Very unhappy customer (NST pulleys).

[Black_griffin6]

Hey everyone;

About a year ago I installed the Micro image lightweight crank pulley, and the NST waterpump and alternator pulleys.
Well a few months ago I noticed a clicking noise from my engine bay, it didn't happen all the time and I thought it was just a loose bolt from the exhaust after I redid my header.
Recently the clicking/tick noise became so loud I HAD to check it out.
First I thought it was the belt, as it was coming from that area and the noise got faster when I rev the engine.
I knew it wasn't a valve because I checked the engine out with the mechanic's stethoscope.

Turns out it was my water pump pulley. It had actually cracked all the way through the metal in more then 3 places and was causing it to vibrate and shake violently, making a terrible clicking and tapping noise.

I know NST is no longer a vendor here, so i'm wondering if anyone knows if there is a warranty on this kind of thing? And what is a good way of getting in contact with NST? I've looked on their website and haven't found much in terms of customer service.

Out of all my things i've ever bought, this has to be the only thing that's ever failed on me yet.
I'm happy to report the MI pulley is doing great though.
So i'm still running the MI pulley and the NST Alt. pulley, but i've put the stock WP pulley back on and it's been doing great ever since.

Will post pics of the pulley later.

UPDATE: 8/24/2013 Pictures now here: http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/sho...39&postcount=3
I also have sent NST an email, haven't heard back yet, but will keep you guys posted.

[cali yaris]

glad the crank pulley is working good. I don't think the water pump pulley swap makes any difference, except for looks.

Did you call NST? keep us posted. and yes -- PICS

PHONE... 281-917-0221
Monday - Friday 12pm - 6pm CST

E-MAIL... info@NonStopTuning.com

[Black_griffin6]

These are the pictures of the WP Pulley.
WARNING: These pictures are very large to show detail, if you have a slow internet connection, you may experience a lot of lag.

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/495/qcg7.jpg

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3816/xehk.jpg

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/489/diws.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4701/htk2.jpg

[cali yaris]

great pics.

Did you call NST?

[Black_griffin6]

Not yet.
I've sent them an email with the pictures. I'll wait a little bit to see if I hear back from them. If not i'll give them a call.

I appreciate your help Garm. :3

[Bluevitz-rs]

GeeZ, how did it not just fall apart is beyond me!

[Black_griffin6]

Originally Posted by Bluevitz-rs

GeeZ, how did it not just fall apart is beyond me!

I know. I keep looking at it and i'm wondering how it is still intact, it's cracked all the way through in several places.

I just heard back from NST in an email. They said it is NOT covered under warranty, and that it is caused from the bolts being over torqued.
They want me to email them back with my phone number and call about a replacement, not sure if I want a replacement though. This has really kind of put me off from their WP pulley. :\

What really annoyed me about their email was they said they have seen this before and they never sent a warning out to anyone "Hey, don't over torque the bolts (or whatever they found that caused the problem) because this can happen." Because if I left it on there it would have probably shattered while I was driving and left me stranded somewhere with a broken WP pulley, and I can't drive like that.

[Bluevitz-rs]

Did they send torque specs with the pulley set?

[Black_griffin6]

No, they just said it was caused from over torquing.
I even put it on with hand tools and wrenches, I didn't think it would be so tight that it would damage it.

I would just copy and paste the email, but I can't access it at work. I'll have to post it later tonight.

[Bluevitz-rs]

Then how were you supposed to know what torque value to use?

[cali yaris]

I sell a lot of parts, and very few ever include torque settings, *especially" parts that re-use stock bolts, etc. You're supposed to look them up.

I'm not saying it's right not to include those numbers, and I'm not suggesting that's the cause of the failure here.
I'm saying the vast majority of companies don't do it.

[ilikerice]

Torque value is usually based on the bolt to insure it doesn't stretch if over tightened, or threads get pulled apart.

Like Garm said, you are suppose to use what the torque required from a yaris repair manual.

Also, I don't think its a torque issue either. If it was over torqued, I think the bolts would have broken before the pulley would have.

My NST water pump pulley got damaged also. My issue was the belt was wearing out the pulley causing very deep grooves eventually causing it to squeel. I went ahead and took it off and put the stock one back on. I will try to get some pics later if I remember when I get home.

[Black_griffin6]

My theory is that the NST pulley is not balanced properly, which causes it to slightly vibrate and move when it turns.
The vibration although not severe at first causes it to break over time, especially if you do any spirited driving.
I could be wrong, but maybe that's what happened.

@ilikerice: How come you didn't say anything before? Maybe I just missed your thread in which you talked about it. XD
I'm glad i'm not the only one with a problem with the WP pulley.
I do know that NST had said not to post any negative comments on forums or social media, ect. They probably don't want a bad reputation.
However, if they sold me a solid product, there would be no need to tell me that kind of thing. >______>

[tooter]

Originally Posted by Black_griffin6

My theory is that the NST pulley is not balanced properly, which causes it to slightly vibrate and move when it turns.
The vibration although not severe at first causes it to break over time, especially if you do any spirited driving.
I could be wrong, but maybe that's what happened.

What you said about vibration makes sense. Also what could have accelerated the process is that the NST is one solid unit and has no way of absorbing crank vibrations.

[cali yaris]

^ Isn't the stock water pump pulley is also a solid unit?

[shinlee]

I've got 50,000 miles on my Aluminium NST (blue!) Water, Alternator, and Crank pullies. They are actually the only parts I've kept on my yaris when I parted out the rest of my bolt ons, just because they are simply phenominal.

[tooter]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

^ Isn't the stock water pump pulley is also a solid unit?

Yes... and it's protected from crank vibration because it's being driven by the damped stock pulley on the crank. For that matter, the alternator pulley is also, although it has a relatively small rotating mass.

[cali yaris]

^ You think that vibration, transferred by a rubber belt, broke a water pump pulley?

That is extremely unlikely. It's more likely that it would compromise the water pump's bearings first -- IF that were happening at all.

We know the OP didn't use a torque wrench; so we'll never know the exact cause of the failure. We can armchair discuss it forever, but with that fact the cause will never be certain.