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New Harmonic balancer wobbling?

M

Muddy98

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Medford, OR
2000 xj

It's a very slight wobble it may even be fine according to the local mechanic but I wanna be sure.

I installed it when I refreshed the engine and it was installed correctly But have any of you guys ever got a bad one out of the box?

My bigger question is

Can another pulley from the fan bearing or power steering pulley cause a slight wobble? Because if so I have an idea of what is going on.

Engine only has around 100k on it.

I'm uploading a YouTube video to post it here to show what's its doing but it's taking a while to upload.












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Is the center bolt torqued to 80 ft pounds. I always put some Loctite on that bolt.
 
That looks like less wobble than the new ones I put on my XJ and the Varmints' ZJ. I don't exactly like them, but that seems to be the accepted standard.
 
8Mud said:
Is the center bolt torqued to 80 ft pounds. I always put some Loctite on that bolt.
Click to expand...
Yeah I double checked it.

I'm thinking it's the power steering pulley or the ac bracket bearing the fan goes in if I had to guess, the power steering has a slight wobble but nothing out of the ordinary and the fan bearing has like a millimeter of play you can hardly feel so they will be getting replaced.

Iv just been at work out of town and since I can't physically work on it right now I wanted to see what I can figure out while I'm away from it with the video I took before I left.

I just couldn't find anything on the web saying other pulleys can affect the harmonic balancers movement I was always under the impression they can affect the belt and the other pulleys since they're light but that the balancer should be rock solid with almost razor straight movement

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What brand of HB is it ?

RockAuto.com has genuine Mopar. The last one I installed was from NAPA.
 
OK, my take. I don't see it wobbling. I see it going in and out. There is a difference. You need a dial indicator. Then try and move the HB and crank, in and out. I think the spec is +/- .001 or .002. I don't know what would be 'acceptable', for daily use. I had a HB go, and I didn't catch it in time. Thought it was other belt drive issues. Stupid me. I think I have 1/8 movement. I had to replace the crankshaft and bearings. I doubt yours is that bad.
 
They once gave me the wrong belt, it didn't have the same number of ridges and grooves as my balancer. Just something to check.
The last time I replaced a balancer it was a whole lot worse than yours is now.
Could be a worn thrust washer, but if it is a little loose it never seemed to hurt anything on my old motors.
 
I replaced the balancer on my xj with one from napa I believe it had the same movement as the one in the video.
 
75SV1 said:
OK, my take. I don't see it wobbling. I see it going in and out. There is a difference. You need a dial indicator. Then try and move the HB and crank, in and out. I think the spec is +/- .001 or .002. I don't know what would be 'acceptable', for daily use. I had a HB go, and I didn't catch it in time. Thought it was other belt drive issues. Stupid me. I think I have 1/8 movement. I had to replace the crankshaft and bearings. I doubt yours is that bad.
Click to expand...
That's whats worrying me, I don't want to have to pull the engine again when I haven't even got to enjoy it yet. I just put the thing all back together over the course of 6 months balancing waiting for parts and working and have been excited to drive it knowing it was gonna be mechanically solid.





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Muddy98 said:
That's whats worrying me, I don't want to have to pull the engine again when I haven't even got to enjoy it yet. I just put the thing all back together over the course of 6 months balancing waiting for parts and working and have been excited to drive it knowing it was gonna be mechanically solid.





Sent from my SM-A516U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

From the video, I think your OK. See if you can measure it. Also, is there metal flakes when you change the oil? If not, then that is a good sign. It could also be sort of an illusion. Or that the HB faces are not Axial run out to the crank. I'd probably try with hands and see if you can detect movement in and out.
 
Yeah when I get home in a few days I'm gonna start it without the belt on and see if it was being caused by something in the belt drive system, if not I'll measure it and go from there. I wouldn't be too upset to replace the bearings if all I had to do was drop the pan.



I think this video I uploaded on reddit is much clearer than the YouTube one if anyone wants to give it a Second look the movement I'm talking about it a bit more pronounced.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAd...s_an/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Sent from my SM-A516U using Tapatalk
 
I still, see only back and forth. I also, don't see a lot. I think I'd try the feeler gage method mentioned. when I looked at one shot, the one side on the OD looked stable, but the other looked like it 'wobbled'. So, I think a bit of an illusion.
 
75SV1 said:
I still, see only back and forth. I also, don't see a lot. I think I'd try the feeler gage method mentioned. when I looked at one shot, the one side on the OD looked stable, but the other looked like it 'wobbled'. So, I think a bit of an illusion.
Click to expand...
yeah thats what I'll be doing when I get home

I just hope worst case scenario I just gotta drop the pan and replace the bearings.





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lawsoncl said:
No. The HB is either not pulled on tight, or the center bore is slightly crooked.
Click to expand...
I ended up downloading an app to play it in super slow motion and yeah it definitely looks way more like a wobble and not in and out like it appears on the full speed video.

I believe that's good news and just means the balancer is defective or somehow not installed correctly although I don't know how because I used the installer tool guided the key into the keyway and torqued it to factory but I feel alot better having seen that it was a wobble.




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