I decided to replace the serpentine belt because of its unknown age. The new belt (AutoZone) squealed like hell. Revving the engine, I saw what looked like the belt slipping and then grabbing at the crank pulley.

Eventually I figured out the belt was trying to "climb" the front ridge of the crank pulley. Interestingly, I flipped the belt around and it wasn't doing it nearly as bad. Still, it sits with the first ridge *on* the pulley lip instead of completely inside the channel. The belt is perfectly centered on every other pulley.

I've seen plenty of mention of crank pulley failure but they all seemed to mention that the pulley moved towards the front of the car. Can it move the other way too? And why would it not do it until a new belt was installed? The old belt had no odd wear pattern or anything else to suggest it wasn't hitting the pulley properly. It ran perfectly quiet until I decided to pop a new belt into place. Now I've also got bearing noise that I have to isolate to see if it's the tensioner or idler going bad.

 

if the crank pulley is bad it could move either way. towards the front or baack. my crank pulley recently went out not too long ago. i also heard noise coming from the tensioner changed the belt and it was fine for a couple of days. then the crank pulley gave out. lucky i made it home. my pulley was toast!

pic of my old crank pulley

 

I don't have any other visible signs of a pulley issue. It doesn't wobble at all while the engine runs. Still, if this means it's going bad I'll take care of it.

The car isn't being driven yet while I work on the interior but if it's the pulley I'll have to pay a shop to do it. I don't have the time or tools to do it properly.

 

Your pulley wont always wobble when it is going bad. Take the serpentine belt off and check the pulley both visually and by hand to see if it moves when the car is cool. As the pulley heats up the rubber expands and masks the fact that the two pieces are indeed seperating. Hope this helps.