# ECS lightweight pulley problems



## ildottore46 (May 11, 2014)

hi,
I just tried to install the ECS lightweight crank pulley. After installing it, when I tried to start the car it didn't turn over right away. I had to crank it 3 times. On the test drive it sounding like it was either the belt was slipping or the pulley was grinding. When I got back home I pulled the pulley and put the OEM one back on. When I started the car after the install, it started up fine. After the test drive I got a code for a misfire in cylinder 4.

Has anyone had any problems with the pulley?

the car is a 2005.5 mkV jetta

Thanks


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## DerekH (Sep 4, 2010)

Any chance you could have turned the engine over backwards when installing it?


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## ildottore46 (May 11, 2014)

possibly, I had help installing the pulley. what would happen if the engine were turned the wrong way?


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## Anile_eight (Sep 30, 2009)

ildottore46 said:


> possibly, I had help installing the pulley. what would happen if the engine were turned the wrong way?


The issue with turning the engine the wrong way when instilling the pulley is introducing the slight bit of slack into the chain in the wrong direction. When you go to crank the car then that slack gets pulled in really quickly which is not good and could damage or shorten the life of your chain which is already in jeopardy because of the year. There are certainly more technical answers out there and I may have it slightly confused but all i know is turning it the wrong way could be catastrophic. Hopefully you're car is good to go with the stock one on.


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## ildottore46 (May 11, 2014)

thanks for the help

If it did mess up the timing chain, could It have caused the timing on the car to become off?


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## mk6matt (Jan 26, 2013)

My unprofessional opinion: It has likely just made it more prone to jumping time. I don't think turning it backwards would cause the timing to skip immediately but, the sudden slack to tension may have stretched the chain ever so slightly or damaged the tensioners


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## ildottore46 (May 11, 2014)

if the chains and tensioners are bad now, do you know about how much it would be to have them replaced. I've searched around and haven't been able to find any much on the subject.
I found the kit on ecs that I'll most likely buy after getting the car looked at.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Jetta_V--2.5/Search/SiteSearch/Timing_Chain/ES2582098/

thanks


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## mk6matt (Jan 26, 2013)

It pretty involving as at the least the tranny has to come out and they will likely pull the motor as well. If your going to drive it somewhere to get it looked at I would use VCDS (if you or someone you know has it) to log data and see if there is anything out of the ordinary. If the chain has never been done before it may be a good idea to do as preventative maintenance but I would explore other causes before jumping to replace the chain that may or may not be bad. I would check some general stuff, spark plugs, check for spark, swap ignition coil from a different cylinder and see if that cylinder misfires (or get another ignition coil if you have a an extra or a buddy with one), use VCDS to log individual cylinder misfires and AFR to make sure your running around the stoichiometric ideal (14.7 or 0 lamda). This is all assuming you are comfortable running the car. If not then Tow it to your favourite local shop and get them to do the diagnosis. :thumbup:


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## ECS Tuning (Oct 2, 2006)

PM sent.


Andy


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## Hung2low (Sep 14, 2011)

U get this sorted out?


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## ildottore46 (May 11, 2014)

Not yet. I had the car towed to my local Audi/vw specialist. I'm waiting to see what they say.


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## ildottore46 (May 11, 2014)

The timing chains were stretched, the tensioners were busted, the guide rails were busted, and the main seal blew out.


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## mk6matt (Jan 26, 2013)

I'm sorry to hear that, that's a lot of damage. Did they conclude what may have caused it?


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## DerekH (Sep 4, 2010)

I believe there was another tread on here at some point where the same thing happened to someone else when they changed their crank pulley. It had something to do with the engine turning over backwards and how the tensioners don't tension properly when the engine gets turned over backwards so the head and bottom end get out of phase and cause some serious damage. it wouldn't surprise me if you have bent valves too. good luck man.


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## ildottore46 (May 11, 2014)

they haven't said what caused it yet. I called Ecs and they said that being the car has 99k miles it could have been the pulley. the representative said that with the old chains it could have caused them to stretch with the new pulley.


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## mk6matt (Jan 26, 2013)

Thats disappointing. I hope that if thats the case they will take care of you, at least regarding parts. Best of luck and keep the updates coming :thumbup:


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## ildottore46 (May 11, 2014)

Got my car back today. They said it a mixture of the two. The install and the old chains. The timing was off and the upper chain was stretched. The tensioners needed to be replaced. Out the door it was 1200 to have the work done.


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## mk6matt (Jan 26, 2013)

Glad your all fixed up now :beer:


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