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

[SRiz]

yeah i replaced most parts on the front case timing side... should acually up the reliablitiy from all the crap i put on ... o well all I need now is forged pistons!!

 

[Gs Dewd]

I had mine fall in 2 pieces backing out of the driveway. I had a spare so all is good.

 

[CurtTSI]

I had one separate, causing the A/C belt to be stuffed inside the timing belt cover. It jumped timing belt by 5 teeth, destroying about ever moving part in the head.

 

[Coup D E'Tat]

Holy crap, the harmonic balancer made the head come off the car!



In all seriousness, though, if your crank bolt came out, it probably wasn't that tight to begin with. My big Craftsman 1/2" impact wrench would back one out.

 

[Mitsu RacerX]

My balancer came apart going 85 mph which made it throw a belt and overheat my car which warped my head...

 

[dsmpokolm]

Just a few quick questions from all of the bad experiences. The same problem just happened to me. My harmonic balancer seperated into two pieces. I know how to pull the crank pulley off just dont exactly know how to get it back on. Anybody with experience and has done it before, can you please let me know.
Thankyou!

 

[No_Skillz]

Crank pulley is simply held on by four bolts. Unbolt to take off, bolt on to put back on. To access the pulle you need to pull the plastic shield on the driver's side wheel well.

 

[tallywacker]

Ive had 3 of this things seperate on me because i replaced them with jankyard ones. I was lucky everytime and that was the only thing that happened to it

 

[knighteclipse1]

At first, I thought the Talon I purchased had crankwalk, but as I started looking around, I realized it was exactly what your going through, I guess as bad as it is, it could have been worse. Very interesting thread.

 

[spoold]

Ok so after researching/searching on here as to why my belts are squealing so badly, i decided to let you guys maybe help me here, since i have no idea what to look for on this balancer.

I DO NOT have an a/c belt.

Powersteering belt seems to be tight (could the PS belt be the culprit?)

I BEILEVE the main alternator belt is the problem, since it has been eating through half of my belt. I put a new OEM belt on it and now it squeals even louder than the half eaten one!!

I had a professional shop do a 180$ Job in Decemeber on the harmonic balancer (it kept throwing belts, threw my alternator belt off on the highway) They said they replaced the harmonic balancer but it sure doesnt look like it.

Anyways, if someone could chime in as to if they see anything wrong with my harmonic balancer, or if theres anotehr reason i didnt find in my searches (SOOOO MANY belt squeal threads!) as to why my belts are squealing, please. let me know. This is the loudest squeal you'll ever hear!

pics of said balancer:

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[spoold]

Also, the balancer, or something.. is eating the inside part of the belt (my last belt was fine on the drivers side, half eaten on the passenger side of the belt)

 

[steve]

I have a real hard time believing that dampner is 6 months old.

Is that oil dripping off of it?

Steve

 

[brodiedehass]

Check your water pump pulley. I have commonly seen that people put them on backwards and it does make a difference beacuse they are offset. Also to check you harmonic balancer for slippage between the inner and outer ring use some paint to make a mark. I the lines dont line up after driving that is your problem.

 

[gsx rated98]

My dumb A$$ did this ^^^^

i was eating belts like it was funny, Couldnt figure out WTF i did, one day i was hell bent on fixing it, i thought the alt bracket was bent. But I had the pully flipped. Will make belts start to squeal almost imediatly after you put a new one on.

 

[Denji]

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I dont mean to move in on your thread, what is leaking in these pictures, thats is similar to the oil leak im trying to diagnose, but mine doesnt get on my harmonic balancer.. so maybe or maybe not.

To make it fair i will comment on your harmonic balancer. if you take off the balancer you can check the rubber dampers, ive seen 2 actually fall apart.

 

[j0nathanl3e]

my belts have been squeaking for the longest time. when it first started to squeel, it would go away after like 10seconds of idling...but it has started to progressively get worse. ive tried everything to get it to go away: 1.belt dressing 2.tighten the belts 3.loosen the belts

im really embarrased to drive my car now....everyone looks at me like im stupid....the belts were changed about 26K miles ago. is that enough time for the belts to wear out this bad? i havent gotten the harmonic balancer checked out yet tho.

the timing belt, alternator belt, and a/c belts are bad for sure. ps belt doesnt seem to be the culprit. how would i know if the bearings are the ones causing problems?

i need all the help i can get, if i need to buy another belt, ineed to get it quick...no more of this avoiding eye contact with other drivers.

 

[Apeximprt2nr]

First things first, check the harmonic balancer. If the dampener is fine, try sprinkling some Ajax on the grooves side of th belts as the car is runnning. That helps with squeeling a good amount.

 

[brodiedehass]

Here are my suggestions:
Check your water pump pulley. I have commonly seen that people put them on backwards and it does make a difference beacuse they are offset. Also to check you harmonic balancer for slippage between the inner and outer ring use some paint to make a mark. I the lines dont line up after driving that is your problem.

 

[j0nathanl3e]

yeah, ill get the harmonic balancer checked out asap. is there an easy way to check it without a professional takin a look?

today on the way home from a friends house, my car started to bog and slightly sputter for a second at around 4k ish when boost came on. it only happens rarely. would the belts have anything to do with this? or am i talking about a whole another issue?

thanks for the help

 

[spoold]

Not a problem ^^^ im wondering the same thing!

And yes, im currently in talks with the "business" who charged the 180$ to "replace" my harmonic balancer 3 months ago ( not 6).

This company definetly just threw a used one on for sure.

As per the belt squeal, the "flipped" or "reversed" idea you guys gave me was 100% correct, this "business" couldnt even install it correctly. It was flipped.

Any one have any input on the oil leakage around the harmonic balancer??

 

[92redman]

Any one have any input on the oil leakage around the harmonic balancer??

Unfortunatly it could be many things, the design of the engine cover causes any oil leaking on to it to migrate down to below the balancer. It could be as high up as the cam seals, it could be a head gasket, crank seal, oil pump shaft seal, right balancer seal. It could also be the engine cover gasket or oil pump.

 

[elementalwindx]

$180 is possibly cheap to put on a new balancer. Arnt the new balancers from the factory around $100ish? + $60-$80 for labor?

I agree that looks far from new, new wouldn't have rust on it that soon. I live at the beach and mine never rusted over for the 6 months after I replaced it and sold the car.

PS. Yea get that leak fixed whatever it is. That will slip a belt pretty easily too..

EDIT: I also agree with 92redman. Just hope its not your engine cover gasket or oil pump gasket. Thats a good 3-5 hours of work and pita too. I've never seen a engine cover gasket start leaking though w/o someone removing bolts first. So who knows.

 

[fun-flyer]

i had the same issue.which is now rectified
are you doing the work yourself,or a mechanic.
i,m hands on myself so i have a few suggestions that you may want to try to successfully get rid of the squeeling.i looked over these forums and came up with nothing but an empty wallet,
and a squeeling crapper,in vein i tried any and everything i seen posted,with no luck.drop me a private message i will send you my phone # and surely help.
sean

 

[pitbullowner_2]

this sounds retarded but i had a bad squeal and couldnt figure it out and i checked everything and replaced almost everything and then i went to change my oil i noticed that my coolant was a little low so i added some and boom no more squeeling i dont know why that would do it but you might as well try it could end up being a couple sec. check.

 

[jking29]

Check the area of the belts to see if it is wet looking also. I had this problem and it turned out to be a leaking water pump. It was seeping and getting onto the belts causing the squeel.