I discovered that the front of this pulley was bent earlier tonight when I was inspecting my belts for my trip. Could this cause misfires or shaking at idle, or any other issues? Surprisingly, it doesn't appear to be damaging the belt though...
Must've happened when the prev owner put the engine in.

 

You should replace it ASAP

 

I definitely plan to. I just wondered if this could cause misfires? I feel like it might screw with the ESS's monitoring of the flywheel since it's the same piece

 

It's not actually the same piece, the sprocket that the ESS monitors is actually separate. The pulley assembly is 3 pieces...

With that said, I still would replace it soon, I doubt it will cause misfires but it will accelerate wear on your front main seal as well as the bearings in the forward rotor if the shaft is deflecting due to an imbalance. I'm not a mechanic but I would say that the amount of bend in that pulley shouldn't cause an issue if you drive it until you acquire a replacement, just stop driving it if any other symptoms seem to crop up(misfires, excessive vibration at any particular RPM).

 

Thanks for the input. The thing is, I do have misfires but no one can figure out what is causing them. I have tried everything and I saw this and wondered if this was the issue. I'll get it replaced and see if it makes a difference. I don't think it's something I would try to do, even though I'm great with mechanics and I do all my other maintenance. I think it would be too difficult to get the belts on and off and everything

 

You can definitely do it yourself if you are mechanically inclined at all. There are two 14mm bolts to loosen the alternator and that belt, then there is a 17mm lock bolt on the idler pulley and then you loosen the bolt on top of it to loosen the other belt. The pulley assembly is held on by four small bolts(8mm if I remember correctly) and the assembly will come off in three pieces. It only goes on one way but trying to keep the assembly together so the sprocket doesn't get flipped over will lessen your frustration when trying to get them to all line back up again.

 

Thanks for the info. That sounds plenty easy for me to do. Plus I won't have to pay labor. I would've felt stupid paying labor for something that easy.

Thanks again

Edit: What would that pulley be called?

 

Oh, I should mention that you can get them out without pulling anything else but taking the airbox and battery tray out makes life a lot easier(there are two hidden bolts on the left of the battery tray between it and the ECU under the coolant line btw).

 

Oh ok thanks