Josh Saul
07-01-2016, 4:30 AM
I'm the owner of a Griz G0771 hybrid saw since about this time last year (Good saw, crappy fence). Woodworking is mostly a summer activity for me, and by the time the "YOU GUYS STOP USING THE SAW UNTIL YOU REPLACE THE PULLEY!" notice came, I was basically done with my projects for the season. When the replacement pulleys shipped out, I found a few posts around the web by people who had completed the repair, but they all said that the motor pulley on their saws were super tight, to the point where maybe the repair wasn't needed in the first place. So I put it off. I ran a few feet of stock through it here and there, but nothing major. Then I began to notice a new sound from the machine. It wasn't scary, but it was different from the quiet, powerful hum it had always made. Kind of squeaky. So I shut things down and took a closer look. Sure enough, the motor pulley had begun to creep away from the shoulder it rests against. When I removed the motor, the pulley slipped right off after loosening the hex screw. There were no gobs of red locktite as others had reported. Maybe not all the saws had the oversized pulley issue, but mine certainly did, and I'm glad I fixed it. I encourage you do do the same.
One piece of advice for people who haven't done the repair yet: if you don't have one (and you probably don't, because it's huge) go get a 24mm socket & wrench to remove the motor mounting bolt. The $20 total it might send you back is worth it. And if you do have a problem getting the pulley off, go to an auto parts store (probably the same one where you got the giant socket) and get a cheap gear puller. I've seen videos of people banging on the pulley with hammers and pry bars, breaking out a torch, etc, etc, when the right tool for the job was a $5 gear puller.
One piece of advice for people who haven't done the repair yet: if you don't have one (and you probably don't, because it's huge) go get a 24mm socket & wrench to remove the motor mounting bolt. The $20 total it might send you back is worth it. And if you do have a problem getting the pulley off, go to an auto parts store (probably the same one where you got the giant socket) and get a cheap gear puller. I've seen videos of people banging on the pulley with hammers and pry bars, breaking out a torch, etc, etc, when the right tool for the job was a $5 gear puller.