Check your VRP Pulleys, Please
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Former Vendor of MBWorld
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From: In a box
W211 E55
Check your VRP Pulleys, Please
I recently purchased a VRP pulley as the first mod for my E55.
The pulley was purchased through LET, a VRP distributor, along with LETs upgraded Heat Exchanger and some other parts.
Initial dyno results were surprising - 0 horsepower. A shredded belt was deemed the culprit, and a new Jaguar belt went in its place. 0 horsepower.
When the hood was popped, it was evident that the belt had jumped a groove, and was slipping. This is why it wasn't making boost or HP.
After realigning the belt, I could see the pulley visibly wobbling. Not good. There was at least 1/8" of deflection, which is what led to the first belt shredding.
We took the VRP pulley off immediately, and I had ASP overnight me a replacement- they were the only vendor who had one available !!!!
I did see the exact same problem on one other E55 with the VRP pulley, which led me to contact the company. They were willing to work with me and issued a refund. I don't know what happened to the other car.
I have an oil analysis out to Blackstone Labs to peer inside the motor, but I doubt anything is awry.
This is not an attempt to bash VRP in any way - if you read my posts, you will see tremendous support for them and their efforts for these cars. I am merely relaying my experience, good and bad.
The pulley was purchased through LET, a VRP distributor, along with LETs upgraded Heat Exchanger and some other parts.
Initial dyno results were surprising - 0 horsepower. A shredded belt was deemed the culprit, and a new Jaguar belt went in its place. 0 horsepower.
When the hood was popped, it was evident that the belt had jumped a groove, and was slipping. This is why it wasn't making boost or HP.
After realigning the belt, I could see the pulley visibly wobbling. Not good. There was at least 1/8" of deflection, which is what led to the first belt shredding.
We took the VRP pulley off immediately, and I had ASP overnight me a replacement- they were the only vendor who had one available !!!!
I did see the exact same problem on one other E55 with the VRP pulley, which led me to contact the company. They were willing to work with me and issued a refund. I don't know what happened to the other car.
I have an oil analysis out to Blackstone Labs to peer inside the motor, but I doubt anything is awry.
This is not an attempt to bash VRP in any way - if you read my posts, you will see tremendous support for them and their efforts for these cars. I am merely relaying my experience, good and bad.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,276
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From: Bay Area
2015 E63S, 2018 E63S
I recently purchased a VRP pulley as the first mod for my E55.
The pulley was purchased through LET, a VRP distributor, along with LETs upgraded Heat Exchanger and some other parts.
Initial dyno results were surprising - 0 horsepower. A shredded belt was deemed the culprit, and a new Jaguar belt went in its place. 0 horsepower.
When the hood was popped, it was evident that the belt had jumped a groove, and was slipping. This is why it wasn't making boost or HP.
After realigning the belt, I could see the pulley visibly wobbling. Not good. There was at least 1/8" of deflection, which is what led to the first belt shredding.
We took the VRP pulley off immediately, and I had ASP overnight me a replacement- they were the only vendor who had one available !!!!
I did see the exact same problem on one other E55 with the VRP pulley, which led me to contact the company. They were willing to work with me and issued a refund. I don't know what happened to the other car.
I have an oil analysis out to Blackstone Labs to peer inside the motor, but I doubt anything is awry.
This is not an attempt to bash VRP in any way - if you read my posts, you will see tremendous support for them and their efforts for these cars. I am merely relaying my experience, good and bad.
The pulley was purchased through LET, a VRP distributor, along with LETs upgraded Heat Exchanger and some other parts.
Initial dyno results were surprising - 0 horsepower. A shredded belt was deemed the culprit, and a new Jaguar belt went in its place. 0 horsepower.
When the hood was popped, it was evident that the belt had jumped a groove, and was slipping. This is why it wasn't making boost or HP.
After realigning the belt, I could see the pulley visibly wobbling. Not good. There was at least 1/8" of deflection, which is what led to the first belt shredding.
We took the VRP pulley off immediately, and I had ASP overnight me a replacement- they were the only vendor who had one available !!!!
I did see the exact same problem on one other E55 with the VRP pulley, which led me to contact the company. They were willing to work with me and issued a refund. I don't know what happened to the other car.
I have an oil analysis out to Blackstone Labs to peer inside the motor, but I doubt anything is awry.
This is not an attempt to bash VRP in any way - if you read my posts, you will see tremendous support for them and their efforts for these cars. I am merely relaying my experience, good and bad.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: California, USA
E63 P30, CL500 Sport
So, what needs to be checked exactly? Do we need to pull the pulley out and examine it or just look at it as it spins? My friend's car seems to be running fine with the red pulley 
. I'll have him check it this weekend I guess....
. I'll have him check it this weekend I guess....
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Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Caribbean/Florida/Colorado
E-ZGO 53hp., 1999 E 430 sport, 2004 E 55, 2008 Tahoe LTZ on 24"s
Key bound,
Did you see the installing tech use any blue?
Most techs will not inspect the actual fitment, nor the key set. They assume that it is a remove and replace, not that simple. Don't forget the fact that the E55's engine is hand built, do you know why? It is so that every part can be hand fit, the same holds true for the harmonic dampener / pulley. A defect in manufacturing will manifest in an axial or lateral run out in the .00X". If an install exhibits 1/8" run out (.125) that is so far out it would be hard to believe it is a defect in manufacturing over a install problem.
Did you see the installing tech use any blue?
Most techs will not inspect the actual fitment, nor the key set. They assume that it is a remove and replace, not that simple. Don't forget the fact that the E55's engine is hand built, do you know why? It is so that every part can be hand fit, the same holds true for the harmonic dampener / pulley. A defect in manufacturing will manifest in an axial or lateral run out in the .00X". If an install exhibits 1/8" run out (.125) that is so far out it would be hard to believe it is a defect in manufacturing over a install problem.
Last edited by Yacht Master; Jun 20, 2008 at 08:26 AM.
Thread Starter
Former Vendor of MBWorld
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,513
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From: In a box
W211 E55
Vadim,
I know mine was thrown away when the other pulley was installed, but they might have the one from the other car. I relayed this info to Victor, and he said he would follow up with CPT (installer)
I know mine was thrown away when the other pulley was installed, but they might have the one from the other car. I relayed this info to Victor, and he said he would follow up with CPT (installer)
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Thread Starter
Former Vendor of MBWorld
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,513
Likes: 0
From: In a box
W211 E55
Check for visible wobble. No wobble, no problem.
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Out Of Control!!
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 13,394
Likes: 6
From: San Diego
2015 S212
Is the ASP running like silk? Was the VRP pulley bolt "loose" in any way? Did you try reinstalling it or at least the bolt? Did it slip right off when the bolt was removed or did it need to get pry'd (not walked) off? Was the knub inspected? Was the Seal replaced? Sorry for all the questions, but trust me I know the tell tale signs and am very interested in this topic.
Thread Starter
Former Vendor of MBWorld
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,513
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From: In a box
W211 E55
No problem with the questions, J.
1) ASP is running silky-smooth.
2) Bolt was torqued to spec + 90 degrees, requiring a healthy cheater bar.
3) Outer ring was removed, reinstalled. Bolts torqued to 17ft/lbs. Crank bolt cannot be reused.
4) VRP pulley came off normally, ASP went on normally.
5) Crank Key was inspected, no visible damage.
6) I'm not sure what seal you're referring to.
1) ASP is running silky-smooth.
2) Bolt was torqued to spec + 90 degrees, requiring a healthy cheater bar.
3) Outer ring was removed, reinstalled. Bolts torqued to 17ft/lbs. Crank bolt cannot be reused.
4) VRP pulley came off normally, ASP went on normally.
5) Crank Key was inspected, no visible damage.
6) I'm not sure what seal you're referring to.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 418
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08 MB
Slightly off topic.
I have been involved in the performance industry for several years now and it sucks that most forums on the internet are automotive related for people to air their "bad" experiences or "displeasure" yet many times it may not be product fault but if it is that's life as many things are and hopefully the issue is resolved to make both parties happy.
How many times does a person get a faulty product from a retail store yet they return it and thousands of other customers are none the wiser and we accept it as life. A person buys an automotive performance product and shares their bad experience on the internet and now many people have this skepticism in their minds about said product. Great to be a tuner having to do extensive damage control on possible multiple forums because one or two products may be bad. Plus the tuner now may have to explain themselves to numerous people interested in said product as to why that "one" product someone mentioned on a forum didn't work.
I'm just saying put yourself in someone else shoes. I know everything I do at my day job is not perfect but then again the HR department isn't making a public announcement that I screwed up on so and so project.
I have been involved in the performance industry for several years now and it sucks that most forums on the internet are automotive related for people to air their "bad" experiences or "displeasure" yet many times it may not be product fault but if it is that's life as many things are and hopefully the issue is resolved to make both parties happy.
How many times does a person get a faulty product from a retail store yet they return it and thousands of other customers are none the wiser and we accept it as life. A person buys an automotive performance product and shares their bad experience on the internet and now many people have this skepticism in their minds about said product. Great to be a tuner having to do extensive damage control on possible multiple forums because one or two products may be bad. Plus the tuner now may have to explain themselves to numerous people interested in said product as to why that "one" product someone mentioned on a forum didn't work.
I'm just saying put yourself in someone else shoes. I know everything I do at my day job is not perfect but then again the HR department isn't making a public announcement that I screwed up on so and so project.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,359
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ML550
What distinguishes the pulley issue, though, is the fact that a $900, $1,500 or $2,500 pulley has the ability to destroy a $40,000 engine if the part is defective or if its installed incorrectly. If you've been reading this forum for a while, then you must know that these have been the two primary pulley issues reported - improper installation and defective pulleys. But the vast majority of posts have been about the nice increase in performance a pulley provide on the 55 engine.
My choice would be continue to hear the bad news with the good news. We all can make more informed judgments then.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Carefree az usa
2020 S560,14 ml350, 03 sl55, silver, pano, slr cams, evo headers, lsd, 2019 s63 cab.
i took the asp off and replaced, with brian s help, my pulley with the vrp. i can see a slight wobble in the pulley at idle. victor said it would disappear at higher rpm's. i think it would only disappear because of the visual illusion at higher rpms. anyhow i have been watching it and still see the wobble and haven't had any problems with belts yet. i will keep posted as i watch. i also have the belt wrap kit. it squeeks at start up and eventually goes away. i am still waiting for a decision from someone how to get the squeek to stop. would be nice to here from vrp what they think is a reasonable visual wobble. thanks
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2004 E55 AMG and 2003 C320 4Matic Miss my 993 Turbo above!!
HONESTY is the best policy..........
Wayne,
Thanks for bringing this to the attention of other board members. If it was an ASP, VRP or Kleemann, I want to know about it. For too long, folks like us have not been entirely honest about the performance of modifications.
We all need to hear the good and bad. Too many times on this board we have heard about HP increases about certain products when in fact there have been issues with those products. Not bashing any one tuner, but ALL OF US need to hear about issues.
Our engines are too phuckin expensive to TOAST on a 600-2500 Pulley or 1500 ECU tune.
Thanks again for being HONEST with us Wayne. I am sure Victor and VRP will resolve this satisfactorily otherwise we will have another ADAM EVOTECH failure.
Thanks for bringing this to the attention of other board members. If it was an ASP, VRP or Kleemann, I want to know about it. For too long, folks like us have not been entirely honest about the performance of modifications.
We all need to hear the good and bad. Too many times on this board we have heard about HP increases about certain products when in fact there have been issues with those products. Not bashing any one tuner, but ALL OF US need to hear about issues.
Our engines are too phuckin expensive to TOAST on a 600-2500 Pulley or 1500 ECU tune.
Thanks again for being HONEST with us Wayne. I am sure Victor and VRP will resolve this satisfactorily otherwise we will have another ADAM EVOTECH failure.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: London, UK
No longer stock '06 E55, A3 3.2 Quattro, GLE 400d, R107 280SL, Golf Polo
i took the asp off and replaced, with brian s help, my pulley with the vrp. i can see a slight wobble in the pulley at idle. victor said it would disappear at higher rpm's. i think it would only disappear because of the visual illusion at higher rpms. anyhow i have been watching it and still see the wobble and haven't had any problems with belts yet. i will keep posted as i watch. i also have the belt wrap kit. it squeeks at start up and eventually goes away. i am still waiting for a decision from someone how to get the squeek to stop. would be nice to here from vrp what they think is a reasonable visual wobble. thanks
The belt wrap kit maybe pulling too hard on the pulley causing the wobble. Does it wobble without the belt on?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,174
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From: London, UK
No longer stock '06 E55, A3 3.2 Quattro, GLE 400d, R107 280SL, Golf Polo
Slightly off topic.
I have been involved in the performance industry for several years now and it sucks that most forums on the internet are automotive related for people to air their "bad" experiences or "displeasure" yet many times it may not be product fault but if it is that's life as many things are and hopefully the issue is resolved to make both parties happy.
How many times does a person get a faulty product from a retail store yet they return it and thousands of other customers are none the wiser and we accept it as life. A person buys an automotive performance product and shares their bad experience on the internet and now many people have this skepticism in their minds about said product. Great to be a tuner having to do extensive damage control on possible multiple forums because one or two products may be bad. Plus the tuner now may have to explain themselves to numerous people interested in said product as to why that "one" product someone mentioned on a forum didn't work.
I'm just saying put yourself in someone else shoes. I know everything I do at my day job is not perfect but then again the HR department isn't making a public announcement that I screwed up on so and so project.
I have been involved in the performance industry for several years now and it sucks that most forums on the internet are automotive related for people to air their "bad" experiences or "displeasure" yet many times it may not be product fault but if it is that's life as many things are and hopefully the issue is resolved to make both parties happy.
How many times does a person get a faulty product from a retail store yet they return it and thousands of other customers are none the wiser and we accept it as life. A person buys an automotive performance product and shares their bad experience on the internet and now many people have this skepticism in their minds about said product. Great to be a tuner having to do extensive damage control on possible multiple forums because one or two products may be bad. Plus the tuner now may have to explain themselves to numerous people interested in said product as to why that "one" product someone mentioned on a forum didn't work.
I'm just saying put yourself in someone else shoes. I know everything I do at my day job is not perfect but then again the HR department isn't making a public announcement that I screwed up on so and so project.
If someone suspects there is an issue should they not say anything?
Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 171
Likes: 0
From: Upstate NY
W211 E55
I could be wrong, but ANY wobble at ANY speed does not seem right. These cars came "wobble-free" from the factory. Shouldn't they stay that way with a simple pulley upgrade, regardless of size??
Thanks for the informative post Wayne and thanks to MB for making the pulley a "visable part" that we are all able to monitor with the naked eye.
Thanks for the informative post Wayne and thanks to MB for making the pulley a "visable part" that we are all able to monitor with the naked eye.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 418
Likes: 1
08 MB
I guess if you are happy that even 1-2 of your products are faulty then yes, I suppose you are right. Furthermore this does not seem to be an isolated case either. Whatever the reason for the wobble is (and if its material or not) I think what most people would want to know is if the unit is performing properly and good to use if it does wobble.
If someone suspects there is an issue should they not say anything?
If someone suspects there is an issue should they not say anything?
What I am saying is being in the automotive world is a pain in the *** as there are forums galore about everything and anything which doesn't apply to most other products we buy.
There is a fine line IMO about how things should be handled. As "Hammer Down" mentioned maybe talk to VRP and have them make a bulletin if there are numerous cases that "may" cause issues and then take it to the forum yourself if your requests are not being taken as serious as you deem them to be.
Keep in mind as I mentioned above I have been in the automotive performance field for a number of years and have seen many cases where people swear they did everything right and ends up "not" being the case.
I'm not saying VRP is right or wrong in this instance and am just speaking in general terms.
Banned
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 3,797
Likes: 2
From: Richmond Hill, Ontario
2003 E55 AMG
I haven't said anything about this because I am still waiting to lay eyes on the pulley. Since the time the issue was reported I haven't seen any pics, or held the pulley in my hands.
I issued a refund site-unseen for the pulley and asked it be sent back so I could have it inspected and figure out if the issue is installation or product. If it's installation, I will deal with CPT on it. If it's product, then I will go back to the manufacturer and find out what went wrong with it.
It's been travelling for a few days and hopefully it will be here today.
Once I see it I will figure out what is going on.
A few points:
I will get to the bottom of it. Once I figure out what happened I will deal with the appropriate party. Like always, everything will be shared. Last thing I want is anyone to have a problem with something as critical as a crank pulley.
I issued a refund site-unseen for the pulley and asked it be sent back so I could have it inspected and figure out if the issue is installation or product. If it's installation, I will deal with CPT on it. If it's product, then I will go back to the manufacturer and find out what went wrong with it.
It's been travelling for a few days and hopefully it will be here today.
Once I see it I will figure out what is going on.
A few points:
- 20 pullies were all made at the same time so they were batched together (trying to rule out a bad batch). 5 of them went to LET, 2 of those went to LET customers and both were installed at CPT in Chicago. The other 3 went to Sunil's customers and my customers. The remaining 15 were sent out to other customers.
- Outside of this report that Wayne mentioned and the other LET customer car I have never been told about a problem with respect to these pullies throwing belts or having any issues.
- These pullies have been out on the road since 11/30/2007. To-date no one has had a problem with them other than this reported case.
I will get to the bottom of it. Once I figure out what happened I will deal with the appropriate party. Like always, everything will be shared. Last thing I want is anyone to have a problem with something as critical as a crank pulley.
Administrator
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: THE Orange County, California
2024 C8 Z06- 2025 BMW CS- 2022 Porsche 992 GTS
My experience, which dates back to when pulleys first came out for the E55K, was that wobbling pulleys was an installer issue.
I am not absolving the manufacturer here but the last 4 wobblers I saw were all part of a botched install. The owners claimed it was done right but after much more research there were steps or processes clearly missed by the installer.
Dont know what happened here, just my 2 pieces of copper.
I am not absolving the manufacturer here but the last 4 wobblers I saw were all part of a botched install. The owners claimed it was done right but after much more research there were steps or processes clearly missed by the installer.
Dont know what happened here, just my 2 pieces of copper.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Salt Lake City (but not Morm)
2003 E55 & 2014 GL550
I issued a refund site-unseen for the pulley and asked it be sent back so I could have it inspected and figure out if the issue is installation or product. If it's installation, I will deal with CPT on it. If it's product, then I will go back to the manufacturer and find out what went wrong with it.
You reading this other tuners?????
