thats the two piece pulley... you have wear on the lugs from it being loose causing the radial slop. I would replace the pulley at this point with another bolt and washer..
Make sure your new setup gets clamped down and holds everything tight

I think u found your noise...

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

That's what I'd try. Just be sure the washer pushes on the pulley and not on the end of the crankshaft, even if you have to make a special washer with a step around the outer edge.

This is worth a try before replacing the two part pulley.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Call Brattons's, and get a one piece balanced pulley and quit fooling around with a crooked "wobbling" pulley sold to a serious Model A owners.

We can do it.

Hell with the B.S.

We "can" all Make America Great Again if we all stand up like our colonial ancestors.

Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 deluxe roadster
 

Follow up, and thanks for your help.

I did not want to remove the radiator so I stayed with the 2 piece. The new 2 piece is in and it runs as straight as an arrow, no wobble, and no more noise.

For removal. I used a 36 MM 1/2" in drive socket. A 1 and 3/8 socket did not fit, it was too small. I placed the 36 MM socket over the nut, used a 1/2" drive 12" extension and placed it through the crank hole and attached that to my air gun and whammo it was out.

On the install I torqued the ratchet nut to 80lbs.

Old pulley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0Vgi6Cr4Gw

New pulley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR7KUSv2HrE&sns=em

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Tom I decided to replace the 2 piece pulley only because of the amount of wobble it had. It looked like the pulley was warped and as Mitch mentioned the lugs were definitely worn out and this caused a lot of radial slop.

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

Sounds good ,,but you forgot to paint the new pulley:D

Re: Pulley wobble and noise in front end 31 roadster
 

It looked so pretty I just couldn't put paint on it. Besides, in a few miles it will be covered in oil:eek: