Harmonic Balancer gone bad...happen to anyone else? [MERGE]

[kilurv8]

THis has happened on both of the talons that I have owned (94 TSI awd and my 1997 TSI awd). It also happened to my buddies 1993 ESi. The rubber in the crank pulley just gets old and seperates from the outside of the pully. I can change one out in like 10 minutes because I have changed so many. Good luck.

 

[germain101]

it's usually more of a problem with 2g's because there is more rubber to seperate than the 1g...it happened to me as well...

 

[koreanpersuasio]

ok. the dealership told me that this never happens..so i got scared.

 

[germain101]

ya, the dealer told me that they never see any cars come in with crankwalk...i explained to him what happens, with crank senser and all, and he says, "oh ya, we see that all the time, we just change the crank senser"....wonder how long that lasts...

 

[koreanpersuasio]

really? i just had the dealership replace the sensor thats rite under the timing belt..its a crank shaft sensor...are we talkin bout the same thing?

 

[germain101]

were you unable to start or drive your car before they replaced it???what did they say happened to the original senser???

 

[koreanpersuasio]

yep! exactly. 2 days after i bought the car, it didnt start. they first tightened the battery cable..and told me that was the problem. i said that cant be the problem. the very next day the car died again! so they had to tow it back. this time they said the sensor was crushed..so they replaced it. now they have the car back..cuz the a/c belt broke..and the engine idles like sh@#$% and the timing belt cover was broken..prolly broke it when they replaced the sensor. so they were gonna put the new belt on, and put the new timing belt cover on, then they told me that the harmonic balancer is bad. so ! hehhehe

 

[germain101]

if that car has any kind of warrenty USE IT...tell them that you want the end play on the crank checked to see if it is within spec...i personaly wouldn't take their word for it if they say it is...i would want to see it for myself...chances are, the thrust bearing is toast...let me ask you this, have you ever had any problem with the clutch peddle sticking to the floor or feeling like mush when you take a left habd turn???if yes, then i think that backs up the crank walk theory...sorry man...

 

[koreanpersuasio]

no i havent had any of the clutch problems..boy i hope i dont have anymore. do you know how much the harmonic balancer costs? is it a lot..or is it not that much. unfortuneatly there is no warranty..but i bought it about 2 1/2 mos ago..so i am hoping that since this was a prexisting thing..and it definetly affects the driveablity, that it should be covered. i hope. man..this sucks

 

[germain101]

make sure you have them check the end play on the crank...shouldn't be a problem if they are already pulling the pulley off...

 

[snipe99999]

I just had to replace my harmonic balancer. It was like 300 from the dealer. He told me it was because the belts were over tightened. I started a thread when this happened to mine as well here is the link to it and what every one had to say. This should help with any questions.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2580

 

[koreanpersuasio]

$300! ouch..well, lets hope my bargaining skills are still good. they already did $900 of maintenance to this car (replaced ais motor, front supension items, crank sensor, and diagnostic time) and i only had to pay $100...after talking with the manager for over 1 hour. I think the harmonic balancer should be covered then under the initial warranty since it is a driveablility issue correct? the service ppl told me i cant drive my car till the harm bal gets replaced.

 

[snipe99999]

Yeah they told me that if I drove it before it was replaced and it broke it would prolly take the timing belt with it.

 

[fivestardsm]

I'm still pretty new here, but i've gone through a loooot of post, and even helped a couple of you out there with some problems (I hope) but I still haven't seen any one ask about the harmonic balancers!! I have 5 talons, 3 lasers and 1 eclipse (just got it), and iv'e had 4 balancers come apart on me. Has anyone else had this problem? Or am I the unlucky sucker that buys all the cars with the bad ones? Any way I found an easy fix if anyones got the same problems, or cares! Just ask.



Steve.

 

[nvmygsx]

i lost my dsm to one of those a while ago, it sucked. The only fix i have seen people do is, they just order the pulley kits (300 dollars later) i am just going to order a new OEM one, and call it good, the old one lasted 110,00 miles, the new one should last me a year or so... Let me know that fix that you have found. I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[jay-d]

yeaaaaa! man i had the same problem.. stupid balancers.. hehee.. i just got an OEM one too.. but i thikn next time ima get the lighter pulley's? ur not the only one!!

 

[RamenPride]

yeah, over time, the rubber that connects the two pieces deteriorates and the crank pulley falls/flies apart. trust me, you're not the only person that's had that happen.

as far as just getting a solid one-piece underdrive pulley, there are a lot of mixed thoughts on those (since they don't have a harmonic balancer)

 

[nvmygsx]

I heard that Buschur did some testing on a super duper (spelling?) Harmonic Balancer, and they made a good one, that still underdrove the accessories.

FIVESTARDSM what was the fix you found? i have 3 broken balancers, between my friends and I.

 

[RamenPride]

Originally posted by nvmygsx
I heard that Buschur did some testing on a super duper (spelling?) Harmonic Balancer, and they made a good one, that still underdrove the accessories.

yeah, but it costs around $300 if I remember correctly

 

[fivestardsm]

Ok here we go.. What i did was took a good balancer and had it pinned sound's easy, no? All you have to do is take the balancer off and either take it to a fabshop, or a machine shop, or repair shop, Someone that has a drill-press with a vice. Have them drill a hole between the center groves and put a 1/2 " or 3/4" roll pin in the hole. Make sure the hole goes through the outer pully,the rubber, and into the balancer hub. I drilled mine all the way through it just comes out the otherside, No big deal! Sorry that it's been so long since i did this, I don't remember the size but its not hard to figure out. As soon as i get batteries for my dig. camera, ill see about taking a pic so you can see how it looks done!!! Also make sure the hole is staight!! Dah, right?

 

[AWDriven]

When you pin it, aren't you eliminating the lateral movement. It sounds like a good idea, but I would probably slot it so it can move laterally.

AWDriven.

 

[fivestardsm]

Originally posted by AWDriven
When you pin it, aren't you eliminating the lateral movement. It sounds like a good idea, but I would probably slot it so it can move laterally.

AWDriven.

I guess you could slot it,but it's not going to make a big difference because when you start to get the latteral movement is when they start to come apart. Look at it as a cheap solid balancer. This is done only as personal experience, and no problems after 2 years and 20Kmiles.

 

[fivestardsm]

Ok. I remembered... It's a 3/32 x 3/4" roll pin ...

 

[Beemer]

Tell ya what i have seen. IF YOU OVERTIGHTEN YOUR ACCESSORY BELTS THIS WILL HAPPEN EVERY TIME! Sorry about the shout, but i have seen around 20 of these, including one of my own, go south in the past year. With mine, i got lazy and instead of replacing a squealing belt since it would not stop screaming when the a/c came on (oddly it was the alternator belt squealing from the load the compressor clutch put on it) when it would not stop squealing at the proper spring tension (they make a special spring tension guage for fan belts), i just cranked it down. It shut up, but my lower pulley (balancer) was wobbling pretty bad afterwards. Every single one I saw fail so far failed either during a high rpm burnout or launch, or overtightening the belts. Most were a combination of the 2
beemer
beemer's racing engines

 

[fivestardsm]

That's good to know !! so far I haven't had the pinned one go out!