replacing harmonic balancer: a DIY job?
abebesheir
01-22-2006, 12:57 AM
Hello, first let me say that I am new to this forum. My car is a 1991 9c1 with 123,000 miles. I noticed a vibration in the engine when in overdrive around 1500-2000 RPM. Also, the car has a loping/high idle... I did a google search and it said the harmonic balancer (AKA crank pulley damper or vibration damper) might need replacing.
Is this something I can do myself at home? I know I need to buy a special puller tool to get the damper off of the pulley bolts. Would I be better off going to a mechanic or is this repair within the capabilities of the average do-it-yourself-er?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Is this something I can do myself at home? I know I need to buy a special puller tool to get the damper off of the pulley bolts. Would I be better off going to a mechanic or is this repair within the capabilities of the average do-it-yourself-er?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
silicon212
01-22-2006, 01:56 AM
Hello, first let me say that I am new to this forum. My car is a 1991 9c1 with 123,000 miles. I noticed a vibration in the engine when in overdrive around 1500-2000 RPM. Also, the car has a loping/high idle... I did a google search and it said the harmonic balancer (AKA crank pulley damper or vibration damper) might need replacing.
Is this something I can do myself at home? I know I need to buy a special puller tool to get the damper off of the pulley bolts. Would I be better off going to a mechanic or is this repair within the capabilities of the average do-it-yourself-er?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
It's not a hard job at all. You need a way to jack the car up so you can get under it, remove the serpentine belt, a 5/8 deep socket for the crank bolt, and a 9/16" socket + extension or deep socket for the 3 pulley bolts, and a harmonic balancer puller (looks like a steering wheel puller on steroids). Take the belt off, remove the 3 9/16" head bolts, remove the center crank bolt (you can take a spark plug out and stick an extension into the spark plug hole to keep the engine from spinning, don't forget it's there if you do this), attach the puller to the 3 pulley bolt holes using the provided bolts, remove the balancer, install the new one by placing a piece of wood over it and hitting the wood with a hammer to get it on and use the center bolt to pull it the rest of the way down - torque this bolt to 75 ft. lbs., reinstall the pulley and the belt and you're done! Remove the extension from the spark plug hole of whatever cylinder you chose if applicable, and reinstall the spark plug, remove the jackstands from under the car and it's ready to drive. See? Easy.
Is this something I can do myself at home? I know I need to buy a special puller tool to get the damper off of the pulley bolts. Would I be better off going to a mechanic or is this repair within the capabilities of the average do-it-yourself-er?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
It's not a hard job at all. You need a way to jack the car up so you can get under it, remove the serpentine belt, a 5/8 deep socket for the crank bolt, and a 9/16" socket + extension or deep socket for the 3 pulley bolts, and a harmonic balancer puller (looks like a steering wheel puller on steroids). Take the belt off, remove the 3 9/16" head bolts, remove the center crank bolt (you can take a spark plug out and stick an extension into the spark plug hole to keep the engine from spinning, don't forget it's there if you do this), attach the puller to the 3 pulley bolt holes using the provided bolts, remove the balancer, install the new one by placing a piece of wood over it and hitting the wood with a hammer to get it on and use the center bolt to pull it the rest of the way down - torque this bolt to 75 ft. lbs., reinstall the pulley and the belt and you're done! Remove the extension from the spark plug hole of whatever cylinder you chose if applicable, and reinstall the spark plug, remove the jackstands from under the car and it's ready to drive. See? Easy.
TommySS
01-22-2006, 05:05 PM
An impact wrench is your friend...
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