Tensioner Pulley Failure
Background info. The car is a 2002 35th LE Camaro SS. I bought the car new and she has around 25,XXX miles on her now. She's been a garage queen for the most part. A little info on the car: I started modding it about 10 years ago which started with exhaust (LMII) and a lid. From there, I got the mod bug bad and worked with Bob which most of you probably know. I added the BMR Trac Pak, BMR lower control arms with relocation kit, Kooks 1-7/8" LT's with Kooks 3" ORY, PST driveshaft, and Moser 9".
At 12,000 miles, the slider keys in the T56 broke. I opted to get the T56 built by RPM Transmission. Since the transmission was out, I upgraded the clutch and OEM shifter at this point too; Spec Stage 3+ and the Hurst Billet shifter.
Fast forward a little and I added Strano lowering springs, Koni 4/4 shocks, a driveshaft safety loop.....and what this thread will be about.....a Procharger D1SC with Alkycontrol kit, Aster bracket/tensioner, ATI's FMIC, etc. I pretty much added all the bells and whistles. I am running 8-9PSI.
I have been running this set-up since 2011 and for the most part, it has ran flawlessly. To the best of my knowledge and records, in that time frame I have put approximately 3,000 miles on the car.
About 1.5 months ago the tensioner pulley gave out while I was cruising along. When it did, it also took out the s/c belt, add-on crank pulley, tensioner, and serpentine belt.
Here is a top view. You can see the tensioner and where the pulley is missing from it.
Here is a top view. You can see the tensioner and where the pulley is missing from it.
You can see here where the pulley that broke off the tensioner wedged itself down into the motor. It did not pull out without removing the standoffs. You can also see the serpentine belt is ripped along the edge.
Here you can see where it bounced up against the add-on crank pulley and gouged it. I ordered a new one from Bob.
Here is a close-up. I tried using a v-file and sanding it smooth, but after my attempt, and running an old piece of belt over it back and forth, it was still messing the belt up so I ordered a new one.
Here is what the pulley looked like after playing ping pong inside the motor.
You can see here the bearings are gone, well a good amount of them. I have a new pulley on order with Chris.
Here is the s/c tensioner which the pulley broke off of.
In order to access the pulleys and see what was going on, I had to remove all the s/c piping going from the head unit up to the intake, disconnected the radiator hoses in order to pull the fan assembly, and took off a few other miscellaneous things.
Right now I have all the parts on order to get the car back in action.
For those of you familiar with this particular set-up, is there anything I am missing or that I should know about when putting this all back together?
I have the new serpentine belt on and bought a green belt for the Procharger set-up.
Thanks for looking and glad to be back.
Last edited by 35th-anv-ss; Jul 25, 2016 at 10:48 PM.
Regarding the re-install of the parts. I am wondering about a few torque specs:
- What bolt torque should the supercharger pulley on the tensioner be torqued to?
- How about the add-on crank pulley which is bolted to the crank pulley by (3) spline bolts? It seemed pretty loose when I removed it.
- Torque spec on the tensioner that gets mounted to the Aster bracket? Held on by (2) bolts.
Regarding the re-install of the parts. I am wondering about a few torque specs:
- What bolt torque should the supercharger pulley on the tensioner be torqued to?
- How about the add-on crank pulley which is bolted to the crank pulley by (3) spline bolts? It seemed pretty loose when I removed it.
- Torque spec on the tensioner that gets mounted to the Aster bracket? Held on by (2) bolts.
- What bolt torque should the supercharger pulley on the tensioner be torqued to? Apply locktite and screw on the M10 nut. Torque to 30 ft/lbs
- How about the add-on crank pulley which is bolted to the crank pulley by (3) spline bolts? It seemed pretty loose when I removed it.
Use red loctite - 58ft lbs
- Torque spec on the tensioner that gets mounted to the Aster bracket? Held on by (2) bolts. Secure it with the 2 3/8” x 2.25” socket head cap screws and 3/8” washers.
Torque to 30 ft/lbs.
Bob
ATI ProCharger and Moser Sales 260 672-2076
PM's disabled, please e-mail me
E-mail: brutespeed@gmail.comob@brutespeed.com
https://brutespeed.com/ Link to website

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ATI ProCharger and Moser Sales 260 672-2076
PM's disabled, please e-mail me
E-mail: brutespeed@gmail.comob@brutespeed.com
https://brutespeed.com/ Link to website

I have everything I need to put it back together though, and hopefully I will remember how to do so lol.
The smallest pulley in the system has a gouge mark on it and the power steering pulley is chipped. I sent photos of the small pulley to Bob and Chris in hopes I can get a new one.
Here are some more photos.
ATI ProCharger and Moser Sales 260 672-2076
PM's disabled, please e-mail me
E-mail: brutespeed@gmail.comob@brutespeed.com
https://brutespeed.com/ Link to website

ATI ProCharger and Moser Sales 260 672-2076
PM's disabled, please e-mail me
E-mail: brutespeed@gmail.comob@brutespeed.com
https://brutespeed.com/ Link to website

I have the Aster tensioner bracket and associated pulleys all back on the car. The add-on crank pulley is installed. The head unit is mounted! I went ahead and changed the oil since I had the head unit out of the car completely. The serpentine belt and Procharger belt are installed. The fan is back in, and all the piping is back on (except for the air filter pipe coming off the front of the blower).
A few of the pulleys are pretty close to one another, but I do not see any other way it can be installed so I think it's just the nature of the beast.
I did not take enough photos of the car prior to disassembly, so I have one final question (for now at least).
The fitting on the valve cover shown in the photo below - I know it's for the PCV system, or I at least think it is. This would normally go over to the TB. However, I believe on my Procharger set-up, this is a breather line. With that said, would the hose coming off the air filter pipe for the head unit go to this fitting? I am nearly certain that is correct, but would like someone elses comment too.
The hose coming from the air filter pipe for the head unit is the only hose I have which is not connected to anything.
Thanks again for the help. Hopefully she gets started for the first time in 14 months this weekend.
ATI ProCharger and Moser Sales 260 672-2076
PM's disabled, please e-mail me
E-mail: brutespeed@gmail.comob@brutespeed.com
https://brutespeed.com/ Link to website

ATI ProCharger and Moser Sales 260 672-2076
PM's disabled, please e-mail me
E-mail: brutespeed@gmail.comob@brutespeed.com
https://brutespeed.com/ Link to website








