How many bad 1FZ balancers have you seen?
Harmonic balancer fail? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter dsmud4u
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
How many bad 1FZ balancers have you seen?
I know the “runout” was off on my 97 with 349,000 I could see it
Vulcanized rubber has a life span of 5-10 years, according to my Google search.
Side note: I have full knowledge access to a chemist and a few materials engineers who also verified this
Wait till you get the total bill. That’s a pretty easy job. I bet the dealer likes you.
You will find a great deal at PartsOuq. Don’t bother with aftermarket junk.
1HD-T new OEM balancer around $120 IIRC. You need a big ass torque wrench to do the job. (362 ft-lb, 490 N m)
- Thread starter
- #26
Well, bought all the OEM parts through Toyota parts deal. Expensive, yes but not dealer expensive. The harmonic balancer must weight 15-20 pounds!
- Thread starter
- #27
Will certainly use partssouq in the future.
- Thread starter
- #28
Oddly they didn’t have a problem. I called another local dealer beer home just to gauge it and they wouldn’t even quite me because I said I had all the parts.
Another dealer told me it would cost me 3k in labor.
I know it’s not a hard job. I’ve removed my harmonic balancer on my 60 before with the use a chain wrench. I would perform the job myself but I’m pressed for time as I’m in the cal guard currently activated with cal fire….and I need the truck to pick up this bad boy.
HQ17 Rugged Off-Road Travel Trailer | Black Series Campers
Welcome to our off-road travel trailers - the best on the market! Our heavy-duty off-road camper trailers let you enjoy nature - with a touch of luxury.
www.blackseries.net
Good luck keep us posted !Oddly they didn’t have a problem. I called another local dealer beer home just to gauge it and they wouldn’t even quite me because I said I had all the parts.
Another dealer told me it would cost me 3k in labor.
I know it’s not a hard job. I’ve removed my harmonic balancer on my 60 before with the use a chain wrench. I would perform the job myself but I’m pressed for time as I’m in the cal guard currently activated with cal fire….and I need the truck to pick up this bad boy.
HQ17 Rugged Off-Road Travel Trailer | Black Series Campers
Welcome to our off-road travel trailers - the best on the market! Our heavy-duty off-road camper trailers let you enjoy nature - with a touch of luxury.
just did mine recently. Same symptoms and glad caught it before it flew out!
Had post on 80 owners Facebook USA group
Had post on 80 owners Facebook USA group
Mine went bad about 3 years ago. I have a post on here about it and some YouTube videos. Fortunately it was a slow failure.
UPDATE ( Harmonic Balancer failure ) Cold idle stumble 1fz - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/update-harmonic-balancer-failure-cold-idle-stumble-1fz.1191259/#post-13297690
UPDATE ( Harmonic Balancer failure ) Cold idle stumble 1fz - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/update-harmonic-balancer-failure-cold-idle-stumble-1fz.1191259/#post-13297690
- Thread starter
- #32
Well, got the truck back. No more odd squeak that I though was the A/C compressor…even though it was replaced a few months ago.
The truck feels a little more sluggish though. Might be some of the heft from a brand new harmonic balancer.
Really need @landtank to get his supercharger kit completed.
The truck feels a little more sluggish though. Might be some of the heft from a brand new harmonic balancer.
Really need @landtank to get his supercharger kit completed.
Adding to the thread for future reference.
My ballancer also went out a few months back. Front seal was leaking anyways so time to replace it.
In my instance I discovered the issue two ways. 1st on a cold start the truck would make a groaning noise for a few seconds at random intervals till it warmed up. This was due to the rubber on the balancer fully cracking. The crank would spin without rotating the outer pulley for a few rotations till it warmed up and "caught"
This also resulted in an rpm drop associated with the grunting noise. I also noticed the pulled appeared to have a warble to it while rubbing. At first I thought the bolt was working loose.
I searched on the forum and it did not appear to be a common failure. I assume the failure was due to oil from the bad seal getting onto the rubber and slowly degrading it. If that is the case, changing the seal earlier would have saved the ballancer.
My ballancer also went out a few months back. Front seal was leaking anyways so time to replace it.
In my instance I discovered the issue two ways. 1st on a cold start the truck would make a groaning noise for a few seconds at random intervals till it warmed up. This was due to the rubber on the balancer fully cracking. The crank would spin without rotating the outer pulley for a few rotations till it warmed up and "caught"
This also resulted in an rpm drop associated with the grunting noise. I also noticed the pulled appeared to have a warble to it while rubbing. At first I thought the bolt was working loose.
I searched on the forum and it did not appear to be a common failure. I assume the failure was due to oil from the bad seal getting onto the rubber and slowly degrading it. If that is the case, changing the seal earlier would have saved the ballancer.
- Thread starter
- #35
Mine definitely had a noise that I had attributed to the A/C and idler pulley due to it only happening when the A/C was in use. It also happened when cold until it was up to temp.
I feel it’s not related to miles but to years in service, we are pushing 30-24 years of service life from a rubber part
Binjo!!!!!
I'm with cruiser Dan on this one. Do they fail? Sure, but I am not going to replace it just for prevention when some jack ace might cut me off and total my rig next week.
A wise mechanic once told me, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
That being said this is another thing I check anytime I am going somewhere remote with my rig. If you pay attention to your rig and know the rig intimately like you should, than there is no reason why a failing balancer can't be caught before a "catastrophic" failure.
If I wanted to replace every part that could fail and leave me stranded as preventive maintenance I might as well buy a new 4 runner or tundra.
Jeez, that almost looks like something out of a semi truck!
DivByZero
SILVER Star
I get what you're saying, but I disagree on this one. My HZJ80 had no oil contamination on the balancer when it went, and it damaged other components before there were any noticeable noises. Suspiciously, the timing of when it caused problems was also a few months after I went on some serious 4x4 trails. I suspect the extra bumps and jolts from the track are what caused the hardened, embrittled rubber to finally let go.
I don't wait for my tyres to pop or my brakes to fail before I give them attention. Speaking of tyres, would you stick 20 year old tyres on your rig? I did on mine in a pinch, and your response was, and I quote:
And you were right, it was a bad idea. Not sure why leaving ancient rubber holding together part of your engine while spinning at a few thousand RPM until it fails is better?
I'd think there'd be some visible or audible clues if failure was imminent though. Maybe it's more common for them to fail on diesels because of the extra torque down low?I get what you're saying, but I disagree on this one. My HZJ80 had no oil contamination on the balancer when it went, and it damaged other components before there were any noticeable noises. Suspiciously, the timing of when it caused problems was also a few months after I went on some serious 4x4 trails. I suspect the extra bumps and jolts from the track are what caused the hardened, embrittled rubber to finally let go.
I don't wait for my tyres to pop or my brakes to fail before I give them attention. Speaking of tyres, would you stick 20 year old tyres on your rig? I did on mine in a pinch, and your response was, and I quote:
And you were right, it was a bad idea. Not sure why leaving ancient rubber holding together part of your engine while spinning at a few thousand RPM until it fails is better?
Anyway $400 is too rich for my blood for PM given the seemingly low failure rates. Sounds like replacing it is not a trivial job either.
