What’s a crank pulley?

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A crank pulley is located at the end of the crankshaft in an automobile engine and transfers energy to non-moving parts of the vehicle. It drives the serpentine belt, which powers other components. Aftermarket pulleys can increase horsepower by reducing weight and transferring less energy to other parts.

A crank pulley is used within an automobile engine to supply power to parts of the vehicle that are not involved in the actual movement of the car. It is located at the end of the crankshaft and transfers the energy generated by the crankshaft to the various vehicle systems. In many cases, the term crankshaft pulley is used to describe the pulley that came with the vehicle, while crank pulley refers to a component installed as an aftermarket upgrade, although the terms are interchangeable.

This pulley transfers power to the air conditioning, stereo, and alternator, among other components. It is located at the end of the crankshaft, which is used to transform the linear energy generated through the pistons into rotational energy. The rotational energy generated by the vehicle’s crankshaft turns the crank pulley, which then drives other parts of the vehicle. This type of pulley usually uses ribs to keep the belt from slipping as it moves.

A belt known as a serpentine belt is attached to the crank pulley and moves through much of the vehicle’s engine. This belt drives other moving parts and supplies power to the car’s ancillary parts when they are needed. In many vehicles, the serpentine belt is attached to one or more additional pulleys that help the belt move through the engine. When multiple pulleys are in use, only the crank pulley is powered, which in this case is called the drive pulley. The others are non-motorized idler pulleys.

An aftermarket crank pulley can be used to increase horsepower in a vehicle. These pulleys are designed to weigh significantly less than the pulleys that come stock from the factory, mostly because they don’t have harmonic dampers installed. While these pulleys can generate excessive vibration at certain speeds of rotation, most of the time they are safe to use. The lower weight of the pulley allows more energy to be used for acceleration and to maintain speed, giving the engine more power. Also, an aftermarket pulley is usually designed to transfer less energy to the other parts of the car, meaning the stereo, air conditioning, and other ancillary systems have less power than before the new pulley was installed.




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