loud chattering

[boilrman]

I have an 88 Bonne with about 60K, 3.8L. I have had some issues with it since buying it. Things ran great, then the timing chain went. I changed the timing chain and put in all new exhaust(lots of holes) Once I got it fired up it ran great, but then I noticed when it idles down I get a loud rattling noise.

When the engine is cold, no or little noise while in gear or neutral. When it is completely warm it rattles quite loud in gear, but quiets while in neutral.

I have checked all around the exhaust thinking it was hitting somewhere, but no luck.

My other thought is that maybe when trying to remove the super torqued bolt from the crank pulley, that maybe an engine mount was ripped.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[HotZ28]

Have you checked the Harmonic Balancer? See if you can move the outer ring back & forth by hand (engine off, of course)

[boilrman]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

Have you checked the Harmonic Balancer? See if you can move the outer ring back & forth by hand (engine off, of course)

Thought of that, but wouldnt it make noise all the time, not just warm?

[HotZ28]

The noise can come & go, no set pattern hot or cold. Have you checked the outer ring yet? Very simple procedure, if it checks OK you can proceed to other possibilities.

[boilrman]

it looked ok when i installed new timing set, but will check it out anyway and get back to you.

[boilrman]

Originally Posted by boilrman

it looked ok when i installed new timing set, but will check it out anyway and get back to you.

Finally had time to look into my chatter. I have to admit, I did not know how to properly check my balancer. It was indeed the Harmonic Balancer. Here are some pics.

The first pic is of the old balancer with the bolts removed. I used a cutoff wheel to make grooves so I could then use an impact screwdiver to remove them.

The second pic is of the tabs that were touching, which caused the chattering noise.

The third pic is the new balancer showing where the tabs should be.