What does the harmonic balancer do in an engine?
A common part found on all high-performance engines is a harmonic damper (or harmonic balancer, as they are often called). Found at the front of the engine attached to the snout of the crankshaft, harmonic dampers are used to quell the harmonics of the crankshaft.
How to line up a harmonic balancer on a Mazda 3?
When you have the crank locked and the cams locked, there is a hole that you can use to line up the balancer in the proper position. If it’s aligned you should be able to insert an m6 bolt (probably need 20mm or above in length) into the hole and lock it while you tighten down the crank pulley.
How to change crank pulley-harmonic balancer?
Then remove that bolt and the crank lock and rotate the engine 360 degrees back to tdc (use the crank lock) and try to insert the m6 bolt again in the harmonic balancer, if it lines up you are golden. If you need more help shoot me a PM or an IM.
Where to insert crank lock for harmonic balancer?
This will lock the cams at TDC in relation to piston #1. So when you insert the crank lock from the plug in the back of the engine, the grooves in the cams should line up at the top of the engine and you should be able to insert that bar. That being said, if you are just replacing the harmonic balancer you probably don’t need to lock the cams.
How to change the pulley on a Mazda 3?
Of course getting the pulley lose might be a bit of a trial, but if you have a manual trans it should be a breeze, just stick the car in 5th gear and it will effectively lock the engine in place so you can put enough torque on the crank pulley bolt to break it lose and reinstall it. you shouldn’t just take the pulley off on a mazda 3.
When you have the crank locked and the cams locked, there is a hole that you can use to line up the balancer in the proper position. If it’s aligned you should be able to insert an m6 bolt (probably need 20mm or above in length) into the hole and lock it while you tighten down the crank pulley.
Then remove that bolt and the crank lock and rotate the engine 360 degrees back to tdc (use the crank lock) and try to insert the m6 bolt again in the harmonic balancer, if it lines up you are golden. If you need more help shoot me a PM or an IM.
This will lock the cams at TDC in relation to piston #1. So when you insert the crank lock from the plug in the back of the engine, the grooves in the cams should line up at the top of the engine and you should be able to insert that bar. That being said, if you are just replacing the harmonic balancer you probably don’t need to lock the cams.
Of course getting the pulley lose might be a bit of a trial, but if you have a manual trans it should be a breeze, just stick the car in 5th gear and it will effectively lock the engine in place so you can put enough torque on the crank pulley bolt to break it lose and reinstall it. you shouldn’t just take the pulley off on a mazda 3.