harmonic balancer
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Clinton TN
harmonic balancer
When should I replace the harmonic balancer on my 99 c5. It has 124,000 miles. Balancer looks good but I have a slight seal leak.
Last edited by StudebakerJoe; Nov 28, 2019 at 05:22 PM. Reason: more detail
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,302
Likes: 1,583
From: Western NY
You HAVE to remove the balancer, in order to replace the crankshaft seal. Knowing that the balancers are know to fail, and the work required to get at them, there's absolutely no sense in putting the old one back on, once it's been removed. Install a Powerbond (Dayco) balancer on, when you replace the seal
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 7,782
Likes: 2,255
From: Brighton MI
You HAVE to remove the balancer, in order to replace the crankshaft seal. Knowing that the balancers are know to fail, and the work required to get at them, there's absolutely no sense in putting the old one back on, once it's been removed. Install a Powerbond (Dayco) balancer on, when you replace the seal
Pro
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 714
Likes: 104
From: Springfield Ohio
Whether or not you find any examples of PowerBond failures, I don't recall seeing any replacement balancer failures where the replacement was a quality unit. I also take the opposite view of "if it ain't broke - don't fix it." We'd all be driving flat head Ford V-8's if everyone thought like that. Progress comes when innovative people work to improve the status quo. If you're sure you have the OEM balancer, then I'd yank it out of there and install a better one. I do believe that "a stitch in time saves nine."
Last edited by tbrowne; Nov 29, 2019 at 02:22 PM. Reason: Fix grammer
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Instructor
Joined: Nov 2019
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Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,302
Likes: 1,583
From: Western NY
Getting back on topic, let me ask you a VERY important question....have you ever removed the harmonic balancer, from a C-5 Corvette? If you haven't, I can assure you, from personal experience, it's NOT a "day at the beach". There's a fair amount of disassembly required, to get at it. And if you have removed one, why the hell did you put a known problematic piece, back on the car??
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 226
Likes: 21
Getting back on topic, let me ask you a VERY important question....have you ever removed the harmonic balancer, from a C-5 Corvette? If you haven't, I can assure you, from personal experience, it's NOT a "day at the beach". There's a fair amount of disassembly required, to get at it. And if you have removed one, why the hell did you put a known problematic piece, back on the car??
Pro
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 667
Likes: 162
From: Jennings LA
Heel & Toe
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 21
Likes: 3
[QUOTE=Josephu;1600581648]124K miles. That has to be a record. 20 years old, Wow!!!.. It cant be running true... Are you sure that its never been changed before ?....[/QUOTE
not super out of the ordinary. Most of these get replaced in an abundance of caution rather than out of necessity. Plenty of balancers out there that have 150k miles on them.
not super out of the ordinary. Most of these get replaced in an abundance of caution rather than out of necessity. Plenty of balancers out there that have 150k miles on them.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 788
Likes: 33
From: Cedar Rapids IA
Heel & Toe
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 21
Likes: 3
exactly. Sometimes forums create the “oh **** I have to fix this” mentality. I saw a thread a while back where there was only one reported balancer failure that caused major damage and the car was heavily modified and supercharged. But hey, where is the mess hall? I’ll follow. Lol.
