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I see many people here have had their fair share of issues, but I haven't had to do anything to my high-mileage Explorer beyond regular maintenance. She has been a real gem and I love her.
However, for a few months now, there has been a barely noticeable squealing noise and I just figured I needed a new belt- something I could get to later (Procrastinator is my middle name). Yesterday, I was driving along at about 30mph when I heard a clang. I looked in the mirror and saw a circular piece land softly on the side of the road. I thought I hit some debris, but as I got closer to my house, the car started losing power and acting funny until I slowly lurched into a parking spot (luckily). I walked back to the area where I saw the debris and found the outer ring pulley for my harmonic balancer (picture attached - only figured this out with some Google searching).
I haven't found the guts to look under the hood yet, but I've read enough in the forums to know it can be a DIY fix if I really put my mind to it, or it can be a costly bill from the repair shop. I'm not very experienced with cars beyond oil changes and minor part replacements. So, assuming no other damage was done, my first question is; Can I do this without lifting the entire engine out of the vehicle? I live in the city where *technically* it's illegal to work on your car on the street, so I need this to attract very little attention. Thanks in advance.
The harmonic balancer failed on my Exp a couple of years ago. I thought I had seized a pulley which in turned snapped the belt. I took a look at what had failed, I scratched my head and felt something else was up. Turned out my balancer failed. It wound up costing me a few hundred to repair which I barely had at the time. The worst was the mechanic I used which I had done business with in the past pretty much screwed me over claiming other parts had failed but never called me to asked for an OK for replacement. So my bill when from a couple of hundred to several hundred.
My thoughts are if you can do it, go for it. If not, find someone you can trust. Since I got screwed by two local independent shops, I find myself at the dealer if I need repairs over my driveway experience. If something goes wrong, I could always call corporate. Good luck with your repair.
The pulley is bonded by a rubber insert to the balancer hub, which is bolted to the front of the crankshaft. The hub has a smooth surface on it which rides in the front oil seal.
Your rubber bond failed, sheared off, allowing the pulley to fall away. The hub will still be bolted in place. A puller is needed to remove the hub off the front snout of the crankshaft. There may or may not be sufficient room to do the job with the radiator in place. Removing the radiator is a rather bitch of a job on 3rd. gens., so if not absolutely necessary, don't.
A good idea while old hub is out, would be to replace the oil seal with a new one. impish
