It could be. The water pump is responsible for the cooling system and pulling heat away from the engine. If the pulley is loose or if you notice signs of a leak around the water pump’s weep hole, it’s time for a change. Be sure however that when replacing the water pump, you also drain, flush and refill the cooling system with the OE specified coolant mix. The seal in the pump is designed only to work with this chemistry. This is the #1 cause of leaks in new water pumps. Most modern vehicles use organic acid coolants.
It’s best practice to change both components at the same time because they usually wear out at the same pace and if one fails or is failing, the other is likely not far behind it. They are both part of the same system and need to function at optimal levels as well.
The Dayco Underdrive and overdrive balancers are a great way to increase the performance of your factory supercharged car. These balancers feature pulleys that are either larger or smaller than the factory supercharger pulley. Spinning the supercharger faster will increase the amount of supercharger boost pressure and in turn, increase the horsepower of the engine. Installing these pulleys does require professional dynamometer calibration of the engine computer by a qualified shop. And additional parts such as larger fuel injectors may be needed to take full advantage of the increased boost. Dayco offers professional advice and assistance in choosing the right balancer for your engine build by calling our tech line or using the contact us form on our website.
You’ll want to replace the balancer if you notice excessive vibration, crankshaft oil leaks, or deteriorated rubber.
The additional keyway is they if you plan to use a high-volume supercharger. A second keyway needs to be machined in the crank snout. If you do not need the second keyway, a little dab of silicone RTV in the unused keyway is all you need.
The PowerBond™ by Dayco SS series uses the factory balance weights; The race balancer is for engines with zero balance. If you need help choosing the correct balancer for your engine build, please contact the Dayco tech team at (800) 848-7902 for advice and part numbers.
On some late model GM engines, the balancer is a press fit instead of using a keyway to hold it in place. This works fine until a supercharger kit is added. The additional stress of the belt driven supercharger requires either a keyway be machined or the use a balancer pin kit, which is available from many speed shops.
The regular harmonic balancers are not meant for race cars but they offer engine builders and technicians a high-quality replacement to standard OEM balancers for everyday vehicles. Racing balancers are made from more robust materials like forged steel so they can withstand much higher RPMs.
The Dayco balancer fits a multitude of applications, some of which do require the keyway. If yours does not, you can fill in the keyway with silicone.
A belt tensioner should be replaced if any of the following issues are noted:
- You hear noise or feel resistance as that could be a sign of potential bearing failure.
- The belt is not tracking correctly as that could mean a loss of tension.
- There is sticking or notchy movement. With the belt removed, use a tool to move the tensioner through its entire range of motion. It should move smoothly from stop to stop without any movement between the tensioner body and arm.
- There is metal to metal contact or broken/cracked tensioner stops.
There are several signs a pulley is no longer functioning properly. First, check for free rock. There should be no movement or play from side to side. Next, look for misalignment. It will cause a belt chirp noise and is often the result of worn bearings. Spin the pulley with the belt removed, if it spins more than one revolution, the bearing grease is depleted and the pulley should be replaced. Roll the pulley by hand to feel for rough spots during rotation. You’ll also want to check for physical damage like cracked or broken pulleys, discoloration, surface build-up or excessive wear. Finally, a pulley with seized bearings is also a sign replacement is needed.
