My Crank Shaft pulley came loose while driving. When I put it back on the car

runs really rough and has no power. I checked the timing belt and its all intact.

The mechanic said I have low compression in two cylinders which may indicate

bend piston rods. Is that possible ? Any other reasons why the crankshaft pulley

coming off would cause the engine to run poorly after I reinstalled the pulley ?

 

Thanks

Re you really sure you checked the timing? The hardest thing to bend is connecting rods, you really really really REALLY have to work at it, and it usually means there is a hole in the block to match it.

 

piston rods are "connecting" rods.

 

There is something else going on here, i bet the low compresssion is just on one side of the engine.

 

 

Who told you about the connecting rods?

 

nipper

Sounds like a crank thrust issue. Any engine knocks/noises? did you check the timing? There is something in the USRM http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=54 about the pulley and repairing it. I did not find it but it is in there. If you have a bearing problem or a thrust issue it will need internal service. Did he preform a compression test, or did he just throw the low compression out there? One of the EA82 pros. will probably chime in if this is common, but this will give you some ideas for a search of the board.

you said you checked the timeing belt but there is 2 belts did you ck both.the right belt can break and the engine will still run

"Sounds like a crank thrust issue."

 

Without knowing anything more, it sure does.

 

Hard to tell, long distance.

 

Doug

When I took the car to the mechanic he said he checked the timing belt and made sure that the timing gears were out of phase as they are supposed to

be (Hanes Manual). I also ensured that both timing belts were intact. He preformed a compression test and said that two cylinders had low compression.

 

The car was running fine before the pulley came off.

 

How do you fix a crank thrust issue ?

'How do you fix a crank thrust issue ?"

 

Hi,

 

You may not have that problem. The fix if you do would be a crank regrind and new bearings. Or a different crank and new bearings.

 

Anyway, general info from my experience. I worked on one Ford that had this problem.

 

I could push and pull on the front crank pulley and actually see and feel the crank move in and out. It would run fine or very badly, depending where the crank was at that particular time.

 

Just something you could check.

 

Doug

too coicidental for this to NOT involved a slipped timing belt

 

Pulley loose, now car runs ************ty, 2 cylinders low? that's the T-belt for sure

When I took the car to the mechanic he said he checked the timing belt and made sure that the timing gears were out of phase as they are supposed to

be (Hanes Manual). ?

 

Did he check that the 2 CAMs were still in time to the crank? if the crank sprocket has slipped on it's key, the outer pulleys will be correct but hte crank off.

The mechanic didn't mention anything about the crankshaft being in time with

the cams. How do you check or correct the timing of the crankshaft ?

 

Thanks

Search for the timing belt install page.

 

Short of it is that there are dots on each Cam pulley, and a set of 3 hash marks on the flywheel. Viewed by pulling the cap a the rear of the motor bellhaousing.The ignition timing scale is also viewed through that hole for timing, but the 3 hash marks are NOT THE TIMING SCALE, 90 degrees further around rotation you will see the 3 marks. When the center mark is lined up with the arrow on the bell, the dots on the cam pulleys should be one straight up, the other straight down.

 

But basically it sounds like all the covers and the crank pulley should come off to inspect the condition of the keyway, crank and pulley.

first off, don't take it to the same mechanic it has already been to. He doesnt know squat on this. Crank Pulley comes off, that mean crank gear sprocket could slip, jumping timing on a side or so. Yeah, the belts are on, but the belt has slipped on the crank sprocket, so it will still show okay on the cams sprockets, but its off time. duh.

go to someone else.

please

I looked at the timing belt this weekend and sure enough the timing belt had slipped on driver's side. I got it re-timed and it runs well at idle and is much improved compared to how it was running.

 

However, when I drive the car the engine seems to bog down and looses power. The only other thing I could think of is that the distributor has gone bad. The crankshaft positioning sensor is inside the distributor, correct ? Could that have gone bad ? Any other ideas on what might be going on ?

 

Thanks for all the advice !!

That sensor causes the notorius "why doesnt my car die then run for weeks then die again" problem.

 

This sounds more like you have a vac leak or a carb issue. Make sure the vac advance works on the disty.

 

nipper

After looking into it more, the car is an '88. The distributor does not have a vacuum advance nor does it have points. The car is also fuel injected.

 

The car starts up every time now. It just doesn't have any power when I drive it. Does that rule out the Crankshaft angle sensor ?

now that you have the timing belts correct is the distributor timing correct as well throw a timing light on it and check.

 

did you possibly pick up some bad gas?

 

these motors are non interfence so you shouldnt of bent a valve.... right?

 

also make sure you check that keyway on the crank! when stuff flys off you can never tell what got thrown off with it.

Yes, this engine is non-interference therefore I could'nt imagine any valve

damage.

 

I made sure that the distributor rotor was aligned with the #1 spark plug at TDC. The thing I don't understand is that the car runs well in idle but looses power when driving. The smooth idle would indicate to me that the distributor

is aligned fine. Is that right ?

 

Thanks

sounds too me like the distributor isnt advancing as the rpms go up. i dont think that year has a vacume advance so im not quite sure how its controled (lol im too used to chevys) or bad fuel supply. coincedence? id ill run it by mechanic buddy in the morning. see what he says.

 

 

just remember air.fuel.spark = boom gotta be one.

there are three lines on the flywheel. put the center line on the casting arrow, than check if the cams are lined up. one dot should be up and one should be down, they have a illustration in the Haynes manual

 

http://www.finleyweb.net/JonsStuff/SubaruDocumentation/tabid/54/Default.aspx

Edited March 25, 200917 yr by ivantruckman

Is there any way to test the distributor to see if the crank angle sensor has

gone bad ?

Yes, this engine is non-interference therefore I could'nt imagine any valve

damage.

 

I made sure that the distributor rotor was aligned with the #1 spark plug at TDC. The thing I don't understand is that the car runs well in idle but looses power when driving. The smooth idle would indicate to me that the distributor

is aligned fine. Is that right ?

 

Thanks

 

No,check ignition timing w/a light.