dumb question

computAr

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May 25, 2002

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SoCal

Mar 3, 2004

#1

• Mar 3, 2004

• #1

where's the harmonic balancer and how can i tell if it's bad? thanks.

 

Michael Yount

Mustang Master

Apr 10, 2002

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Charlotte, NC

Mar 3, 2004

#2

• Mar 3, 2004

• #2

Follow the serpentine belt down the pulley on the bottom - the one on the end of the crankshaft. The balancer is the big round lump of steel that the bottom pulley bolts to. Signs that it is bad include engine vibrations, rubber sticking out/squeezed out of the balancer on the front or back side, wobbling balancer, ignition timing set with a light that seems to allow the car to run right, but is WAY off. To replace it - remove the belt and the lower pulley; unbolt the balancer and use a puller to pull it off the crank. Installation of the new one - slide it on, use the bolt to pull it tight (big torque on that -- 80-90 lb-ft I believe), re-attach lower pulley, put the belt back on.

 

banditmwp

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Jan 9, 2004

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Opelika/Auburn, AL

Mar 3, 2004

#3

• Mar 3, 2004

• #3

yeah, what he said

 

computAr

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May 25, 2002

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SoCal

Mar 3, 2004

#4

• Mar 3, 2004

• #4

okay so on my car, there's a piece circular piece of metal in the place that you described that seems to be attached to nothing. i can spin it around and move it back and forth and junk. that's a bad thing right?

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

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Nov 29, 1999

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Mar 4, 2004

#5

• Mar 4, 2004

• #5

the balancer has numbers on one part of it (for timing the motor). if you bump the motor around, you will find the numbers on one part of the balancer. now if you can spin that without turning the motor, ah yeah, it is bad. i dont think that is it. if it was that gone, you would have some killer vibrations, i think.

if you look from under the car, you can see the balancer real well. you will see the rubber o-ring (elastomer) type of thing around it , toward the middle. that is the rubber that Michael is talkin about. needs to look real nice. the balancer is held together by this ring. if one part is sliding, the offset (balance) of the motor will be out of phase. not good. dont drive it like that.

if you do it yourself, dont forget to remove the washer on the big bolt Michael talked about. if not removed, the damper does not like to come off. there are 3 or 4 bolts that hold the balancer on also, as i recall.
try doing an internet search for balancers, or go to strokermotors.com, etc and look up the balancer and see if it looks like what you are lookin at. might help. good luck.

 

computAr

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May 25, 2002

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Mar 4, 2004

#6

• Mar 4, 2004

• #6

yeah, i've had some freaking crazy vibration. so i guess that's my problem. i guess that means i have to shell out the money for a new one. thanks everyone.

 

Michael Yount

Mustang Master

Apr 10, 2002

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Charlotte, NC

Mar 4, 2004

#7

• Mar 4, 2004

• #7

computAr - you can really hurt things by driving it with the balancer as screwed up as you describe - park it til you can replace it.

 

cevtv

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Sep 15, 2002

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Mar 4, 2004

#8

• Mar 4, 2004

• #8

computAr said:

yeah, i've had some freaking crazy vibration. so i guess that's my problem. i guess that means i have to shell out the money for a new one. thanks everyone.

Click to expand...

If your lucky, that's all you'll have to replace......... I hope no major damage was already done.

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

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Mar 4, 2004

#9

• Mar 4, 2004

• #9

Michael and cevtv are right. driving with the balancer out of phase is really hard on the bottom end, bearings in particular.

im surprised you can drive it at all. when JadeFalcon (think it was JF) lost his, he said he had trouble grabbing the shifter handle due to the excessive vibs.

do it ASAP, as said.
good luck. BTW, if you do it yourself, search in here. there are more than 8 pages of threads to read. you can learn all about them and how to do it.

 

P

PRO50SC

New Member

Dec 28, 2003

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Olney, Maryland

Mar 4, 2004

#10

• Mar 4, 2004

• #10

computAr said:

where's the harmonic balancer and how can i tell if it's bad? thanks.

Click to expand...

No such thing as a dumb Q. Your lack of knowledge does not make you dumb, just inexperienced. Don't sweat it!!

 

JadeFalcon

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Mar 28, 2002

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Arlington, TX

Mar 17, 2004

#11

• Mar 17, 2004

• #11

HISSIN50 said:

Michael and cevtv are right. driving with the balancer out of phase is really hard on the bottom end, bearings in particular.

im surprised you can drive it at all. when JadeFalcon (think it was JF) lost his, he said he had trouble grabbing the shifter handle due to the excessive vibs.

do it ASAP, as said.
good luck. BTW, if you do it yourself, search in here. there are more than 8 pages of threads to read. you can learn all about them and how to do it.

Click to expand...

I think that would be the most severe case though... I didnt just have the rubber come out, I had the outer steel ring come free and started getting slung around like a 3lb hula hoop on the crankshaft, lol.

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

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Mar 17, 2004

#12

• Mar 17, 2004

• #12

JF, i thought i remembered that too (the whole donut coming off). LOL.
to shed some light, check out his other post,
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=433371

in it he describes the outer ring freewheeling on the inner. i never confirmed that this was his problem, but if it were, then i figured he should have gotten some pretty bad vibs, sorta similar to yours. that is why i referenced your situation. but i bet having that other link sheds some light on why i said what i said.
also, i wanted to stress the importance of immediate replacement.


but what you said is right on. i would hope your experience is rare and that the vibs dont get much worse than that. i dont see how they could unless an elephant was spinning around on the end of the crank.

 

Michael Yount

Mustang Master

Apr 10, 2002

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Charlotte, NC

Mar 17, 2004

#13

• Mar 17, 2004

• #13

Hissin' - as usual, you're spot on; actually the 'elephant...spinning around on the end of the crank' is probably closer to accurate than you think when you look at the forces involved in several pounds of mass rotating an inch or two out from the crank centerline at several thousand rpm. It's a considerable amount of rotating mass.

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

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Mar 18, 2004

#14

• Mar 18, 2004

• #14

Mike, as long as it does not involve cavitation, i am ok. LOL.

i was once curious about why people are so anal about a half gram or so on engine balance. then i read about how that half gram equates to some huge number of torque and the kinetic imbalances involved. kinda amazing to me that engines hold together as long as they do. good info (the only kind you ever provide), Michael.

 

Michael Yount

Mustang Master

Apr 10, 2002

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Charlotte, NC

Mar 18, 2004

#15

• Mar 18, 2004

• #15

I just replaced my balancer - had to take the radiator and fans out for a new cooling fan controller (what a slick piece - one of the best mods I've made http://www.dccontrol.com/), and since my balancer was original, I replaced it. It did not wobble, it didn't have rubber squeezing out from between the inner/outer pieces, the timing marks were dead on (checked when I degreed the cam) - however, I did notice that the rubber had some cracks in it when I pulled it off. I thought I had a smooth running V-8 before (probably used to rougher 4 cylinders over the years) -- I'm amazed at how much smoother the engine is now than before - noticeable difference in the shifter. So even if the BIG symptoms are not present, the balancer can be less than optimal I've just discovered.

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

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Nov 29, 1999

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Mar 18, 2004

#16

• Mar 18, 2004

• #16

Michael, which flavor of balancer did you decide to go with?
the cheap SFI unit i was gonna get is out of stock.

 

Michael Yount

Mustang Master

Apr 10, 2002

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Charlotte, NC

Mar 19, 2004

#17

• Mar 19, 2004

• #17

Mine doesn't see a lot of revs, and track regulations are a complete non-issue for me, so I just bought a non-SFI replacement Pioneer unit.

 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

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Mar 20, 2004

#18

• Mar 20, 2004

• #18

Michael Yount said:

Mine doesn't see a lot of revs, and track regulations are a complete non-issue for me, so I just bought a non-SFI replacement Pioneer unit.

Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for letting me know, Michael.
i am in the same boat (ok, i admit i occasionally hit 3K RPM. LOL).