How do you tell if you need to replace the harmonic balancer? I had all my machine work done and they used the old balancer to balance the engine. The machine shop says it is still good but a friend says I should replace it because it is the original. How do you know if it is bad or if it has slipped. I'd rather not have to rebalance the engine with a new one but I also don't want this thing to grenade on me. Thanks, Randy
Careful!!! I bought one from them and the timing mark was off by a few degrees. I sent it back and explained to them where it is supposed to be. They said their book shows it is supposed to be where they put it. I have looked at a couple of balancers and had several people look at their balancers and confirm that the timing mark, when viewed from the front of the balancer, should be over the right edge of the keyway. Theirs was about 1/2" off to the right of that. That is MANY degrees off! They use a silicone ring to bond the halves, not vulcanized rubber like OEM AND I believe they remove any weights and send you back your balancer with no weights in it. If you go that route pull the weights, mark them, and make sure you detail on a piece of paper what holes they came from on the balancer. And mark your balancer with a ding mark so you are sure they send you back your exact one. Photos are a good idea too. An out-of-balance engine sux soooooo bad, let me tell you. It is way past just annoying! If the engine has not been put together yet, you REALLY should bite the bullet and just have the assembly re-balanced with a new damper. TA has OEM replacements and hi-po ones. Just my thoughts from someone who just did the rebuild from hell. I'll never scrimp or cut corners again. Spend the extra $200 now, instead of the extra 2 grand later.
sorry, i just seen that on the www.buick performance sight, i do bielieve you get what you pay for, i have never bought one of theres
It is a real killer on what a 455 balancer cost. It seems to me they are about double anything else. It is real interesting to compare the cost of Buick 350 vs 455.
I'm not trying to find out where to get one. I'm trying to find out how you tell if you need a new one. I'll do it if I need to but no point in wasting the money if you don't need to. Again, the machine shop says it is ok, but another person says replace it. How do you know? I'll double check the timing mark to the key but I think it is in the right place. Randy
Randy, The inner and outer hub of the balancer are seperated by rubber that is vulcanized. What usually happens is the rubber dries out from heat and it cracks, and is sometimes pushed out. The least that can happen is the outer hub slips in relation to the inner hub, thereby making your timing marks useless. The worst that can happen is the outer hub flies apart at high RPM destroying everything in it's path:eek2: Take a good look at your balancer. If you see the rubber is cracked, or pushed out in spots, it is time to start looking for a rebuild or replacement. It's also a good idea to paint a line across the face of a good balancer, so you can see when the hubs slip in relation to one another. Hope that answers your question.
Larry, Your reply was exactly what I was looking for. I talked to the machine shop again and they said they think it is ok. I'll put a line on it to see if I get any movement after I install it. Thanks for your reply, Randy
