Looks can be deceiving

Playing dress up, the hobby of many to make the chariot of choice pretty for others to see.  As pleasing to the eye as this crank pulley may seem, it may not all be it’s cracked up to be.

The little gem was dropped off to be checked for timing accuracy.  Luckily I had a motor laying out back without a chassis.  So it was the perfect candidate to check.

For an aftermarket part it installs quite nicely.  Hmm do bad the degree wheel is covering it up.  It makes this engine look so pretty.  So how does it fare against the oem units.

To my dismay, it was a failure in the timing depart.  Just to be sure it wasn’t a fluke, the TDC was checked and rechecked with the same results.    The white mark is the measured zero and notch slightly to the left is the manufacturer’s zero mark.  This piece was advanced by 3 degrees.  If you like lightweight and pretty colors it’s the way to go.  But it you care about the tune of your engine, either stick with OEM gear, or at least inspect it for accuracy.