Chrysler Repair: 1997 Concorde 3.5 crankshaft pulley, crankshaft pulley, serpentine belt

Question
Lately my 97 Concorde with a 3.5 engine has been making a squealing noise during acceleration like it has a loose fan belt, but I took it to a local repair shop and they said that the crankshaft pulley needed to be replaced because some rubber pieces supposedly wore out and the pulley is slipping, or something like that, and could fall apart.  Estimate to repair is $200-600 depending on the cost of the pulley, which they can't determine until Monday.  Does this sound legitimate?  Can the pulley wear out?

Answer
Hi George,
You could go to a dealer who has one in stock and see whether it indeed has rubber as part of its "damping" function, because the part is called a crankshaft damper. I believe this could be the case. However, it is also possible that one of the several devices that is driven by the pulley/serpentine belt is out of the plane of alignment or the tensioner of the belt could be weak or out alignment. So you might well want to get a second opinion on this before investing in that job. It looks to take several special tools for removal so you also might want to check at a dealer who is more likely to have the correct tools. The job requires removal of the top radiator support crossmember and the fan module so as to gain access to the damper. Other than that, it is use the tools to remove and install the new one.
Roland