Hey guys! Havent been around in awhile, and I hate to come back only because I have a problem, but this is the case ...

I was driving the other day when I heard my truck making a ticking kind of noise (playing card in bicycle spokes type, faster when your faster, slower when youre slower) that would get louder as I slowed down and quieter as I sped up. I was on the free way coming back from a day snowboarding when I noticed this. I was watching all my gauges (however accurate they are) and eveything was staying inside of normals, when I suddenly heard a loud pop/crack and kinda felt the truck kick a little (thought I saw something bounce across the road). my heat gauge rose right up to hot in about 2 seconds, so I real quick kicked it into neutral and shut it off, coasted off the exit ramp and off to the side. When I looked at first, my alternator belt was missing, and my radiator had backed up, filled the resivoiur and overflowed, and my power steering/water pump belt was slack, but not gone. I couldnt figure out what happened, called my dad who came and took a look, didnt see anything other than the missing belt, but on a second look he noticed something wrong ...




do we see something missing off the front of my harmonic balancer? I think so. looks like my pulley completely sheared itself off, snapping the bolts that held it on.

My question: is this a seperate piece that I can get and bolt on, or do I need to get a whole new balancer? I thought it was a seperate piece but I havent been able to find it at the parts store or anything ... has anyone ever seen this happen? needless to say, I cant really drive my beloved truck until this is fixed (got towed to my grandparents house, which was pretty close to where it decided to break)

 

You are going to have to pull the radiator shroud and see if you can get the bolts out. If you need more room, you can drain the engine and pull the radiator.

Problem is, even if you got a whole new balancer, you still need to get the old one off, and that means taking the large center bolt out, and then getting a puller and pulling it off the crank. But guess what...you need those bolt holes with the broken bolts to use the puller. The piece in the picture(balancer) is still good, but if you use a puller on the outside, you will ruin it. All you really need is 4 new bolts and a pulley.

If what happened is what I think happened, the bolts were loose on the pulley, and working over time it finally broke them off. If this is true, the broken bolts should not be in there too tight, and the first thing to do is get a sharp pick and see if you can get them to turn. If that doesn't work, try a sharp chisel or center punch with light taps from a hammer. If that doesn't work, then center punch the bolts as close as you can, use a small drill, and then drill into the bolt. Then use a little bit larger drill that matches the easy out you will be using to get the broken pieces out.

 

so it is a seperate piece then? any ideas on where I can pick it up (other than jy, havent looked there yet), I'm not totally sure the exact part I'm looking for when I try to find it online, since I kinda dont have the piece to look at and compare (on the side of the free way somewhere)

and yeah, I was thinking it had probably just been loose so it was prolly wobbling a little, and just kept torquing on the bolts til they finally broke.
I actually already pulled the fan, shroud, radiator, and grille so I had a straight shot at it, but I did not see what I could do about the broken bolts yet (misquitos starting attacking, and since I didnt have the replacement part yet anyway, figured I could just work on getting the bolts out when I got the new pully (is that what its called?))

 

I am not sure what you are asking when you say separate piece. The round piece in the photo with the broken bolts is one piece, and it's called the harmonic balancer. It will come off the front of the engine if you take the large center bolt out, and then get the little bolts out and pull it off. But there will be no need to pull it off the engine if you get the broken bolts out.

Possibly you think the part that sticks out with the broken bolts is another piece? No, that's all made into one piece.

 

I mean the pulley that goes on the front is a part that would be sold by itself? as opposed to only being sold w/ the harmonic balancer ...
thanks so much for the help

 

That's right, the pulley is separate. I bet you are going to have to go to the junkyard to get it though.

 

thats kinda what I'm thinking, I'll have to go searching ... local auto parts just go "ummm ... *looking on computer* yeah, I dont think we dont carry that"
Again, thank you for the info/input

 

Isn't your old one one the highway somewhere?

 

You might also try Summit or LMC.

 

what part of wa are you from? i got a few parts laying around

 

Ohh, I rember that happened to me once many years ago. Once you get the broken bolts out, get some grade 5 or better yet grade 8 bolts and use split washers on the bolts to hold the pully back on. The orginal split washers(if they were even in place) lost the tension to keep the bolt from back off causing what you have here.

Also check your radiator really good, I have seen flying belts do hit them.

 

A new balancer is only like $50, and if this one is the stocker chances are you probably need a new one anyways.

 

all you need is a new crank pulley. Then to get the old bolts out just get a set of bolt extractors from a hardware store some were, they work great. it will tell you what size hole to drill for the extractor and just spray it down good with penetrating oil.

 

umm first step would be to bore out the old bolts so if nothing else you can yank that thing off. and you might wanna check your head gasket and valve cover gaskets to make sure they didn't detonate as well. thats one problem i notice with these tanks, when some thing breaks in them it doesnt just break, it detonates.

 

Again, replaced the balancer, it ain't worth it getting stranded on the side of the road cause you cheaped out. Old balancers get their bonded rubber cracked with age and engine heat, and they can sometimes separate too.