96 hond aaccord lx crankshaft pulley issues
 

Hello to all,

While driving home from Hollywood, the belts for my A/C and alternator flew off. they were still intact, but came off their pulleys. unsure of what to do, i drove verrrry slowly home.

my mechanic lives about 10-15 minutes away. the power steering pulley and belt are still on but appear a bit crooked.

can i safley drive this to the mechanic? i heard that if i drive without drive belts, i run the risk of killing my enging and having to buy a new car.

attempts to put the belts back on and start the car have resulted with the alternator belt moving to the right and then forcing both A/C belt and alternator belt off.

please advise. thank you :)

You do not want the crank pulley to fall off, because the sprocket for the timing belt would come off. That would be just like having the timing belt break.

Your alternator and a/c use the same belt. The belt farthest from the engine is the power steering belt.

You need to determine why the belt is coming off.

i can see what appears to be the crank pulley wobble when i move one of the belts which are still connected. the belt for the aternator will not stay on, yet it appears the power sterering will. can it drive a few miles in this condition or must i get it towed? unfortunately, my car skills are pretty paltry and i cannot figure out what would be causing these belts to come off.

The crankshaft pulley is a harmonic balancer. The three main components of the harmonic balancer are the center hub, rubber ring (damper), and outer ring. The damper may be shot, which is causing the pulley to rotate at an angle or even wobble.

so now the million dollar question is: can i get it to the mechanic 15 minutes away from me without danger of permanently wrecking the engine or something to that effect? i do not have any more AAA tows until november but of course in los angeles you need a car (you especially need a car if you are a film student)

thank god i did not have this issue on big bear mountain!

The external belts drive your alternator, airconditioning, & steering. Your engine can drive 15 minutes without those. You probably should charge the battery first, and drive during the day so you don't need headlights.

The big question is whether the HUB of the crankshaft pulley is still securely attached. If that hub comes off, that's big trouble. You probably should remove the loose wobbly outer rim of that crankshaft pulley so it doesn't fly off while driving. (if it IS loose)

Rarely, I've heard of the crank-pulley bolt breaking; that big bolt is in the center of the crankshaft pulley. If that's broken, I wouldn't even start the engine.

PS. check your signature. The 4-cyl engine is 2.2 liters. The V-6 is something like 2.7.

When you say "outer rim" are you talking about the outside track on the crankshaft pulley?

as for the crank pulley bolt, there is barley enough room for me to put my hand in there. how can i tell if the crank pulley bolt is broken?

if i start my car for a moment, should i look at the crankshaft pulley and see if looks like its going to fly off?

thanks again you guys

When I said outer rim, that's the outer part where the belts ride.

If the bolt in the center is not missing entirely, that's a good thing. If the outer part of the pulley wobbles but is not loose, then I guess I'd remove the belts & leave it at that.

Please clarify the engine. The waterpump of the 4-cyl is driven by the camshaft timing belt. If you have a V-6 then I'm not sure. If the waterpump is driven by an external belt, then you don't want to drive without it.

OK, after using a vin decoder, my car is as follows:
1996 HONDA ACCORD EX V6 SEDAN - 2.7L V6 SOHC 24V - AUTOMATIC

with this engine and particular vehicle, is it safe to drive a car without its alternator belt and the belt closer to front of the vehicle? (which im guessing is now power steering pump based on what you guys are saying).

The V6 is a different beast compared to the 4-cylinder engine. There should be three external belts (unless your car does not have a/c).

I am not as familiar with that engine. The water pump is driving by the timing belt.

The inner part of the crankshaft is where the bolt goes through. You don't want that inner part to come off. There should be an access hole to look at the bolt by removing the driver's side front tire.

I think taking off the a/c and alternator belt. See if that part of the crank pulley that drives those two belts will not fly off. You should charge the battery and take it to the mechanic. Don't use any electricity (radio, headlights, etc...).