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will a car without a harmonic balancer sound like a blown engine?

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420a talon

10+ Year Contributor
30
0
Mar 4, 2011
Lebanon, Missouri
I just bought my 95 eagle talon (po said it had a rebuilt engine) and i decided to see if it even started well it doesn't have the balancer and its got a slapping noise coming from the motor. it looks like or smokes coming from the tail pipe but idk since its cold

UPDATE:the PO mustve used milk instead of oil because thats all i see (JK) but there must be water in the oil cause its pure white
 
i'm wondering if it will knock due to a bad head gasket? but i also wonder if the damage has already been done
 
I would say its deffinately not a rebuilt engine! Hope you can shove your foot up the guys @##
 
but he said he rebuilt it but the head gasket did not seat right and thats whats causing the water to leak into the car

i sure hope these engines from these cars aren't too expensive. sounds like i might be needing a new one
 
The "smoke" coming from the exhaust is probably steam since it's cold out. Condensation builds up in the exhaust as it warms up then evaporates. It's never a good idea to run an engine without the harmonic balancer on it, but I don't thiink it would cause a slapping noise from just not being there. Get a new balancer and put it on. Its easy to do. The only special tool you'll need is a torque wrench. As stated by someone in your other thread the balancer on the 420a isn't held on by 4 bolts. That is the one on a 4g63. Yours is held on by 1 big center bolt. Slide the new balancer on the crank, you may have to turn it some untill it slides on then put the bolt in and torque it down. This is why you need the tourque wrench because the tourque spec on that bolt is over 100 lbs-ft. Don't remember the exact spec. Also, you shouldn't start multiple threads for the same topic. Just fyi. Good luck!
 
Hard to tell if starting it with milkshake oil damaged anything. I had a ford minivan that lost a intake gasket and milkshaked the oil, i stopped then engine immediately, but when i started the car to pull onto the tow truck that 2 seconds smoked a rod bearing.
 
Wow. Well think about this. The car probably over heated due to no harmonic balancer causing the water pump to not do it's job.

Edit: This is false information.
 
By what you have descibed I wouldn't hold my breath on the motor not being completly destroyed but the best of luck to you.
 
420a's water pump is timing belt driven. To the OP that sucks tho. Sorry to hear it. I didn't see the other posts before I posted. The smoke in the exhaust is probably burning coolant/oil not condensation. Hope everything turns out ok.
 
420a's water pump is timing belt driven. To the OP that sucks tho. Sorry to hear it. I didn't see the other posts before I posted. The smoke in the exhaust is probably burning coolant/oil not condensation. Hope everything turns out ok.

I thought it was. Couldn't remember the setup on the 420a I did a little work with.

Anyways I'm outta here. 3rd time I've given false info on 420a's.
 
we will see once the head gasket is replaced. i dont want to spend 1000+ to a mechanic to fix a head gasket on a blown motor. that would jsut be rediculous. Would it be cheaper just to buy a junked engine? THe stratus and Neon have the same engone as my car. if i replace the engien im saying F it and getting a 4g36
 
Well either way, on a 420a the water pump is run off the timing belt so the balancer has nothing to do with the water pump. I am guessing the motor wasn't rebuilt, or if it weren't, the head gasket probably wasn't done right. So the coolant getting into the engine oil would thin out the oil and make it knock. Just for the hell of it go buy enough oil to do two oil changes and two oil filters just cheap crap. Drain the old oil and change the filter, fill it up and start and run it for about 10 min. Drain again and change the filter and oil go drive it around and maybe change it again just to see what it does, it wouldn't hurt just to see if you didn't have to swap out the motor.

good luck
 
i'm not even starting the car until i have the balancer and the head gasket fixed at least. if it is blown i just need a bottom end. He said he replaced the rods. pistons and rings
 
my first dsm ever and this shit happens LOL I own a 1973 dodge dart swinger its my drag baby and she's easy as heck to work on. a head gasket and HB on the ol 440 would take a day tops.....
 
Yeah, well if you know how to do your own work you could do it in a day easily, My first dsm was a 95 420a also and I did a head gasket on mine and ported and polished the head and re lapped the valves. I put a cold air and full header back exhaust on it. Started it and let it run for a bout and hour and it locked up on me. So i took the valve cover off and found that the head wasn't getting any oil so the cams locked up in the head. So i ended up pulling the head found out what the problem was. Bought the new head and ported polished and re lapped the valves all over again and put it back on in the matter of 2 days maybe 3 all together because I didn't work on it all at once so about a good day just to swap out the head and you'll be good.
 
A headgasket on a 420a will only take you an afternoon. I have done it before. They are very easy to do.
 
Well basically you start off with removing the air cleaner and all that junk on top like the wires and exc. then on the jack the car up and remove the bottom intake manni stay and would be a good idea at this time to remove the motor mount and all that good stuff and the timing cover. Then find a pin that will fit in the tensioner and then remove that now the belt will be loose. Remove the belt then take the valve cover off then take the cams out( you don't have to its just easier) then take the head bolts out in a pattern start from the out side in. At this time you should have the exhaust removed already. Then you should be clear to take of the head. Then get some way to clean the surfaces of the head and block. Get a stright edge and check the block and head for straightness. If you cant do this take it to a machine shop to get checked out. If all checks out go a head and get your new gasket and put it on the block. MAKE SURE YOU GET NEW HEAD BOLTS. Set the head back on the block and make sure the head is sitting flat on the block there will be two doll pins that will line this up for you. Put your bolts back in ( I suggest getting a CHILTON) or looking it up the torque and procedure. Put your cams back in and new cam seals and gears. Put the NEW!! belt on starting at the crank and working your way around the water pump, and making sure your cam gears are lined up, go around the exhaust cam then the intake cam and take the slack up and put it around the NEW PULLEYS. Then look up the torque which I think is 12 foot pounds if I remember and put your tensioner back on and as your torquing the pulley push up on the tensioner untill it touches the tensioner arm and have some one hold the torque wrench and tighten the bolts on the tensioner and let the torque wrench go and pull the pin out of the tensioner and your done put every thing else back on the way you took it apart its very simple
 
Don't listen to the stupid 4G63 guys, who once again, should keep their noses out of 420A posts. 420A guys have been running aluminum under-driven pulleys for years with no problems. In fact, most 4G63 guys use them with no problem, but a handful of people experienced an issue that may or may not be (not proven) related to an aluminum under-driven pulley. That's a story for another day though.

4G63 informations is not related to 420A information and this pulley had nothing to do with your issue, and it is a good power adder that most N/A 420A guys can actually feel the difference.
 
Don't listen to the stupid 4G63 guys, who once again, should keep their noses out of 420A posts. 420A guys have been running aluminum under-driven pulleys for years with no problems. In fact, most 4G63 guys use them with no problem, but a handful of people experienced an issue that may or may not be (not proven) related to an aluminum under-driven pulley. That's a story for another day though.

4G63 informations is not related to 420A information and this pulley had nothing to do with your issue, and it is a good power adder that most N/A 420A guys can actually feel the difference.


Some of those "stupid 4G63 guys" have experience with the 420A engine.

Now if someone is just spouting shit that is one thing, but it is stupid to assume that someone who drives a 4G63 powered car knows nothing about a 420A.
 
I don't recall seeing you talking about the dampener. Guilty thoughts?

No guilty thoughts here. And I posted that because he made it sound like it would take longer to do than it would on his little drag car.

But don't worry I did post about his dampener in one of his other three threads he has about this same exact issue. LOL
 
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