test drove a 2000 v6 maxima today, noticed on the left hand side the pulley that is the farthest out seems to not look like it spins straight, but have a slight play / wobble to it???? is that normal?

 

not to be a smart@ss but...as opposed to a v4 maxima

by "farthest out" do you mean the one most to the front?

im having a brain fart and problem picturing it...the front one is the alternator i think (or ac compressor?)

 

i dont know, i test drove it. and who the hell would say v4? its called inline 4..........and you were trying to be a smartass. there are other 6 cylinder engines, they are called inline 6's... so i dont know where your getting off by saying such things.

 

What's a V4?

SoonerFail.

 

yeah i dont know anything about engine layouts

i know there are different layouts of 6 cylinder engines ...the point was all maximas have the same engine...a V6...so it didnt need to be added to the title...

who would say V4? someone talking about a V4 engine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V4_engine

i also asked a question to help answer your question...for some reason you failed to answer that and only addressed the first part of my post

 

maybe the crankshaft pulley?

 

thats down low though...front and high is AC, alt, and tensioner...back and high is PS

we need to know the exact one he is talking about...which is why i asked that in my first response...hasnt been answered...we need to know what "farthest out" means

and i guess it would be too obvious of me to mention this should have been asked in one of these threads:

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...info-here.html

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...on-thread.html

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if any pulley had any play, as soon as you stepped on the gas, wouldn't it more than likely cause the belt to squeal like a stuck pig? If it wasn't already.

Or just straight up shred the belt/walk the belt right off the pulley?

 

yeah it isnt good...just trying to figure out how easy it would be to fix

 

sometimes depends, my crankshaft pulley was squealing late May so i got it replaced, and right now it wobbles but no squealing. everything is tight and the pulley is good, my crankshaft bearing is bad so i have wobble but no squealing. my mechanic is working on a fix for it

 

if your looking straight down on the left side, it was the one that was furthest left. the one that is closest to the chassis. and i apologize for not knowing that all maximas are v6's....

 

still a bad description

all of the belts and pullies are on the same side...the passenger side (the left side)

"chassis"? you mean closest to the firewall

thats the power steering pump

 

any way you can take a pic and circle where? still confused

 

i have an idea...ask the owner about it...take it to a garage and have them look at it...

 

We've seen this on this forum before. The OP has got to be talking about the crankshaft pulley.......the outside belt drive section of the pulley is "isolated" from the pulley hub by a thin neoprene/elastomer material, and with old age this material can shrink/harden causing the two pulley parts start to "separate" and become misaligned which is noticed by the "pulley wobble". It is highly unlikely that the crank pulley bolt has loosened off and the pulley assembly is loose and wobbling on the nose of the crankshaft. You'd have an oil leak if that was the case. It is also not caused by the #1 main bearing......you'd have other ugly issues.

 

yes he means the crankshaft pulley...mine does the same...

 

how are you so sure with your first post?

 

I think he's talking about the power steering pump pulley. No pulley should wobble. Sometimes dirt of a different color on the edge can make it seem like it's wobbling when everything is ok. If it looks like it wobbles, it needs to be checked.

 

Obviously any noticeable wobble of any pulley should be addressed ASAP. This is especially important for any two piece pulley (the crank pulley in the Maxi's case) and for any engine harmonic dampener used with some cars that has the neoprene/elastomer isolator material. These have been known to come apart with the liberated part "rattling around" the engine compartment. Plus, the possible danger if one was to let go when someone was sticking their head under the hood. Sometimes a pulley or the associated component drive shaft can get bent when a vehicle gets smacked and it is not immediately noticed or repaired during the body repairs. Any bent/wobbling pulley at minimum is going to induce some vibration and can cause problems for the unit/component that it's attached to.

 

All of the pulleys are on the right side of the car, by the way.

 

unless you are in front of the car, open the hood, and look down

but we already established that he has done a poor job of describing what he is talking about

 

Mine too.. But not enough to make me freak out.. I measured about 1-2mm wobble.. No play just wobble like it's bent.. I am still fighting the urge to hit it w/ a mallet, but I don't want to bust a seal or anything.

 

let me explain this for the last time.

open your hood. stand in front of your car. look down. look left. look at pulleys. the one that is the farthest to the left was wobbly. its really not that difficult to understand at a grade school level.