How to test a harmonic balancer?
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 403
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From: NW Mississippi
Hmm... I guess my first question should have been "can they go bad?" The previous owner thought it might be "bad" due to an odd vibration at certain rpms. It is on a FE and appears to have no visable damage.
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Joined: Aug 2005
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From: NE Ga
Yes, or so I've been told. I've been told that the outer ring can slip on the rubber ring and cause you to have bad readings when setting your timing. If that can happen, then I guess it could cause a vibration since the weight would be shifted and misbalanced. If that is suspected, grab one out of your local yard and line it up to see if it's the same. If one of the two are differently aligned according to the key slot, then install a new one. I had never heard of balancer slip till I came onto this forum but anything's possible. I would more likely suspect a thrown weight on the converter, flywheel/flexplate, or just a poor engine balance job.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,828
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From: Piney Woods of East Texas
If the vibration is going down the road, it could be tires, loose suspension, kingpins.... When I got my 68 from my dad, it was next to impossiable to drive it over 50. The rag joint was gone, only the safety pins where allowing the steering to work. The bushings were soft in all of the suspension parts. A bad kingpin will start a shimmy at speeds.
If it's while the truck is parked, it may just need a major tuneup.
If it's while the truck is parked, it may just need a major tuneup.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: suburban atlanta
If it were going, you'd most likely see some of the 'rubber' sticking out on the front or back. Most failures are caused by oil seepage making the rubber go crazy, starting to turn to goo. The rubber will be all mushy if it is failing.
That said, grab the outermost surface and try to turn it w/o turning the crankshaft. If it is solid, it is most likely still good. It can creep, but failure rate is low.
As others noted, check for driveline vibrations, wheel and tire imbalance, worn out U-joint (will squeak as you drive or clunk badly when you reverse direction, or shift from D to R).
Just my thoughts..
tom
That said, grab the outermost surface and try to turn it w/o turning the crankshaft. If it is solid, it is most likely still good. It can creep, but failure rate is low.
As others noted, check for driveline vibrations, wheel and tire imbalance, worn out U-joint (will squeak as you drive or clunk badly when you reverse direction, or shift from D to R).
Just my thoughts..
tom
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Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Albuquerque
I'm not sure right off if the outer ring has any weighting to it but if it comes off at higher rpms it could wreck havoc.
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From: NE Ga
Well are you having vibrations in Park reving the motor? Are there vibratoins at certain rpms when reving it? Every motor is gonna have a tid bit of shake to it when you rev it. Not like a way outa wak shake but some vibrations. There's no such thing as a perfect engine.
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Joined: Apr 2006
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From: NW Mississippi
Originally Posted by 73F100*8Mile
Well are you having vibrations in Park reving the motor? Are there vibratoins at certain rpms when reving it? Every motor is gonna have a tid bit of shake to it when you rev it. Not like a way outa wak shake but some vibrations. There's no such thing as a perfect engine.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ish/390FE2.jpg
(that 2x4 was just temporary btw
)This was my father's truck as well and he had done extensive restoration to the steering sector and suspension prior to mothballing the project ten years ago due to a bum rebuild. It sat in the corner of his shop until he turned over the keys. When he saw the above picture was when he brought up the balancer issue. Hopefully it was just something in the previous rebuild or one of the tires.
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