Why convert my pulley?

1. After the change an aftermarket under-drive pulley can be installed on the car.
2. Eliminate 1 1/2 pounds of rotating mass, new style weighs 2.5 pounds vs. 4 pounds for the old style.

**Disclaimer**

Test car for this conversion was a 1988 Chevrolet Beretta with a 5spd and 2.0L engine.  This modification should work on any four-cylinder cars from 1988- and early 1989.  If you mess up your car in anyway trying this modification I am not responsible.  This modification should not be attempted without the proper tools and experience.

This modification does eliminate the damping effect from the harmonic damper on your engine.  Given that GM made the change a year later with out any other major engine modifications I do not think it is needed, however there is a possibility that it may cause long term fatigue or vibration problems.

Below are the instructions for converting the 1988-89 Beretta/Corsica from a harmonic damper crankshaft pulley to the newer non-damping model.

General Crank Pulley Information:
1988 Pulley     Late 1989 or Newer Pulley
Weight: 4 lb     Weight: 2.5 lb
Center Hole Diameter: 1 ¼”   Center Hole Diameter (hub): 1 ¼”
Keyway:3/8”     Keyway: 3/8”

Parts Needed

• Pulley and Hub Assembly off of a late 89 or newer 2.0L or 2.2L engine. (Cost $5.00 at the junkyard)
• New Front Crankshaft Seal, if yours is leaking might as well put it in too

  Tools Needed

  • Harmonic Damper Puller
  • Harmonic Damper Installer, optional but advised (if you get the J.C Whitney one lock tight the end adapter in place do nut rely on the nut)
  • General Metric Socket Set
  • Torque Wrench
  • Silicon
  • Oven, kitchen oven is fine provided the wife does not mind
  • Impact Wrench, nice to remove harmonic damper bolt or reinstall bolt

Procedure

1. Jack up right hand side of car and support with jack stand.
2. Remove right front tire.
3. Remove wheel well liner.  Be sure to not how the liner is installed, it is a pain to put back in.
4. Remove accessory drive belt.
5. Remove main bolt holding harmonic balancer to crankshaft.
6. Install puller on harmonic damper (see figure 1 dampnerpuller.jpg)
7. Remove harmonic damper with puller. (loaned mine out from Autozone no cost)
8. Remove front crankshaft seal and replace if needed.
9. Place the hub from new assembly, small piece that fits on end of crankshaft, in the over at 400 degrees for a couple of hours.  This will expand the hub and make reinstallation much easier.  Be sure to remove all grease and oil from the hub to eliminate chance of fire and nice smell. (See figure 2 newpulley.jpg)
10. Place some silicon on the key in the crankshaft to seal this area during the installation.
11. Find and assembly appropriate pieces of the harmonic damper installer to use when putting on the new hub.
12. Remove hub from oven and quickly start putting pushing it on the end of the crankshaft.  If you can’t press it on all the way by hand DO NOT HIT WITH A HAMMER YOU WILL WRECK YOUR THRUST BEARING, use the harmonic damper installer to push it on the rest of the way or use the main center bolt to pull it in the rest of the way.  Note if you are doing this by hand the engine will turnover so you will need to figure out a way to keep this from happening.  I stuck a punch through on of the pulley holes that then wedged against the timing cover and kept the engine from turning-over.
13. Once the hub is installed bolt on the new pulley, three 10mm bolts. (See figure 2 newinstalled.jpg)
14. Install accessory belt.
15. Start engine to ensure that belt is tracking correctly and to make sure you have no front crankshaft seal leaks.
16. Install wheel well liner.
17. Bolt up wheel and remove car from jack stand.

It took me about three hours to do this conversion, this includes oven time.

Go and try it out, I really can’t tell you if it will make much of a difference, both pulleys are 6” in diameter so there is no change from the original drive rates.  However now you can install that aftermarket under-drive pulley.

If you have any questions or find a production pulley of a smaller diameter that can be retrofitted please email me at djkimber@hotmail.com