Can I drive my car with a broken harmonic balancer?
It’s not okay to drive with a bad harmonic balancer. The bouncing crankshaft will wear on the main bearings. It can also tear up drive belts and possibly come apart posing a danger to people and property.
Why is the crankshaft pulley and harmonic balancer important?
You may think that the crankshaft pulley is not as important as other parts of your car’s engine, but actually, it is vital to the proper operation of your vehicle. The crankshaft pulley comes with a harmonic balancer. Just from the name, the crankshaft Pulley/harmonic Balancer is a mediator between pistons and crankshaft.
How do I change the harmonic balancer on my car?
Every engine is different, so if you want to change the harmonic balancer on your car, you’ll need to search around various car forums and Web sites to see how it’s done on your specific model. Generally, you’ll want to remove the belt from the crankshaft pulley and then take the harmonic balancer mounting bolt off with a socket and ratchet.
What causes the timing marks on a harmonic balancer to shift?
Misaligned timing marks. The harmonic balancers found on many vehicles are constructed as two pieces of metal with a rubber layer in between to dampen the vibrations. If the layers separate or slip, the timing marks, which are usually stamped into the front of the pulley, can shift and thus throw off the placement of the timing marks.
What causes a crankshaft pulley to get loose?
At 18,000 mi. later, it’s still running fine. Crank bolt got loose and caused the harmonic balancer to sheer the roll pin that holds it to the sprocket. It also wore out the inside of the balancer. Replacing balancer and pin and re-torqueing bolt to spec. Bolt that holds crankshaft pulley busted the threads off.
What is the purpose of a harmonic pulley?
The purpose of the harmonic balancer is to reduce engine vibration and in many cases, serve as a pulley for drive belts. Harmonic balancer’s do have many names, though, such as damper, crankshaft pulley and crankshaft balancer, among others.
Where is the harmonic balancer in an engine?
The crankshaft harmonic balancer is a device connected to the front of an engine’s crankshaft, usually built into the crankshaft pulley.
What to do if your crankshaft harmonic balancer is bad?
Separated harmonic balancer. For this reason, if you suspect that your harmonic balancer may be having an issue, have the vehicle inspected by a professional technician, such as one from YourMechanic. They will be able to determine if the vehicle needs a crankshaft harmonic balancer replacement.
What are the symptoms of a bad harmonic balancer?
They are usually made of rubber and metal, which easily absorbs any harmonic vibrations that could harm the engine otherwise. Usually a problem with the harmonic balancer will produce a few symptoms that can alert the driver of a potential problem that should be serviced.