I have recently purchased '72 240 with a '73 engine. I noticed a rattling sound and found that I have an additional wheel in front of the wheel comming out of the engine that does not have a belt on it. (Possibly for an AC unit thet the 72 doesn't have)

This wheel is very loose, but not loose enough to pull off by hand.

My question is this; How is it supposed to be attached? A center bolt? There are also two holes that line up with two nipples on the wheel that connects to the engine. Are those possibly screw holes.

And would it be better to just remove it?

Or does it act as a counterbalance?

I am not a mechanic by any stretch.

This is my daily driver so before I pull the radiator for access I was wondering what is supposed to hold this on. Or if it comes off while driving is it going to wreak havok on my fan belt and radiator.

Any help would be much appreciated. I have included a photo.

Holy s&$t get that thing off of there. There "should" be two small bolts (10mm head) holding it on I think the crank Damper bolt may also go thru there....you can remove the center bolt than the two smaller ones and take the extra pully off, dont forget to put the large center bolt back in with the camfer pointed toward the engine.

Thanks to Russell for your all of your assistance.

I pulled the radiator to gain better access to the pulley wheel. The two 10mm bolts were missing and the center bolt was backed out almost an inch.

I was able to remove the bolt by hand, only to find that the damper washer was missing. I will order that today.