Crank pulley photo

WSAYERS80 · Mar 4, 2014

Hey guys started this thread to show the photo of the harmonic balancer / damper damage. this is not a pin or loose bolt issue, the base of the damper is pretty much completely torn away which obviously caused enough slack in the damper to cause the belt to slip off. Any thoughts to what may have caused this type of damage there is no damage to the pulley however. Yes vehicle was in a minor accident a while back but did no damage beyond the radiator assembly.

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speedracervr4 · Mar 4, 2014

Have you removed it yet? Hows the timing chain cover? Even though the bolt appears to be tight, it might actually be bound up or even bent. I don't know if it's just the picture but there seems to be some oil residue. Maybe from the front crankshaft seal?

WSAYERS80 · Mar 4, 2014

Ya I have a Power steering leak haven't fixed it yet..

Camfab · Mar 5, 2014

That doesn't look like oil residue. That looks like the dampner was damaged, in that accident. The fact that you have what looks like heavy corrosion on the crank snout, makes me think that the shaft was exposed to the elements for some time. Normally the area under the dampner will still look shiny and perfect. Did you own the car when it had an accident?

Fatboy 18 · Mar 5, 2014

Not seen a pic like that before!

Im wondering if this started off as a hairline crack then things got worse?

Reading your earlier posts I thought that the Harmonic balancer outer ring had worked its way loose (meaning the rubber bond between outer and inner rings failed, causing the imbalance) It could be that is part of the problem?

Have you removed the balancer from the car yet? what does the bolt look like? I would defiantly get a replacement bolt as the wobble that balancer must have been doing would put a big strain on the bolt head.

As others have said on the other thread, for piece of mind I would pin the crank when installing the new damper and get a new bolt.

Thanks for posting the pic.

WSAYERS80 · Mar 5, 2014

I'm removing it today. I think your right fatboy18 about the hairline crack. Im thinking it was a crack that got bigger over time to a point that it finally gave out. However as i stated before there is no damage to the crank pulley its attached to, I dont see any evidence of it being damaged in the accident. No I didn't own it when it was wrecked. I'll take more pics today.

WSAYERS80 · Mar 5, 2014

What size is the crank bolt? 32mm?

speedracervr4 · Mar 5, 2014

1 1/4" works

rdutko · Mar 5, 2014

The gauling on the crank shaft would indicate that it was just loose and spinning for a while (not cracked). There would most likely be rust in the cross section if it were cracked.

WSAYERS80 · Mar 5, 2014

I'm taking it apart after lunch I will check, and post more photos when done.

Fatboy 18 · Mar 5, 2014

WSAYERS80 said:
What size is the crank bolt? 32mm?

You need a 1/2" sq drive, Six sided impact socket, 31mm dia or 1, 1/4

WSAYERS80 · Mar 5, 2014

My God I can't budge it.. I don't have an air compressor here so I'm using a breaker bar. Near impossible

daveg · Mar 5, 2014

Put a pipe on the breaker bar.

WSAYERS80 · Mar 5, 2014

Did that.. A pipe is a mechanics best friend. I carry one in my bag..

daveg · Mar 5, 2014

And did you get it off?

Fatboy 18 · Mar 5, 2014

I had the hood and aluminium cross member removed when I worked on the front of the engine, we used a long bar (3ft +), its very tight!

daveg · Mar 5, 2014

When doing timing belts, I lock the breaker bar against the frame and click the starter. Breaks the harmonic balance bolt lose every time.

Fatboy 18 · Mar 5, 2014

daveg said:
When doing timing belts, I lock the breaker bar against the frame and click the starter. Breaks the harmonic balance bolt lose every time.

That can't do the teeth much good on the Flywheel!

daveg · Mar 5, 2014

nah, never an Issue.. Done many Lexus, Hondas and 3000gt's that way! Although the Viper bolt could be much tighter.

CEJ · Mar 5, 2014

daveg said:
nah, never an Issue.. Done many Lexus, Hondas and 3000gt's that way! Although the Viper bolt could be much tighter.

Agreed...did this with my wife's old Odyssey minivan. Brace the breaker bar and have a block of wood between the braker bar and the frame and it broke the bolt loose without any problem whatsoever. But you have to make sure the crank rotates in the correct direction for this to work.

WSAYERS80 · Mar 5, 2014

That's what I was wondering. What direction lol

speedracervr4 · Mar 6, 2014

The bump start method works on multiple platforms, I don't see why it wouldn't work on ours. The crankshaft rotates clockwise. Just be careful if you go that route. I wouldn't want the breaker bar coming around and smashing something expensive. Gotta love air compressors for this reason.

Camfab · Mar 6, 2014

During the repair work they could have easily replaced the crank pulley, just say'n........

speedracervr4 · Mar 6, 2014

The OP did the repair work..

rdutko · Mar 6, 2014

Use a good penetrant and let it sit for a while. Using the shortest box wrench that you have, hit it with a heavy hammer to break it loose.

AZTVR · Mar 6, 2014

Camfab said:
During the repair work they could have easily replaced the crank pulley, just say'n........

speedracervr4 said:
The OP did the repair work..

My input in OP's other thread is to never forget that these cars have been around for a while, and one never knows what a previous owner or mechanic did. Maybe the bolt and damper was loose previously, and induced some kind of damage/stress fracture in the damper that wasn't obvious when a previous person re-torqued the assembly.

WSAYERS80 · Mar 6, 2014

regardless Im finding it near impossible to get this damn thing off and to make things worse nobody has a short well 31 mm socket. My long well is to long and my 1"1/4 is slipping

speedracervr4 · Mar 6, 2014

Maybe a local member could help you out with the tooling and or a mobile compressor. Might want to hit up the other sites that may get more views.

WSAYERS80 · Mar 6, 2014

Is the bolt a 31mm or 32mm

speedracervr4 · Mar 6, 2014

31MM will be slightly under 1 1/4". 32MM will be slightly over.

Crank pulley photo

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