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Vic asked that I do a quick review of the Pulley install. First Id like to detail the installation so there is no confusion. It’s not as easy as just “putting your foot on the brake and throwing it in gear”. So, here we go……..
1st-- Jack up the car and remove the under pan (plastic) with a 10mm ratchet or air-gun.
2nd -- Do NOT loosen the belts yet. Get a breaker bar or ratchet with a 2-3foot pipe ready instead. Go pull the e-brake and throw it in 6th gear. Not 1st, not reverse….6th.
3rd- Have a friend slam the brake or do what I did and throw a 2x4 between the seat and pedal.
4th – Flip your hood open and chock it fully extended with something. Why do this you ask? Because no one wants to have the hood slam on their heads when the nut breaks loose. Trust me, it can happen! Not to me, but it has happened.
6th -- Remove the plastic shroud over the intake manifold for clearance.
5th -- Now place the breaker bar on the crank pulley nut with a deep drive ¾ (if you have no metric) and turn toward the passenger side. You will be standing OVER the vehicle while doing this….not under it. The pulley may spring a little but it will crack loose.
6th – Loosen the nut on each idler pulley (shown below) using a 14mm.
7th – Loosen the bolt till the tension is off the belts (shown below) using a 12mm.
8th – Remove the belts.
9th – Ram a large flat head screw driver behind the pulley at the top. Then ram another one from under the car behind the pulley on the bottom. Keep tapping with a hammer till it pops loose.
10th – Reinstall the new pulley over the key and tap gently on it with a hammer. Reinstall the nut and torque down to spec (can’t recall what that is).
11th – Reinstall the new belts.
Most of you know how to do this and are probobly saying "duh!" but this write up isnt for you I’ve installed pulleys in the past but NONE have given me this much trouble when trying to remove the bolt. But, the reward was worth it.
The vehicle has more response off the line due to less rotational mass. It almost feels like there is less effort to get you going. For those of you that don’t quite understand the physics of it, think of it this way. Tie a string to a rock, spin the rock with 1foot of string out, and then spin it with 3 feet of string out. It’s much more difficult to get it going quickly with 3 feet of string. This principle is the same on the pulley, which has a smaller diameter (i.e., smaller string). For inertia this same idea applies. For a rock that weighs more then another, it’s more difficult to spin a 3lb rock on a string then a 1lb rock. Same applies for pulley weight. I’m sure 90% of you already knew this, but for the 10% of you, I thought this would help.
All in all, it was a good investment and I can validate all your good reviews. Thanks Vic for the pullies.
PS- should I install the others? They seem to be very similar if not same in diameter and I can’t really tell if there would be much difference in mass.
No one has answered this question yet for me. Does the 6MT have an access panel to the flywheel on the drivers side? On the 5AT there is an opening to the flywheel that is covered and you have to remove two bolts holding the cover on. When you take off that cover you have access to the flywheel. Then you still a crowbard or large screwdrive in the gears. You can also do this by removing the starter which is also very easy to do. The flywheel will not be harmed as it is very strong. By "jamming" the flywheel you will stop the crank from turning and it is very easy to then remove the pulley. This requires no help, no one standing on the brakes and I use a regular breaker bar with no extension. It makes it really nice to then reinstall the new pulley as well. I did it by myself from under the car with car ramps.
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03 5AT Crawford Plenum and Headers, JWT cams, Injen CAI and exhaust, Labree resonated TPs, 350EVO A-Arms and sways, 350EVO TB, RSR Ti springs, Koni Shocks, 19" LE37Ts, TS reflash, Emanage Ultimate, Stoptech BB kit and rear upgrade, TC and VB upgrades, 6MT rear end
glad i decided to look this up after i already decided to dive head first into getting my pulley off without ever doing a job like this before (sarcasm)...a couple questions.....the tensioner, i loosened the bolt and used a tool that fit into the pulley end of it and rotated it to loosen the belts....so the whole assembly rotated at the engine block instead of where it was supposed to rotate. how much of an issue is this? and i was having difficulty getting the pulley off but after reading this hopefully what you said will work even though i already have the belt off. i'll give it a try.
the picture might explain what i did and what happened better.
i found out my 06 did not have a water pump pulley
and
also
are there any other tricks to take off the crank pulley
i had alota trouble trying to take it off
in fact i didnt even take it off
i gave up haha
Everytime i tried the belts would slip
I tired the starting trick
My dad said a impact gun would take it off for sure
but my brother had took it when he moved
Maybe tighting the tenisoners so the belts wonts slip,
when i try to loosen it
I dunno i dont want to think about it
because i spent 3 useless hours doing so.
my mechanic stuck a breaker bar to the big ass wrench he use and wedge it against the floor and have another mechanic crank the car for 0.05 sec (barely able to start it) to break the bolt loose.
Pulley: Tech Writeup and Review (yes again!)
I’ve installed pulleys in the past but NONE have given me this much trouble when trying to remove the bolt. But, the reward was worth it. 
