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Caution: Crankshaft pulley disintegrates at high rpm's

This morning I was getting off of I-94 and when I accelerated I heard this loud bang and WTF was flying out the back of my car. I pulled over and the damn pulley came apart. Come to find out, that it was also the reason I have been getting this wierd vibration in the front end every once in a while. Has this happened to anyone else? The guy at Rohrman's Mitsu in Libertyville said he stocks at least 5 of the 1st gen pulleys and 15 of the 96-99 pulleys all the time. I got a good deal for 103.79 out the door. Is there a crankshaft pulley that doesn't have the rubber in it for dampening out there somewhere?
 

turbowop

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Joined
Apr 29, 2001
Messages
11,971
Location
Yakima, WA
Whoa!! You're lucky that thing didn't take out your timing belt like it has others. Mine went one day when I started the car, do no big deal.Mark
1051
 

Well, from what I've heard, all of the aftermarket underdrive pulleys are undampened, so this could be an excuse to "upgrade." However, I've heard of a lot people having trouble w/undampened pulleys?? Anyone else have any info on this?Jon F.
'92 #305
 

I've been having a strange vibration too but mine seems to come when traveling @60-70mph. It seems to affect some of the steering too as the wheel will jitter @1/8" back and forth. Did you expierence anything like that or a strange wobble type feeling?
This really concerns me though I'm coming up on Timing belt time too so I guess I should look into ordering a crank pulley or an Underdrive one.
 

GVR4458

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Joined
Mar 19, 2001
Messages
798
Location
Illinois (Chicago suburbs)
The recommendation that I have heard is that the drive pulley should be repalced at around 100k (do it at the 120k timing belt change). Mine was starting to crack so I switched to an Unorthodox Racing pulley. If you're car has more than 100k, be very cautious.EH
 

number3

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Joined
Jun 26, 2001
Messages
7,623
Location
KoP, PA
Not that it matters much but $103.00 out the door is less than $112.12 plus tax in my book. They didn't NEED to give him a better deal than list and he had them in stock the second he needed it the most.Sometimes having what you need when you need it is the best deal of all.The two mitus dealers that give us great deals do it based on the support from the DSM community. You don't think they give everyone that walk thru the front door that price?Harry
 

I know that I probably could've gotten it a little cheaper somewhere else, but I would've paid 150 bucks for it. I needed it right away. The vibration I was getting when going down the tollway is still there. It's not as bad as before so I guess I'd better start replacing bushings and suspension parts. I wish I would've figured out that you don't have to take out the bolt that holds on the lower timing gear before I broke it loose. It was a real bitch to get it torqued back down all by myself.
 

Tondar

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Joined
Dec 2, 2001
Messages
216
Location
detroit, MI, USA
I posted about this subject in the "performance" section but no one replied. Does anyone know of a fluid damper for our cars? I think that AMS makes one but I'm not sure. Fluid dampers are much better than what we have for reducing crank torsional vibration
 

Mine actually went around 95K. This is a well documented problem, and if you haven't replaced your's yet, its time. The new, upgraded part number is MD338315, around $85 from Conicelli or: http://www.mitsubishiparts.cc/cart/?pn=md338315&submit.x=8&submit.y=2
Actually, mitsubishiparts.com indicates it has now been replaced by part # MD376608.
Its a very easy installation, too. Loosen both belts, remove front driver's side wheel and plastic cover, remove 4 small (12mm?) bolts that hold the dampener in place, install new dampener, reverse order of above instructions.
Jeff O.
#1886/2000
[This message has been edited by keydiver (edited 10-08-2002).]
 

ken inn

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Joined
Feb 23, 2001
Messages
7,529
Location
krum texas
quote:Originally posted by VR6 Eater:
This morning I was getting off of I-94 and when I accelerated I heard this loud bang and WTF was flying out the back of my car. I pulled over and the damn pulley came apart. Come to find out, that it was also the reason I have been getting this wierd vibration in the front end every once in a while. Has this happened to anyone else? The guy at Rohrman's Mitsu in Libertyville said he stocks at least 5 of the 1st gen pulleys and 15 of the 96-99 pulleys all the time. I got a good deal for 103.79 out the door. Is there a crankshaft pulley that doesn't have the rubber in it for dampening out there somewhere? MD130250 list price is 112.12, mitsubishiparts.cc price is 85.43. this "good deal" dealer is bumping list price, and giving you a discount off of bumped list.
 

ken inn

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Joined
Feb 23, 2001
Messages
7,529
Location
krum texas
the harmonics in the 4 cyl are not as bad as a 6, and actually the stocker works quite well, except that it comes apart. this is a problem on lots of cars, and becomes a real problem when the crank sensor reads off of it. i had my balancer come apart on the galant, and the gsx, and i ended up keeping a spare. at that time, they were only 63 bucks at the local dealer. if you think about dealer strategy, they only want to keep in stock what they can sell in a very short time, like 30 days. so, if a part breaks, and the dealer has it in stock, you should ask what his sales history is on that part, and consider getting a spare. some of the parts are cheap, but critical. like, i keep a full set of hoses in stock, water pump, full set of belts, valve cover gasket set, oil cap seal, stuff like that. this can also help in making the decision for new or used. if the part is stocked, the failure rate is high, so getting new will cost a bit more, but is a better choice.
 

quote:Originally posted by Tondar:
I posted about this subject in the "performance" section but no one replied. Does anyone know of a fluid damper for our cars? I think that AMS makes one but I'm not sure. Fluid dampers are much better than what we have for reducing crank torsional vibration
Yes there are a few people that carry them. Buscher comes to mind but check with a few DSM vendors.
 

This happened to me last Sep 7th and it took out my timing belt. The Galant was in pieces up until last night when it saw the road again, finally. 13 months passed. Very expensive and LOTS of work.
 
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