Crank & Harmonic balancer/crank pulley have come disconnected?? HELP!!

[MKB96Viper]

Good Morning,
I have a very unusual problem with my 96 GTS that I have never experienced with any car before. This past week I threw the serpentine belt off and didn't think much about it because the car is eight years old and it could have been the original. Checked all the pulleys and they seemed okay. Bought a new belt(& spare), installed it and everything looked okay. Drove off and about two miles later I shredded and threw that one off??? Now I am very concerned. Luckily I bought two so installed the second one, cranked it up and immediately the belt was at least two ribs off the crank pulley. Put her on the trailer and brought her home. Put her on the jack stands and the harmonic balancer which is bolted to the crank pulley are very loose on the crank. In fact they now will spin independently?? There is also a new oil leak around that front seal. What on earth has happened and can it be fixed without major surgery? The car has less than 30M miles on it. What size bolt is holding the balancer on? I don't have that large of an impact socket and obviously need to get one. Sorry for being long winded but this looks serious and I just got the car a few months ago. Any help or experience on this will be greatly appreciated.

God Bless,
Keith

 

[Larry Macedo]

Hello Keith,

Was the damper recently removed to replace a timing cover gasket or front crank seal? It is not uncommon to find the crank bolt loose or slightly tight on the Viper right from the factory. It is a must that red thread lock be used and the bolt torqued to 250 lb ft. whenever service is performed in this area. Actually, I'd recommend everyone with a Viper to check the torque of the crank bolt. If the crank snout is too badly galled, replacement may be necessary. That goes as well for the damper since it's a tapered press fit design Vs utilizing a key way. Let me know if you'd like for me to take a look.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Your lucky, I've been told it makes one heck of a racket and mess ricocheting down the floor boards as you roll over the parts!!! You caught it just in time. If your serpentine belt is falling off it is definitely telling you something is wrong. Mine fell off during the 2003 One Lap event, we were so happy that we had a tool to put it back on that we never gave it a second thought till the whole power steering reservoir/pump and pulley separated from the engine block and then it was to late!!

 

[FRANK]

Hello Keith,

Was the damper recently removed to replace a timing cover gasket or front crank seal? It is not uncommon to find the crank bolt loose or slightly tight on the Viper right from the factory. It is a must that red thread lock be used and the bolt torqued to 250 lb ft. whenever service is performed in this area. Actually, I'd recommend everyone with a Viper to check the torque of the crank bolt. If the crank snout is too badly galled, replacement may be necessary. That goes as well for the damper since it's a tapered press fit design Vs utilizing a key way. Let me know if you'd like for me to take a look.

Many times in shops when a crank bolt calls for 250lbs. or torque we run that bolt up with an airgun and use the loctite. It isn't easy torquing that bolt down and not spinning the whole motor. Unless you can have someone wedge a prybar holding the flywheel or putting the car in 6th gear. Running that bolt up with an airgun may sound crude but that bolt isn't going to snap and you sure as hell aren't gonna strip the threads out of the crank snout.

I cannot tell you how many times I've just ran these bolts up with my Ingersoll with loctite. Never any problems or balancers falling off.

I remember back in the mid-1980's I had to put a timing belt on a 1980 Chevette. I forgot what the torque spec was for the balancer but that is what I torqued it to in the service manual. About a month later the ****** bolt backed out and the balancer flew off leaving the people stranded. An older tech at that time asked me if what I did. I told him that I torqued it to spec and he laughed at me. He advised me that "always run those bolts in with the airgun and you'll never have that problem again."

When you think about it, you run up lug nuts up with an airgun right and those threads etc and way smaller than a crank bolt etc. For the past 18 years I have always used the airgun and never had a balancer fly off again!