Questions and Answers

Volkswagen Golf GTI Pulleys Wobble Q. Dear Vince, I have a 1996 Volkswagen Golf GTI with the 2.0 liter engine and a 5-speed manual transmission. It has approximately 65,000 miles on it. A few weeks ago I noticed a tapping noise coming out of the engine compartment. Upon investigation I found the crankshaft pulley was wobbling.

I found one of the allen bolts which attach the power steering pulley to the serpentine belt pulley, driven by the crank, to be loose. After tightening the bolt the problem disappeared. This happened on one more occasion, but tightening the allen bolt corrected it once again.

Now, about two months after original problem, the crankshaft pulley is vibrating/wobbling worse than ever. I have checked the bolts, including the 12-point which I believe holds the inner pulley to the camshaft, and they all seem tight. Help, please!

Regards,
Jeremy

A. You have me really confused here. The power steering pulley has three bolts securing it to the power steering pump. Was it one of these that was loose? If it was, you should remove them, one at a time, and put some thread locker on them and reinstall and torque them to 18 foot pounds.

There is nothing connected to the cam shaft. If the crankshaft pulley is wobbling there is one large bolt in the front of the crankshaft that secures it to the crankshaft.

If the bolt is not loose, the bolt should be tightened to 66 foot pounds + 90°, then the either the pulley is broken and/or worn out, or the front of the crankshaft is damaged.