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Harmonic balancer installation

Tiny
MYJEEPHATESME
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
  • 4.7L
  • V8
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 150,000 MILES
I hit a bad pothole and after driving about 20 miles it started making a loud noise. I stopped and saw harmonic balancer wobbling. Long story short some “yeah I can fix it” mechanic installed a new one. When he was tightening the new one, he didn’t use anything to keep it from turning and it turned twice. (The notch went from 2:00 to almost 6:00). Can I take it off and install it correctly or did this do more damage? It has not been driven since, only cranked up a few times then cut right back off. Thanks!
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2021 AT 11:08 PM

6 Replies

Tiny
DANNY L
  • MECHANIC
  • 5,648 POSTS
Hello, I'm Danny.

Here is the information you requested. Here is a tutorial showing the proper way on how to remove and replace a harmonic balancer:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-a-harmonic-balancer-works

I've attached picture steps below on how to remove and replace the harmonic balancer on your vehicle. Let us know what you find and we'll go from there. Hope this helps and thanks for using 2CarPros.
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Thursday, July 1st, 2021 AT 12:24 AM
Tiny
MYJEEPHATESME
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
Thank you! I was wondering though if when he allowed the new damper to turn twice while tightening the bolt, if it could have damaged anything else on my Jeep?
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Thursday, July 1st, 2021 AT 4:03 PM
Tiny
MYJEEPHATESME
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
The new one is on there, just not on the way it’s supposed to be. I would’ve taken it to a shop but I don’t have the money to.
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Thursday, July 1st, 2021 AT 4:04 PM
Tiny
DANNY L
  • MECHANIC
  • 5,648 POSTS
Hello again.

Hopefully this guy didn't seriously mess things up. The harmonic balancer is press fit onto the engine crankshaft and held in place by a woodruff key. The woodruff key fits into a slot in the balancer to keep it stationary on not to spin during engine operation. The balancer is 2 piece design with the outer ring insulated by a rubber seal and the hub. If you say when this person installed the balancer and it moved from its intended stationary position he possibly could have broken the woodruff key or the seal on the balancer allowing things to move. I've attached a picture below showing the groove and the rubber seal on the balancer from our guide I sent you last time. The second picture is of a balancer for your Jeep. Hope this helps and thanks again for using 2CarPros.

Danny-
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Thursday, July 1st, 2021 AT 6:55 PM
Tiny
MYJEEPHATESME
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
Thank you for your answer! Okay so, the woodruff key and the seal are the only two things that could have been damaged by it turning? Could it have messed up the timing? I’m just trying to get an idea of how much it could end up costing and how hard the repairs may be.
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Saturday, July 3rd, 2021 AT 1:37 AM
Tiny
DANNY L
  • MECHANIC
  • 5,648 POSTS
Hello again.

Yes, the woodruff key and the seal are the only two things that would cause the balancer to spin with damage. If the key is broke then you can possibly salvage the balancer. If the seal is damaged on the balancer then it will require a new balancer as they are not repairable. Let us know if you have any further questions on this issue. Hope this helps and thanks again for using 2CarPros.

Danny-
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Monday, July 5th, 2021 AT 4:02 PM

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