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On my 60 I used 6’ steel pipe on a 1/2 breaker bar and a chain wrench around the HB leveraged against the chassis
Harmonic balancer fail?
- Thread starter dsmud4u
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I'm curious how you goes go about torquing the bolt to spec at home on the reinstall? I ended up paying for this one to be done - I didn't have the gear to do the removal or reinstall with the kind of torque required. If I was doing it again today I might try it myself, but it'd still cost me $500AUD for a torque multiplier that could meet the spec, which was more than I paid for it to be done.
When I did this, I just "rented" one from an auto parts store. Each time I asked if they had a torque wrench that large, they always said no. I happened to be buying something else and was waiting at the counter where they had a list of rentable tools and saw they had a torque wrench that was indeed large enough and with the correct torque settings. I asked about it and the employees said they never knew they had it so they looked it up and had another branch send it over. It looked to be brand new and worked great.
I don't know if you have autoparts stores that lend out tools in Australia, but it is pretty common here. You basically pay for it and then return it within a given time frame for a refund.
I don't think we have the equivalent of that here in Australia, or if we do it's probably more industry focused than individual DIY based. We have stuff like Kennards Hire, but they're more construction focused, and don't stock specialised tools like this, at least not in the automotive area. Google didn't turn up much either. @mudgudgeon, with your background in construction you'd be far more familiar than me in the equipment rental space. Do you know of anything like this down under?
I'll add too, most specialised tools these days can be found for cheap, while everyday tools are worth investing in quality once rather than renting every weekend, so I've never felt the need. A torque multiplier though, I've looked, and I just can't find the right kind of one for cheap - there doesn't seem to be a Chinese knock off I can buy, and there doesn't seem to be a secondhand market. Crazy for something that's just a few gears in a case. I got a 5t block and tackle built like a tank and older than me for $40, but I can't find a torque multiplier for less than $500.
I used a harmonic balancer holder tool with a 3/4" breaker bar wedged in between the steering stabilizer and the steering stabilizer mount from the front crossmember to keep the crank from spinning and then a 3/4" torque wrench from Harbor Freight. The max setting on the torque wrench is 300 ft/lb so I just got it to where it clicked and then gave it a little extra, haha.
I did the same but rented one from autozone that went to 450 or 600 lbft. I was about to go the HF route until I saw they had one for rent at autozone. @DivByZero, it's too bad they don't have stores that do that for you in your area, but I'm sure you can pick up a torque wrench at HF or online that will do the job. It might be a tight fit to use a torque multiplier unless the radiator is out.
OK- in case anyone is still on the fence about replacing your harmonic balancer, I’ll add my failure. My ‘97 truck has 362k. The symptoms are a *horrendous* clunking noise upon startup, and some minor AC belt periodic squeak-squeak. The clunking noise would clunk-clunk-clunk around 10 times in the first minute, then go away. When the noise occurred, it was so bad that the engine would shutter and rpm’s would drop and pickup. I really thought that something inside the engine was coming apart, and even spun off the oil filter and checked for carnage debris (no metal in the filter, thankfully).
History- So around 50k ago I replaced the engine at which time I looked at the aging HB and said to myself, “Self, this harmonic balancer is built like a tank and will (surely) last forever!” . WRONG-OH.
I’ve since removed the HB and she is toast. The inner hub and outer pulley freely rotate from each other. The only reason that the alternator, water pump, fan, and AC were even getting any rotation was because after a minute of clunking the inner hub and outer pulley stuck together from friction and the belts pulling caused the hub and pulley to mesh.
LESSONS LEARNED: As long as “you’re in there, replace the harmonic balancer. It’s a p.i.a. job to not just replace the HB as preventative maintenance.
On another note:
1) For de-torque / re-torque: I used a home-welded fixture to hold the inner hub. It’s a round 1/4” plate with two small holes to match the hub’s threaded holes, and a large hole in the center to allow the 30mm impact socket to pass thru and attach to the crank bolt. It has a 16” paddle of 2x2 angle iron welded to it. Be careful because the inner hub is inset from the pulley face, so you may need to use washer spacers under the two drive bolts. Otherwise, you’ll be stressing the rubber between the inner hub and pulley as you tighten up the bolts when attaching the fixture.
I used a 4ft long 3/4” drive torque wrench with a 30mm impact socket. It came off at around 400 ft-lbs, so I only had to exert 100lbs on the end of the torque wrench. EzPeeZe
Timing Mark on the pulley- don’t let your old HB fool you. If the inner hub and outer pulley have come apart and are spinning freely from each other (like mine was), your old HB will no longer have a timing reference.
History- So around 50k ago I replaced the engine at which time I looked at the aging HB and said to myself, “Self, this harmonic balancer is built like a tank and will (surely) last forever!” . WRONG-OH.
I’ve since removed the HB and she is toast. The inner hub and outer pulley freely rotate from each other. The only reason that the alternator, water pump, fan, and AC were even getting any rotation was because after a minute of clunking the inner hub and outer pulley stuck together from friction and the belts pulling caused the hub and pulley to mesh.
LESSONS LEARNED: As long as “you’re in there, replace the harmonic balancer. It’s a p.i.a. job to not just replace the HB as preventative maintenance.
On another note:
1) For de-torque / re-torque: I used a home-welded fixture to hold the inner hub. It’s a round 1/4” plate with two small holes to match the hub’s threaded holes, and a large hole in the center to allow the 30mm impact socket to pass thru and attach to the crank bolt. It has a 16” paddle of 2x2 angle iron welded to it. Be careful because the inner hub is inset from the pulley face, so you may need to use washer spacers under the two drive bolts. Otherwise, you’ll be stressing the rubber between the inner hub and pulley as you tighten up the bolts when attaching the fixture.
I used a 4ft long 3/4” drive torque wrench with a 30mm impact socket. It came off at around 400 ft-lbs, so I only had to exert 100lbs on the end of the torque wrench. EzPeeZe
Timing Mark on the pulley- don’t let your old HB fool you. If the inner hub and outer pulley have come apart and are spinning freely from each other (like mine was), your old HB will no longer have a timing reference.