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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / January 2008Can a GM Harmonic Balancer be fixed?
I could use a few opinions here. We recently bought a Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 engine in it for $100.00 in excellent shape. It passed emissions easy and only needed a little brake work and a light bulb for safety cert. So it started chirping on my wife the other day. I tried lubing the idler pulley, no help, then my wife comes home saying the fan belt is shredding. Sure enough the outside ring on the harmonic balancer has started to walk off eating the first line of the fan belt up. So a new balancer is $450.00! I can get it wholesale for $350.00, but geese.... Is it possible to repair this with some glue or a strategically drilled hole and a flat heat countersunk bolt maybe? Even if it sits as is with one line of the belt off, I can run a belt missing a bit, that won't hurt my feelings. Any ideas or do I just look for a cheap donor vehicle or hit the wrecker up and hope. Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com Mike, My opinion is "no", they cannot be repaired to fix the parts together and have the same mechanical properties that the original units had. I checked Autozone, and found some models for the 3.3 Ciera engine at $166 or less. Of course, a junkyard part could last a long time. > I could use a few opinions here. > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Is it possible to repair this with some glue or a strategically drilled > hole and a flat heat countersunk bolt maybe? If it's just lost a bond and isn't otherwise damaged, I'm sure Locktite or 3M has an adhesive that will work. Should be able to find on their sites based on the materials to be bonded. Some really good specialty stuff in their lines. > Even if it sits as is with one line of the belt off, I can run a belt > missing a bit, that won't hurt my feelings. > > Any ideas or do I just look for a cheap donor vehicle or hit the wrecker > up and hope. I would hope you could find one from the wrecker for a whole lot less. A quick search on an auto salvage site in my area (Dallas, TX) shows several for $45 (US). no, cant be fixed. Did you try Dorman? On Dec 27, 7:53 pm, jfrancis...@gmail.com wrote: > no, cant be fixed. Did you try Dorman? Made in China, but will probably last longer than the ones from GM, especially the used ones from the salvage yard. On Dec 27, 7:53 pm, jfrancis...@gmail.com wrote: > no, cant be fixed. Did you try Dorman? Probably won't last a week of you use Dorman made in China crap. Even their fluid filler tops don't stay on! > I could use a few opinions here. > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Is it possible to repair this with some glue or a strategically drilled > hole and a flat heat countersunk bolt maybe? Nope. Any type of repair without getting the weight EXACTLY correct will damage the engine. > Even if it sits as is with one line of the belt off, I can run a belt > missing a bit, that won't hurt my feelings. > > Any ideas or do I just look for a cheap donor vehicle or hit the wrecker > up and hope. 3.3 is a VERY common engine and there are lots of them out there. Just scrapped 2 Cieras last week. > Mike > 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 > 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build > Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com  SignatureSteve W. Near Cooperstown, New York Life is not like a box of chocolates it's more like a jar of jalapenos- what you do today could burn your a.s tomorrow! >> Is it possible to repair this with some glue or a strategically drilled >> hole and a flat heat countersunk bolt maybe? > >Nope. Any type of repair without getting the weight EXACTLY correct will >damage the engine. It's not just the weight distribution. There's an elastomer (rubber or plastic) between the hub and the damper. Any adhesive or fasteners will keep the ring from moving, and from damping the torsional oscillations that it's meant to reduce. Once the bond is broken between the hub and the damper ring, throw the assembly away and get another one. Thanks for all the opinions and links for new ones folks. Don't really want to go used because of the age needed. The car is worth fixing, Napa 'Canada' has one for $192.00, need to look around a bit more and see what US shipping will run because they seem cheaper down there despite the dollar difference. We are still getting creamed here when comparing prices. Most places still think they need to mark up USA stuff by 40% even though our dollar is higher. Mike > I could use a few opinions here. > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build > Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com > Thanks for all the opinions and links for new ones folks. > > Don't really want to go used because of the age needed. Parts like that tend to stay the same for a long time. The salvage yard should have the reference to what model years are the same. I would not be surprised if it was something like '90-'06. > The car is worth fixing, Napa 'Canada' has one for $192.00, need to look > around a bit more and see what US shipping will run because they seem > cheaper down there despite the dollar difference. We are still getting > creamed here when comparing prices. Most places still think they need > to mark up USA stuff by 40% even though our dollar is higher. Ouch eh? > Mike > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build > > Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com Advance has a new Dorman balancer for $117.99, part # is 594044. New is the only way to go since the 3.3 balancer only fits, well the 3.3 and GM dropped these engines for 1993. Car Quest also sells Dorman so you should be able to find it north of the border. Good luck! Bush >Thanks for all the opinions and links for new ones folks. > [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] >> 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build >> Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com > Advance has a new Dorman balancer for $117.99, part # is 594044. New > is the only way to go since the 3.3 balancer only fits, well the 3.3 > and GM dropped these engines for 1993. Car Quest also sells Dorman > so you should be able to find it north of the border. Good luck! > > Bush ....and Dorman is now 'Made in China" Good Luck! Care to look where that new LCD tv is made? HTFC as long as it's made to US specifactions. Bush >> Advance has a new Dorman balancer for $117.99, part # is 594044. New >> is the only way to go since the 3.3 balancer only fits, well the 3.3 [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >....and Dorman is now 'Made in China" Good Luck! > Care to look where that new LCD tv is made? HTFC as long as it's made > to US specifactions. And you find out whether the harmonic balancer is made to US specs how...? By spending all that money and mounting it on your engine, and if it doesn't fly apart, destroy your engine and put massive holes in your fenders, it was okay? SignatureDec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Government officials and activists flying to Bali, Indonesia, for the United Nations meeting on climate change will cause as much pollution as 20,000 cars in a year. The chances of that happening are almost non existent: GM has theirs made in China too, so does NAPA. You'd be hard pressed to find anything made in America for at least another five years. The French AKA as Renault are building a factory in the USA, The Companies from India are looking to build here, and so is Fiat. The dollar is so far devalued, that it is attractive to have the Made in USA label on their sh.t. RK >> Care to look where that new LCD tv is made? HTFC as long as it's made >> to US specifactions. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > fly apart, destroy your engine and put massive holes in your fenders, it > was okay? > Care to look where that new LCD tv is made? HTFC as long as it's made > to US specifactions. > > Bush "H" indeed. > Care to look where that new LCD tv is made? Plenty made in Korea or Malaysia. No need to stoop to the made-in-China brands... yet. > HTFC as long as it's made > to US specifactions. Suit yourself. I avoid anything that says "made in China" if there is an alternative made elsewhere. ANYWHERE else. Been burned too many times. Sure, there are many things made in China that are actually quite good (compact flourescent lamps come to mind) but overall the variability is HUGE. And replacement automotive parts are some of the worst things I've seen coming out of there. |
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