uneven harmonic balance wheel

[Quinton Bradford #25053]

Hello,
I've noticed my harmonic balance wheel wobbles when the engine is running. It is not loose, but it looks as though it were not insalled evenly.  The engine runs fine, but I'm afraid it will start to tear up my belts. Has anyone run across this problem and if so, can I have it reinstalled or is there more to it than that?

[Otto Skorzeny]

Hi Quinton,

Did you just have the engine rebuilt or major internal work done or did you just happen to notice the wobble?

During an engine rebuild, the balancer should be "balanced" with the crankshaft. This is done by adding or removing metal in exact places so that the engine runs as smoothly as possible.

If the harmonic balancer is damaged, it should be sent to a shop to have new rubber vulcanized in place.

If everything was fine and you just happened to notice the wobble, my guess is that the rubber portion is beginning to deteriorate. It's important that you figure out what exactly is causing the wobble as soon as possible. The rubber could disintegrate while the engine is running and send the pulley in who knows what direction damaging whatever is in it's path.

This happened to me in high school with a '66 Mustang. The rubber just fell apart and the pulley flew off and landed on the road somewhere.The only thing left was the center portion bolted to the crankshaft.

Does the engine seem to run smoothly or can you feel the vibration?

Take off all the belts and lift up on the crankshaft pulley to see if there is any play in the crankshaft. Hopefully there will be no movement. If there is, you may have crank bearings going bad.

If the crankshaft doesn't have any play in it, remove the balancer and inspect it. If the rubber is deteriorating, it will likely be obvious.

[Quinton Bradford #25053]

Thanks Forrest,

No, actually, I bought it this way!     Live and learn I guess!  When I checked to see if it was loose, the belts were on, so I can't really depend on that.  I will remove the belts and check again.

So, if there is no play in the crankshaft, will I need to buy a new balancer or can I have it to be repaired?
If there is play, I've obviously got bigger problems, correct?

Thanks for the response!

[Otto Skorzeny]

Right Quinton.

If you pull up on the crankshaft pulley and it (the crankshaft) moves up and down, you have serious internal problems to deal with. Don't fret, though, it's probably all right. You would likely have noticed a strong vibration with the engine running and possibly even a large oil leak from the front seal.

I'm just covering all the bases. A wobbly crankshaft could make your pulley look like it's wobbling.

Once you get the belts off and the pulley is no longer under tension, you might find that it's bolt has come loose or it's sliding out of it's keyway or something. Hopefully it will be something like that.

If you can't find anything obviously wrong with the balancer while instsalled, remove it for examination.

There are companies that rebuild harmonic balancers if you need to go that route. Who knows, maybe the pulley is just warped.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Quinton,

I will throw my bit in here.

The only way the ring can become distorted is for it to be hammered on, pressure applied to it when out of the car, or in an accident, or degrading of the rubber.

Have a good look at the Balancer, with a mirror if necessary, and see if there are any hammer marks on it, and the condition of the rubber ring that separates the inner hub from the outer ring.

If there are any marks on it, you can assume that it has been hammered on, and this is a no-no.

If the Rubber is deteriorating, then there has been a major oil contamination problem, and the rubber is no good.

Either way, it should not be used until you have a replacement, or have it re-vulcanised.

Any old one you use, could suffer the same problem so keep that in mind.

Bruce.

[joe]

That car in the picture probably is the one in question? 390 and 429's have to have the pulley lined up correctly when bolted on to the vibration damper. The indents and rivets are not symetrical, even though the bolt circle is. There's only one correct position out of 4 possibilties. Observe carefully if just the pulley is wobbling or both the damper and pulley are running out of round.....it may save you a lot of work if you don't have to pull or replace the damper.

[Quinton Bradford #25053]

After reading the shop manual, I've noticed it requires a specific puller pilot and holding base to remove the pulley.  Is this specific one necessary or can I rent one from a shop that is more generic?

[Quinton Bradford #25053]

Thanks for the response Joe.  Please pardon my lack of knowledge on this, but where is the damper?

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Quinton,
Using the Kent More (manufacturer) tool assembly specifically made for Cadillac dampers makes the job so much easier.  What it also does is ensures you do not put pressure where it is not supposed to go, and that the damper assembly (that fits on the end of the crankshaft and the pulley attaches to) comes off and goes back on evenly.
The tool is available from SPC Kentmore, and costs a bit over $200.00.  I believe in using mine 8 or 9 times I have saved at least that much in Band Aids.
Greg

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Please pardon my lack of knowledge on this, but where is the damper? 

Quinton,

The Damper is the Harmonic Balancer under another name.

Bruce.

[Quinton Bradford #25053]

OK, this is an old topic, but wanted to keep some folks posted. The harmonic balancer is not uneven, but the pully in front of it is.  Which is a relief for me! Tonight I will remove the pully and hopefully find it just not seated correctly. Wish me luck! Not having done this before, I have to ask, will I need to use a special tool to remove the pully?  I have a harmonic balancer pully puller, but is it necessary for me to use it or will it be as simple as loosening the bolts on the front of the pully?

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Quinton,
The pulley bolts to the Harmonic Damper.  Typically the bolt hoses are set up so that there is only one way they can fit correctly, where the bolt holes actually align up correctly.  Often people try and bolt them up without lining up the pulley correctly and that results (in the best case) of the pulley being "crocked".  When you get the pulley off, lay it on a flat surface like a table top and see if in fact the pulley is bent, or if it was just installed incorrectly.
Greg

[Quinton Bradford #25053]

Excellent! Thanks Greg! I'm keep my fingers crossed and hoping it is merely misaligned! I'll keep you posted.