1996 Camry Harmonic Balancer

[bobad]

Hi,

Just bought a '96 Camry 4cyl for my son. Runs great, but we noticed the alternator-AC compressor belt was very tight. Worried it would destroy the bearings, we loosened it a tad.

Cranked it up, and at idle the harmonic balancer wobbles a lot. Tightened the belt back up, now it doesn't wobble much. The 19mm nut in the center of the HB is at least pretty tight.

You can grab the pulley and wiggle it, so it obviously has a rubber isolation feature I'm not familiar with.

Questions, is it normal for it to wobble at idle, or is it probably going to launch itself?

Is it normal to have to tighten the belt very tight to keep it smooth?

Many thanks,,,

[ajkalian]

Originally Posted by bobad

Hi,

Questions, is it normal for it to wobble at idle, or is it probably going to launch itself?

Is it normal to have to tighten the belt very tight to keep it smooth?

Many thanks,,,

You are about 10 seconds from a disaster.

The harmonic balancer is a two piece affair. An outside ring, and the inside one that the bolt goes through. There is a thin rubber ring that holds the two together. If it's wiggling then that ring is shot, and the two parts are about to come apart and you could expect much damage if/when they do.

I'd be getting this fixed right away, if not sooner.


.

[bobad]

Originally Posted by ajkalian

You are about 10 seconds from a disaster.

The harmonic balancer is a two piece affair. An outside ring, and the inside one that the bolt goes through. There is a thin rubber ring that holds the two together. If it's wiggling then that ring is shot, and the two parts are about to come apart and you could expect much damage if/when they do.

I'd be getting this fixed right away, if not sooner.


.

Ugh, I was afraid of that.

Looks like a real beast to get to. If I can't remove the right fron tire and get to it, the engine will have to be dropped.

Thanks,,,

[ajkalian]

Originally Posted by bobad

Ugh, I was afraid of that.

Looks like a real beast to get to. If I can't remove the right fron tire and get to it, the engine will have to be dropped.

Thanks,,,

It's not that hard to do. Like you said, jack up the car, take off the passenger side front wheel, and there is a plastic mud guard cover held on by a couple of bolts. Then you can get right to the nut holding it on. Be aware it's on really tight, and there are several ways to remove it. The Bump Start method is the easiest.

You can search the forums for How to change a Timing Belt, but here's a couple to get you started.

DIY: GEN3 Timing Belt + Waterpump + Oil Seal Change - Part 1

2000 Camry LE 6cyl 1MZ-FE Timing Belt Change

[73sport]

Originally Posted by ajkalian

You are about 10 seconds from a disaster.

I'd be getting this fixed right away, if not sooner.


.

Well said my friend. . .

Interesting post as there is another here that can't get the alignment marks on. I hinted that the balancer can slip. Your post here says thats TRUE!!!!!

ajkalian speaks the truth - fix it before ASAP as its a disaster in the makings. The hub is supposed to be bonded to the dampener ring (vulcanized???)

Its easy work once the bolt is loose. You up for that?

Edit: think junk yard and use the right puller to pull it if you need it.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by bobad

Hi,

You can grab the pulley and wiggle it, so it obviously has a rubber isolation feature I'm not familiar with.

Questions, is it normal for it to wobble at idle, or is it probably going to

did the wobbly harmonic balancer produce any noise at certain RPM range when the a/c belt was not overtightened (meaning at normal tension) ?

For some time I have been having some weird vibrations (rather acoustic) whenever tension on a/c belt drops below 120lbs ... it would produce some noise (some call it a bearing noise per my video) at around 1800-2300rpm ...

I never really bothered with it, just tightened the a/c belt to 130lbs and forgot the issue (still can slightly hear it faintly some times especially at cold engine).

now thanks to your post i'm thinking that maybe my HB is acting up ? will have to take a closer look at some point in time ...

[bobad]

Originally Posted by fenixus

did the wobbly harmonic balancer produce any noise at certain RPM range when the a/c belt was not overtightened (meaning at normal tension) ?

For some time I have been having some weird vibrations (rather acoustic) whenever tension on a/c belt drops below 120lbs ... it would produce some noise (some call it a bearing noise per my video) at around 1800-2300rpm ...

I never really bothered with it, just tightened the a/c belt to 130lbs and forgot the issue (still can slightly hear it faintly some times especially at cold engine).

now thanks to your post i'm thinking that maybe my HB is acting up ? will have to take a closer look at some point in time ...

As said, someone tightened the belt excruciatingly tight, I assume to stop the vibration. My son has no idea what engine sounds are, so I don't know whether it was making noise and vibration except at idle.

The new HB we purchased is rock solid, the old one could be moved by hand. Try moving it, if it can be wiggled, I guess it needs changing. Son was moving the car to a good location to work on it, and the HB separated. No harm done, good thing it was just idling. Good call on fixing it sooner than soon!

Changing it out wasn't too terribly hard. We bought a cheap puller, and it did OK despite the tight quarters. Do use a powerful impact wrench or be prepared to use starter torque to loosen the nut. My air impact wrench is only 240 Lb-Ft, and it wasn't enough. Starter bump worked great, but you have to hold your breaker bar firmly at 90 Deg.

Thanks for all the help! You guys are great over here in the older car section!

[fenixus]

thanks!

did you have to remove both accessory belts of the crank pulley (aka harmonic balancer) to wiggle test it with a hand ? just curious ... i'm a tad lazy to remove the belts ...