i went to my local auto parts store to replace my crank pulley since it doesnt line up with all the other pulleys and they searched for a harmonic balancer. when they brought the part to me i looked at it and it doesnt even match whats in the car and they suggest i have a different block than what came with the car. sorry if alot of ppl ask this but, how do i find the casting numbers with the engine still in the car?

 

The same way you do with the engine out of the car, you've got to look on the block behind the driver side head.

The casting number isn't going to tell you anything about your balancer, though.

How far out of line is your pulley?

 

its like 1/4 to 1/2in out of place... it goes that far towards the motor... but i looked for the replacement part and it looked totally different... the guy at the auto store said i must have a diff block than what came with it

 

so if the engine is diff from what came in it, i can replace the pulley with the right one once i find out what engine i have.... and is the number directly behind the head?

 

the only number i can find is like..... *h295. the * means i cant make out what letter on number it is but it is a 5 digit vin

 

The block doesn't matter, all the blocks are exactly identical externally.

If your pulleys don't line up, there's something wrong with your accessory setup. Can you take a picture of the front of the engine from a few different angles?

 

here are the pics.... see how far pulley is back... and the belt damage its doing?

 

last pic i took

 

Are the rest of your pulleys in line with each other? It's just the crank pulley that's out?

 

yup, all other pulleys are aligned with each other... thats why i thought i got the car with the wrong crank pulley. so i went to auto part store to buy replacement and guy came out to look at it and said the replacement part didnt match it at all and said i must have a diff block or somethin
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yup, all other pulleys are aligned with each other... thats why i thought i got the car with the wrong crank pulley. so i went to auto part store to buy replacement and guy came out to look at it and said the replacement part didnt match it at all and said that the block must be diff or somthing
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didnt mean to post twice... comp froze and thought i had to repost

 

any ideas?

 

It seems like you've got the wrong crank pulley, but I don't know if there were different ones used with the serpentine setup.

 

well the one i have, has slots in it where the teeth from the serpentine belt goes. but the harmonic balancer that they called it instead of crank pulley was smooth with no slots for belt at all.... looked like the fan pulley

 

The fan pulley? You shouldn't have a mechanical fan.

The harmonic balancer is a completely different part than the crank pulley. It's smooth because it doesn't touch the belt at all. The crank pulley bolts to the harmonic balancer.

 

no, no, no.... im talkin bout the crank pulley.... the one that was suppose to be the replacement part at the auto store was smooth like the fan pulley... it had no grooves in it. the crank pulley on the car now has grooves for the belt to go on

 

Followed by;

Pardon my French, but it sounds like this guy doesn't know his @ss from his elbow. Your serpentine crankshaft pulley is supposed to have grooves in it. Do you have any pics of what he is claiming to be the correct one? Did he give you the part number to the pulley he recommended by any chance....?

 

Curious, measure the length (not diameter) of the harmonic balancer that's currently on your engine. I'm curious to see if it's about 1/4" to 1/2" shorter than the balancer on the serpentine setup that I pulled from my old '91 Formula....

 

A harmonic balancer is not a crank pulley. He didn't show you a replacement for the crank pulley, he showed you a completely different part.

 

That balancer looks really thick. Looks more like a truck balancer just like the truck engine I have which is 1 3/4" thick by 6 3/4". F-bodies didn't have that thick of a balancer they are 1 1/4" thick by 6 3/4" on 88-92 V8 (I know those years for sure).

If the balancer wasn't install correctly it could also cause your problem.

 

The timing tab is not correct either. I believe you have a truck engine or something besides what came in it from the factory.

 

The problem there though is that his crank pulley is 1/4"-1/2" too much toward the engine. If the balancer was too fat, it would be 1/4"-1/2" too much from the engine. I'm thinking just the opposite. Either his balancer is too short for the stock crank pulley, or the crank pulley itself is from another application entirely.....

 

If your pics are not reversed it also looks like your A/C compressor is on the Drivers side and should be on the Passengers side on a 88-92 F-body V8 serpentine setup.

 

You need to post a wider pic of the engine compartment
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I wasn't talking about the pulley problem. He was also trying to figure out if someone replaced the engine.

 

Does your engine or just the serpentine look like this? I believe by your screenname you have a 92 RS 305 TBI.

 

deleted this post.

 

I figure this might help. It's from my 92 RS - stock serp system. Yours should be the same.



3.25 inches tall.

 

Its sure looking like someone replaced your engine with another and the serpentine setup from another model car or truck.

That would also be the cause of the crank pulley issue you are having.

Example: A truck serpentine crank pulley could be a 1/4" to 1/2" taller than a stock 88-92 f-body serpentine crank pulley.

 

The engine isn't the problem though, it's the harmonic balancer. Let's say it was replaced, it doesn't change the fact that he still needs either the correct size balancer, and or pulley. Chances are, the pulley is the correct one. My money is on the harmonic balancer, it's more than likely the stock balancer for whatever engine came with the car....

To the OP, if this is the case, then you were initially explaining it wrong. The auto rep did have the right intensions in mind, he wanted to replace your harmonic balancer, not your pulley, which is the reason why it looked smooth to you, because the balancer is smooth.

 

Read through all my post and a engine and serpentine setup from another model car or truck would cause his pulley problem.

 

Yup, exact length as mine. The original poster is definitely confused, he needs a new harmonic balancer, that's all. Someone probably installed an F-Body serperntine setup on an unknown engine, assuming that the harmonic balancer is the same on each and every small block chevy....

 

I believe that its the serpentine setup that he has that is the problem.

 

It's the harmonic balancer, not the serpentine setup. Whoever had the car before him probably installed a serpentine setup on, let's say, a '70 400 Small Block Chevy, assuming that the balancer was the same exact length as the 3rd Gen's....

 

But how can you say this w/out seeing the setup in it's entirety? If that does turn out to be the case though, and let's say it's from a truck application, he would still need the corresponding Harmonic Balancer for that particular application. Why waste money on an entirely new serpentine setup. Just measure the balancer that is on there now, and buy one 1/4" to 1/2" longer, and bingo, problem solved....

 

You can't take a serpentine crank pulley from a truck and install it on a 88-92 serp setup they are not the same height.

I have a truck engine with that balancer and a 88-92 serp setup works fine on it but you can't mix pulley parts from other models with serp setups.

I will bet my left nut on it.

 

I can see the A/C compressor is on the wrong side in his pics. Post #7 and then look at Post #24

 

His problem has nothing to do with the height (or diameter) of the pulleys, it's the length of the balancer. Look at the pictures again, the belt FITS, but it's not centered because of the harmonic balancer being too short....

 

Compressor? The picture in post #7 shows the pulleys for the crank, power steering pump and water pump. Where do you see the A/C compressor?

 

Look at post #26. 3.25 height pulley or tall and you install a 3.50 or 3.75 height pulley, are you saying the all pulleys will line up????????????????

 

WP??? you can't even see the WP pulley in the pics its directly above the crank pulley and the pics are taken from the DS at an angle. At the top of his pics that should be the Alt pulley, very small and different see post #24 and look at the Alt pulley.

 

Not the diameter!!!! The length of the pulley.....

This picture is measuring the LENGTH, not height of the pulley. Using this very same picture, and the very same measuring tool, whether it measured 3.25", 3.50", 3.75" or even 4.00", the diameter would still be the same. Only the diameter would effect the reach of the belt either being too short or too long, which is what your referring to. The diameter is fine, the belt needs to be CENTERED now though, because it's not lining up. It fits FINE, it's just not centered....

 

Diameter is across a circle.

 

You are way off, and yes, the pulley just above the crank pulley in his pic IS the WP pulley.....;

To the crank pulley's immediate right you have the power steering pump pulley, right above the crank pulley you have the water pump pulley, to the crank's immediate left you have the smog pump pulley. Now, ABOVE the PS pump pulley you have the alternator pulley, ABOVE the smog pump pulley, you have the A/C pulley. WHERE EXACTLY DO YOU SEE THE A/C PULLEY IN HIS PIC...?

 

Exactly, and I'm not referring to diameter, I'm referring to LENGTH. His crank pulley is too close to the engine block, so either his balancer is too short, or the crank pulley is too short, It has nothing to do with the serpentine setup, or the diameter of the pulleys, because the belt FITS, it's just not centered....

 

Look at this pic( the crank and WP should be up higher than pictured) and then look at his.

 

Based on what though? You can't even see anything in his picture. All he is showing is the crank pulley from the drivers side angle (and the camera is pointing DOWNWARD towards the crank pulley), so there is NO WAY you can even see the A/C compressor pulley, or the alternator pulley for that matter. All you can see, from his drivers side angle pic, is the crank pulley, the water pump pulley (the right side of it), and the PS pulley (the left side of it)....

Here's a partial pic of a setup that I sold a few months ago....

 

do you see the difference now. Totally different.

 

Looking directly down you can't see the timing tab like that!!

Because he doesn't have a 88-92 F-body serpentine setup!!

 

No, look at my pic above, then REMEMBER that he took his pic above holding his camera directly next to the power steering pump pulley....

 

How did we get to timing tabs now? I thought we were arguing pulley's....?

YOU said that you see the A/C pulley in his pic, and I wanna know where you see it....?

 

Forget about timing tabs and they're locations for a moment, he took this picture with the camera next to the power steering pump facing downward....;