stubborn balancer hub

gln7 · #1 10-05-2009, 02:12 PM

I'm trying to remove the timing cover to replace the chain ( in a Lumina APV with 3.8.) Got the balancer bolt out but the balancer/damper hub won't come out. A repair book says it should come out by hand. Mine doesn't, and I don't have a puller that fits. Will trying to pry it out hurt anything? Thanks for any suggestions.

gln7 · #2 10-07-2009, 12:38 PM

Had to get a puller to get it off...and now the timing cover won't budge. Where's the best place to pry it? I think I've got all the bolts out. Beneath, do just five oil pan bolts need to be removed? Thanks.

wafrederick · #3 10-10-2009, 04:27 PM

The answer is yes,those 5 bolts have to be removed.

gln7 · #4 10-13-2009, 05:01 PM

Thanks. Got the cover off. As long as I had it off, I checked the oil pump gears and put them back in. Haynes manual says the oil-pump cover needs a gasket. There was no gasket on it when I took it off, and there's no gasket for it in the timing cover kit I bought. Is the Haynes manual wrong?

Jrs3800 · #5 10-13-2009, 06:08 PM

The oil pump face as far as I know does not use a gasket.. The timing cover to block requires a timing cover gasket tho..

gln7 · #6 10-16-2009, 10:45 AM

Thanks. On the timing cover gasket, should I apply RTV sealant continously around the gasket (as the book seems to say) or just here and there, enough to keep it in place (as the gasket instructions say)? And, should sealant be applied where timing cover meets the rubber oil-pan gasket?

Jrs3800 · #7 10-16-2009, 02:03 PM

I would use a little Silicone High Temp Black or Grey at the ends of the gasket to block and timing cover... The rest will be install dry..

gln7 · #8 10-16-2009, 05:33 PM

Thanks again. I got the cover and balancer back on, and rotated the balancer by hand. When I dd that I felt a little resistance. I'm thinking the balancer might be rubbing against the crank sensor. How do I get the sensor positioned right without using the special, expensive tool I read about?

Jrs3800 · #9 10-16-2009, 06:23 PM

what year is your APV? 93+ 3800's do not require a crank sensor adjustment..

gln7 · #10 10-17-2009, 06:45 AM

It's a '95 3800. Repair book says to use the special tool, though it doesn't say anything about year models.

Jrs3800 · #11 10-17-2009, 03:41 PM

Not 100% sure whats going on, but the sensor on the 95 is not adjustable, it simply sits on a pin and is bolted into place, no adjustment required..

Make sure none of the fingers on the interrupter are bent... If any of them touch the sensor they are bent..

gln7 · #12 10-18-2009, 03:16 PM

The fingers weren't bent as far as I could tell. The balancer I put back on was a new replacement as the one on there was damaged. The original one was causing a loud clunk when the engine was started. Thanks to your help, I got the balancer back on okay and that clunk noise is gone. However, I'm still getting a rattling or clicking noise, which I thought had been the timing chain. The old timing chain was stretched a little but apparently not enough to make noise. This clicking sound seems to come from that end of the engine though. It's not erratic but a steady click, a few times per second at idle. When I rev up the engine, it's a very fast clicking. I removed spark plug wires one at time to see if that would make a difference, but the clicking continued. Causes no error code, so is it worth to go get a scan?

Jrs3800 · #13 10-18-2009, 03:29 PM

Sounds a lot like you may be describing a bad lifter? Can you tell if its a valvetrain noise?

gln7 · #14 10-21-2009, 04:48 PM

I let a mechanic listen to it. He wasn't sure but thought it could be a lifter. I put in a bottle of oil detergent but that hasn't helped yet. Today I listened with a tube everywhere I could think of. I hear a clicking at the #5 ignition coil, but not at the other coils, and I hear it around the #5 spark plug. What step should I take next? Thank you.

LMP · #15 10-23-2009, 07:48 AM

#5 ignition coil also feeds #2 plug. Both plugs are fired together all the time. A failed ignition wire or spark plug can raise the coil voltage to the point it can spark inside...but this would be accompanied by engine misses....
ON the other hand, if it turns out to be a discharged lifter, well a discharged lifter is a discharged lifter, period....the only practical consequence being the annoyance of the noise. THen you have to decide for yourself if the remedy is worse than the illness.....

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