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Walking home earlier and a I heard a tick-tick-tick sound behind me but getting closer. Thought it was a cyclist on the pavement so moved over to one side. Then heard a small metallic clatter. Looked round and found what looks like a bit of engine had hit the fence. Looked up and down the road and no cars had stopped. How far would someone get without this:
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Looks like a suspension top mount?
If it is then unlikely to have come off a car without it being very apparent! My vote is on junk that's been dumped/fallen out of a car whilst being carried.
ow far would someone get without this:
Is this a sweepstake?
Is that a bearing in the middle? If so, it appears to be a wheel of some sort - maybe off a timing belt or aux belt 'thing'? Suspect if it is then it would probably be terminal...
Aware the above sentences show my ability to guess at something but also give clarity of how much knowledge I don't have!
Looks like an aux belt roller to me.
Yep, centre is a bearing, outer looks like a belt runs on it. Maybe a tensioner.
I think it's an alternator pulley. You could still drive without it until the battery runs out, which would take I dunno, 15 mins maybe?
Auxilary belt roller. If its just the alternator and power steering, probably 20 miles plus. If its for the water pump as well, maybe 5 miles ( I know that through experience!).
Image search threw this up:
Loose ball bearings in belly pan? - Page 2 - AudiWorld Forums
Actually yes a tensioner roller is more likely - looking at the state of it it probably seized causing it to unscrew itself or snap the stud. A seized alternator pulley would not do that, it would just cause a but more vibration in the car.
Could (based on the shiny ends of the rivets looking like they held something until they sheared off) be a harmonic balancer, a part bolted to the end of the crankshaft with a small flywheel isolated by a rubber damper. Keeps the vibrations at the non-flywheel end of the engine in check. I which case the engine would run probably forever, maybe with a bit more vibration at certain rpm and maybe wearing out the main bearings a bit sooner but maybe not quick enough to actually ever be a problem?
Either way you'd think someone would notice as a big lump of metal got flung around the engine bay before falling out.
Might have fallen off a car days ago and sat in the gutter until another car flicked it up onto the pavement.