Harmonic Balancer

Hey CHUCKSARAH,

You must have a puller, here is a video and guide that will show you what you are in for when doing this repair.

https://youtu.be/EuOF5mGimho

and

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

Start with the vehicle in NEUTRAL. Remove the air cleaner outlet pipe. Remove the accessory drive belt.

Also remove the starter motor to wedge a large pry bar into the teeth of the flywheel to stop the engine from turning over when you loosen the crank bolt. They also make a tool for this

NOTE: This bolt is torque-to-yield and cannot be reused.
Using the special tool to hold the crankshaft pulley, remove the bolt. Using the special tools and two 8-mm bolts, remove the crankshaft pulley.
Discard the crankshaft pulley bolt.

Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what happens.

how to remove/install harmonic balancer on in a 05 mustang 4.0 engine

Need this tool see diagram maybe rent from autozone

My car listed above makes a chirping sound whenever I accelerate.

When the cars in idle it does not make a sound (most of the time).

When I accelerate the chirp almost increases in sound and frequency.

I noticed recently the harmonic balancer has a wobble, but is still in pretty fair condition visually (compared to others online)

Note: At idle the harmonic balancer is wobbly but at 2000 rpm's it straightens out.

The harmonic balancer is two pieces glued together. The outer cast ring is the pulley. It is not uncommon for that bond to let go, then the pulley can turn or slip. It only takes 1/16" off-center to set up a squeal or chirp.

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

Every auto parts store will have a book that shows almost every vibration damper/harmonic balancer for every engine. Replace it before it comes completely apart because that will leave you sitting on the side of the road.

How difficult would it be to replace it without air tools? Would I have to take off the radiator or could I work from under the car “raised”?

You can work from under the car with the front in the air. Just remove the drive belt after you break the crank bolt loose as you can use the belt to hold it in place. If it is broke free enough that the belt will not hold it you can install the puller bolts and use them to hold the inner balancer in place. Then remove the belt, install the puller bridge and remove the balancer.
Be sure you get a new bolt with the replacement balancer, they are not supposed to be reused. also, while you have it out, replace the crank seal, the old one is probably worn and stiff, not what you want when you install the new balancer.

You are going back to your original post. We are way beyond that with the diagnosis and solution.

95 mustang gt, 5 speed bone stock, i am getting a shaking/vibration that's rather serious to me there is NO unusual noise, no power loss, no fluids leaking, the confusion i am having is what would cause it to shake at idol as well as while driving, could it be a harmonic balancer, flywheel/clutch, or possibly just a broken motor mount?

Hi there,

Thank you for the donation,

This could be a broken engine mount, or a rear transmission mount, i would start looking here first, is the engine running smoothly? no rough idle, or misfire? check these first and if no luck re post for more assistance.

mark (mhpautos)

I have a 94 ranger with a 5.0 liter mustang motor in it that came out of a 1990 mustang. My question is that when I reinstalled the harmonic balancer i used a fairly powerful impact wrench to tighten the bolt, is it possible to overtighten this bolt and cause stress on the bearings for the crankshaft?

its really not a good thing to do , but when i was still at the dealer being a flat rate tech ive done it several times without a problem or comeback , you could use a torque wrench and tryand back it out just to see what ftlbs you are at and adjust accordingly at worst you would damage the crank threads in my opinion

thanks, jim
oh and leave some feedback if you were happy with your help , we all donate our time here helping others