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Old 03-23-2012, 09:53 AM   #1
572HP
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Alternator/Generator Pulleys

I'm going to try to keep this as short as I can. Why am I bringing up this topic? Because I did a lot of research educating myself on this subject, and I feel that there is a lot of mis-information going around. I want to give you what I have learned, so that you'll be informed. I am not an expert, so I will point you to some materials for you to educate yourself. I don't want to debate the need, because I am not an expert. If you are thinking of replacing your pulley with a nice billet one, please educate yourself first.

Our cars use generators instead of alternators. From what I read, the generators have built-in AC to DC conversion and regulation. Don't quote me on this as the difference, go research it yourself if you really want to know the difference. Anyway, I only bring this up because I couldn't even find the word "alternator" in our repair manuals.

Our automatics (at least the V8 models) include a different type of pulley on the generator. Replacing these pulleys with solid pulleys should be avoided. These pulleys are designed to lessen wear on belts, tensioners, and bearings throughout the entire accessory system. Why chevrolet isn't using these on manual transmission cars is a mystery to me. I would think that those cars would benefit as well. These pulleys should really help on forced-induction engines, to keep belts from jumping off and breaking.

What does this pulley look like?



A brief history of why I had to learn about this: I pulled off my generator to originally get it powder coated. I had a very difficult time removing the dust cap on the front of the pulley, and ended up putting a screwdriver through the middle of it so that I could pull it off. Once inside, I found grease, and knew that there was a reason for the cap. I called the GM parts suppliers, and they told me that this cap wasn't available for sale, nor was any part for the generator. I would have to purchase a whole new generator. I didn't stop there. On a side note, I wasn't able to powder coat the generator, because all of the electronics would not come off very easily.

I came across the original manufacturer for the pulley that ACDelco uses. They already have these pulleys for the corvette available through auto parts distributors. They didn't have anything for the camaro. After talking with a nice gentleman at Litens (the original manufacturer of the pulley) and sending him the ACDelco part number for the generator, he sent me a new cap. Based on this, they are also adding the pulley to their suppliers list so that it will be available for all of us to purchase if needed: Litens Aftermarket P/N: 920931, which should be available in a few months.

Also note, that this is a maintenance item, which usually needs replaced at 40k-50k miles.

Here are a couple of resources:
www.decouplerpulley.com

and



I hope that you take the time to educate yourself. Chevrolet engineers decided that this was necessary, so please educate yourself before deciding that a solid pulley will work just fine.
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Old 03-23-2012, 10:04 AM   #2
Moreno1
 
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572, that great info! Part of having these forum in my view is to help other members learn from our mistakes to help avoided them in the future. thanks for taking the time!

I just updated the thread http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=188393 with some of the mistakes I've made. Believe me, I have more to come....... There's a lot I've learned!
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