The sole purpose of a crankshaft pulley is to transfer the rotating energy of the crankshaft to each of the engine's powered accessories via one or more rubber belts. Because the crankshaft pulleys used by Buick are a single piece and feature no moving parts, they rarely need replacement. However, the pulley does attach to the front of the harmonic balancer. To remove the balancer, the pulley must first be removed.
Buick engines use a number of belts which surround the crankshaft pulley. At a minimum, there will only be one belt to drive the alternator, but the number of belts depends on what optional equipment the engine has, such as a power steering pump and an air conditioning compressor. These belts must be removed from the crankshaft pulley before the pulley can be removed. Each component which uses a belt has an adjusting bolt, which is used to adjust the tension of its belt. The adjusting bolt is located at the base of the component. Loosen the adjusting bolt with a wrench to loosen the tension on the belt, then pull the belt away from the crankshaft pulley.
The pulley can be removed from underneath the vehicle's hood, but it is often easier to remove the pulley from underneath the vehicle. Raise the front of the vehicle with a floor jack, then support the vehicle with two jack stands to safely access the crankshaft pulley from underneath the vehicle.
There are either three or six bolts, depending on the design of the engine, which attach the pulley to the harmonic balancer. Remove the bolts which hold the pulley to the face of the harmonic balancer with a wrench from underneath the vehicle, then pull the pulley off of the harmonic balancer to complete the process. If the pulley seems to be stuck, tap the pulley gently with a rubber mallet until it disconnects from the balancer. The mallet will provide enough force to disconnect the pulley, and the rubber is soft enough not to damage the pulley.
