OK I am pissed again. I need to stop cutting corners on price because I always get screwed. I purchased this a/c delete pulley on ebay cause it was the cheapest auction going for it. It was like $10 cheaper than the rest.

Auction was listed as a 1LE a/c delete pulley but they sent me some china piece with a plastic pulley. Did the genuine 1le piece have a plastic pulley also? Am I going to have fitment issues? I noticed the plastic pulley has drag to it a little...it doesn't feel like it spins freely or has any kind of bearings or whatever a pulley might have. I spin it by hand and it stops the second my hand lets go, not an inch further. Is this normal and am I safe using it?

 

I bought the GM one and I had the same feeling as you do about it. I think my pulley was plastic also and looked kinda wimpy. Seems to work O.K. for the 100 miles I have on it now.

 

The "real" 1LE pully is plastic. A good bearing should not "freewheel" like you think. The bearing is greased and has rubber seals to keep it in and dirt out.

The difference between the chinese version and the real one is in the aluminium bracket, the mount pads are too thin or thick misalighning the pully.

Check the alighnment of the belt on the pullys after install if you suspect it is not the real 1LE assembly.

 

The "real, live" 1995, original, from the factory 1LE pulley is metal.

 

Ahh, yes. Then the number was superceded to the plastic pully some years later, just not sure when. I purchased mine through a dealership in late 2003 and it was plastic by that time.

 

Yep its a metal pulley on the genuine 1LE setup.

 

I've had over 10,000 miles on my plastic A/C delete pulley, and its still running strong. The last 1500 miles have been at 600 RWHP, and still no complaints or issues.

 

OK I guess im ok. As long as this china piece has the "mount pads" are at proper length.

 

I don't know if you did any research, but I have seen posts on this site saying the Ebay a/c delete pulleys were junk and prone to failure. I would have bought the GM part, myself.

 

I know shoebox. I thought I was purchasing the GM part. I would never buy an ebay part for any car of any type.

What exactly does 1le mean because the auction said 1le ac delete pulley so I assumed it was the gm one with the canadian maple leaf on it!

 

1LE is the GM RPO code for the what people consider the autocross or road race package. It used to mean a lack of most convenience or power options (ex. air conditioning), though some of those conveniences were able to be added on later models.

 

Ah thanks. I requested a refund anyway from the seller. His auction advertised an authentic GM product, not a mock-up.