zielritter
Been here awhile...
I know I have a thread out there for the alternator pulley exclusively, but I wanted to broaden the topic for others that are interested to include a review of the entire set.
I have been researching the various OEM part numbers for our alternator, water pump, and crank pulleys. The V6 3.8l GDI engine on the sedan matches up favorably with that of the coupe (all years) as far as pulleys are concerned. Ergo, I decided to fit some pulleys from their aftermarket suppliers. I've done this on a few cars now with good results.
Water Pulley Pump: Requires slight modification for some unknown reason in order to not rub (I mean slight, slight rub). The OEM part numbers are the same, but I have tried two aftermarket models (NST and Torque Solutions) and both rubbed until I removed a mere fraction of a mm from the inner diameter.
A dremel and 20 seconds of work (remember the safety glasses so you don't get aluminum dust in your cornea) fixed it. A snap to install. Four bolts up top held in place by 6-8 ft/lbs.
Alternator Pulley: Fits perfectly without modification. Pain in the ass to remove stock pulley, however. Requires you to remove a bolt that holds the pulley onto the alternator's shaft. I had to use a generous amount of WD-40 and then a screw driver to brace the alternator's blades (I know, not the best way but the innards are pretty tough) while I broke the bolt loose with a 1/2" breaker bar.
Removing the alternator by following the shop manual's instructions wasn't going to work with my skill set and tools. I just couldn't find a way to get to the lower engine mount to loosen it so I could lift the block slightly with my jack.
Crank Pulley: I was hesitant to get this one based on reviews and concerns about harmonic balancing and bearing wear. However, there are a couple brands that seem to have a proven track record for durability/longevity and I found several 3.8 coupes running them for 50,000 miles plus without issue. Consensus among our coupe friends seems to be - 3.8 doesn't have external balancing issues; 2.0t may explode if you change the crank pulley.
I found an NST crank pulley on eBay, but UR (unorthodox racing) makes a quality set too. I would stay away from OBX and RRM though. I have seen at least two instances of the OBX key notch failing or the inner ring cracking - RRM is just a re-branded OBX from what I gather.
Unless you have a compact impact wrench, this one is going to suck to install. I used the tried and true "bump" method since I only have an electric impact (huge). This is accomplished by securing a breaker bar to the crank bolt and then bracing the other end of the bar against the horizontal member of the frame directly below.
A quick "bump" of the starter causes the bolt to resist the pulley's motion and break free. A bit unnerving for the novice and tricky on the push-button start (quick on and then off), but it worked like a charm.
Conclusion
Once you get everything installed, start the car and make sure the belt isn't rubbing anywhere. It's a solid idea to sketch the belt's path beforehand too.
Driving wise, I can say that next to my Sprintbooster this has the most noticeable impact on the way the car behaves - similarly to installing a lightweight flywheel on a manual. When the car is in park or neutral you immediately notice the reduced rotational weight. Correspondingly, it should also rev a bit quicker, albeit less noticeably, while in drive.
Coupe owners are picking up 6-8whp with the entire set. Remember, this is freeing up lost horsepower that makes it to the wheels. Your SAE stated HP stays the same because those measurements are taken without the accessories/pulleys attached.
Combined with an intake and CB exhaust you're looking at around a 15-18whp gain over stock. A drive train loss of 21% is about what we see with this RWD set up so: 333 x .79 = 263whp + 16.5 = 279.5whp / 263 = 1.062 - 1 = 6.2% improvement in power over stock on average.
That's good for about 3/10ths in the quarter mile - not too shabby in my opinion. Sadly we don't have a tune available, which really makes this engine sing.
I have been researching the various OEM part numbers for our alternator, water pump, and crank pulleys. The V6 3.8l GDI engine on the sedan matches up favorably with that of the coupe (all years) as far as pulleys are concerned. Ergo, I decided to fit some pulleys from their aftermarket suppliers. I've done this on a few cars now with good results.
Water Pulley Pump: Requires slight modification for some unknown reason in order to not rub (I mean slight, slight rub). The OEM part numbers are the same, but I have tried two aftermarket models (NST and Torque Solutions) and both rubbed until I removed a mere fraction of a mm from the inner diameter.
A dremel and 20 seconds of work (remember the safety glasses so you don't get aluminum dust in your cornea) fixed it. A snap to install. Four bolts up top held in place by 6-8 ft/lbs.
Alternator Pulley: Fits perfectly without modification. Pain in the ass to remove stock pulley, however. Requires you to remove a bolt that holds the pulley onto the alternator's shaft. I had to use a generous amount of WD-40 and then a screw driver to brace the alternator's blades (I know, not the best way but the innards are pretty tough) while I broke the bolt loose with a 1/2" breaker bar.
Removing the alternator by following the shop manual's instructions wasn't going to work with my skill set and tools. I just couldn't find a way to get to the lower engine mount to loosen it so I could lift the block slightly with my jack.
Crank Pulley: I was hesitant to get this one based on reviews and concerns about harmonic balancing and bearing wear. However, there are a couple brands that seem to have a proven track record for durability/longevity and I found several 3.8 coupes running them for 50,000 miles plus without issue. Consensus among our coupe friends seems to be - 3.8 doesn't have external balancing issues; 2.0t may explode if you change the crank pulley.
I found an NST crank pulley on eBay, but UR (unorthodox racing) makes a quality set too. I would stay away from OBX and RRM though. I have seen at least two instances of the OBX key notch failing or the inner ring cracking - RRM is just a re-branded OBX from what I gather.
Unless you have a compact impact wrench, this one is going to suck to install. I used the tried and true "bump" method since I only have an electric impact (huge). This is accomplished by securing a breaker bar to the crank bolt and then bracing the other end of the bar against the horizontal member of the frame directly below.
A quick "bump" of the starter causes the bolt to resist the pulley's motion and break free. A bit unnerving for the novice and tricky on the push-button start (quick on and then off), but it worked like a charm.
Conclusion
Once you get everything installed, start the car and make sure the belt isn't rubbing anywhere. It's a solid idea to sketch the belt's path beforehand too.
Driving wise, I can say that next to my Sprintbooster this has the most noticeable impact on the way the car behaves - similarly to installing a lightweight flywheel on a manual. When the car is in park or neutral you immediately notice the reduced rotational weight. Correspondingly, it should also rev a bit quicker, albeit less noticeably, while in drive.
Coupe owners are picking up 6-8whp with the entire set. Remember, this is freeing up lost horsepower that makes it to the wheels. Your SAE stated HP stays the same because those measurements are taken without the accessories/pulleys attached.
Combined with an intake and CB exhaust you're looking at around a 15-18whp gain over stock. A drive train loss of 21% is about what we see with this RWD set up so: 333 x .79 = 263whp + 16.5 = 279.5whp / 263 = 1.062 - 1 = 6.2% improvement in power over stock on average.
That's good for about 3/10ths in the quarter mile - not too shabby in my opinion. Sadly we don't have a tune available, which really makes this engine sing.
