wopa20

Should I do this? Sounds like risky S%&*

Im not much into racing just a daily driver that looks sweet, but i do

have alot of mi's

1Revvin7

I've done it on several cars, just a peace at mind deal. The stock unit is garbage, creates low oil pressure to speed up warm up, thats retarded. Just make sure you hold the clutch while you take out the front hub bolt..

Henrik

Its an easy mod to make and well worth it. I did this to my 87TII, since I had the old one out, I tested it - it would extend 2mm at temp where spec is like 6mm or more - not good. After the mod, my idle oil pressure came back up to almost 30psi (from about 15 or so before).



Hint: If your going to do the mod, take your car to a garage and pay the guy $5 to break the bolt loose for you (best $5 I spent in a long time after breaking one tool and swearing up a storm trying to get the pulley bolt off with other hand tools). Hand tighten, drive home and then do the mod. Don't forget the loctite and to wedge the clutch down.



Henrik

87TII

1988RedT2

I figure it's about time I did this mod. But I want someone to explain the "why" on the above note.



I knew I had heard something about this, but it took a bit of searching to find a reference to it.

teknics

it allows any eshaft endplay to be at the rear so the front needle/torrington bearings don't fall which would be catastrophic to your motor.



Kevin.

1988RedT2

Does pushing in the clutch guarantee a non-fucked engine? How real is the risk if you don't push in the clutch? Does it need to be pushed in the whole time the bolt is out? Will putting a circle of sea salt around the front of the engine help? Should this job be scheduled during a full moon?



I have reted's write-up in front of me, and it makes no mention of this, and it's not like him to leave out a detail like that.

mazdaspeed7

The risk of dropping a bearing is there, but I dont see it as a big risk, provided you are using the right tools. Provided you use an impact gun that has enough torque, you probably wont drop a bearing out. If you are trying to use a breaker bar, all the jarring of the engine would make it more likely to falling out.



The front pulley, and the stack of gears and spacers on the eccentric shaft are what sets the end play of the ecc shaft. When you take the pulley bolt loose, you can shift the eccentric shaft farther back than you normally could. On some engines, that is enough to allow a thrust bearing to fall. The thrust bearings normally sit around the spacer that sets the end play, but they can fall down onto the shaft. When you try to torque the bolt then, You have an extra part in there taking up space it shouldnt.



Pushing the clutch in will prevent the eccentric shaft from moving back at all(doesnt apply to FD's because they have a pull clutch). Then there isnt enough room for one of the thrust bearings to fall off its perch on the spacer.



An easy way to double check is to turn the pulley by hand after you torque it. You should be able to turn it if the trans is in nuertal. If not, its probably a good idea to check before starting the car.

turborotor

http://mazdatrix.com/faq/pulley.htm

Leetheslacker

i had to pull the pullys to swap front covers.



jammed the clutch down with a jack handle. couldnt get the damn nut off. attached socket and breaker bar, leaned it against the frame rail and popped the starter for a split second. rest was hand loosening. putting it back on, tightened it by hand as tight as possible, then put it in gear and tighten the rest of the way.



no issues here with it.

teknics

cant believe reted left that out of his writeup. thats what was happening with those unorthodox pulleys on the FD's, it required you to remove that bolt and people were dropping their bearings like flies, unorthodox has since then redesigned their pullies.



kevin.