PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

So I have an annoying rattle and come to find out the rubber is shredded in my harmonic balancer. I am wondering what the damage is running the car like that? I need to get it to my father in laws garage, about a mile, so we can change it out.

If it's only a mile you should be ok, obviously don't drive it hard and let us know how you make out.


Tech info:

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Will do!!

I drove mine a mile or so to a repair shop making an awful racket. No prob.
Make sure you change the crank sensor while you have the balancer off,
it will save you grief in the future.

Have fun getting that bolt off, and don't hurt yourself.

I should post a picture of mine when I got it changed me and my mechanic had a fun time getting that bolt off, i agree with the be careful statement above.

and don't cheap out on the replacement!

A big air-impact will be your best friend on that one, otherwise a good breaker-bar and the write-up listed above.

Parts have arrived and the work is about to begin. One question though... assuming all else fails....has anyone tried the methods I've seen elsewhere, where the ignition system is disabled and the starter is used to help get that bolt off? Also I've started to get a little oil leak from that area, is that an indicator of a greater issue?

Personally for me, not having some strong impact tools. I just jam a pry bar, wedge or whatever in the flywheel so the engine can't turn over (or have someone hold it there). Then just use a ratchet with a long bar attached (jack handle) to get some good torque on that bolt.

There are other methods I'm sure but this is what I always use because it doesn't require any special procedures or tools.


Good luck


Concerning the oil leak, its probably a combo of everything. Oil pan, timing cover, front seal etc. Pretty much over time the front of the engine gets all goomed up with oil/dirt/sludge, unless you are one to clean it and keep it clean it will happen.

Especially with more miles and age all the gaskets just get worn out.

So what do you do when you rent an impact gun and that's not even working??

I used a torch to heat up the bolt head over and over and over.
Each time I used a four foot pipe on my breaker bar and put
my whole weight on it. After a couple of hours it finally came loose.

The one thing I remember is the bouncing and jerking of the breaker
bar was not the method that worked. It was when I leaned all my
weight and force on the bar and held it that way for a minute, and it
SLOWLY came loose. It never really POPPED loose.

It was all somewhat dangerous, so make sure everything is protected
if something breaks.

If it's never been off before it takes about 800-1000ft/lbs to break it loose. With a 4ft cheater you need 200lbs at the end. I use a 6ft cheater bar. I think theres some sort of epoxy that goes between the bolt head and the balancer. Heat may help with the epoxy, but the bolt doesn't normally rust to the crank.

Never, ever, use a cheater on a ratchet to break a bolt. A breaker bar has a softer drive that will twist before it breaks, releasing a lot of the torque being applied and giving you good warning and time to back off. A ratchet will snap, and things will go flying.

Have someone hold a screwdriver in a tooth on the flywheel, be careful that they hold it perfectly still, perpendicular to the edge of the trans case. If you hold the screwdriver at an angle it will pry on the trans case and can cause it to crack.

Woohooo!! Father in law brought home a different impact wrench from work, a deep impact socket and a pipewrench. With him on the pipewrench, pipewrench on the socket and me on the impact we got that sucker loose!! My next question as I posed before is should I replace the seal since I've got it off? It's leaking oil not drastically but enough to cause me concern. Does this seal look like its seated properly? Just trying to head off any other problems while I can.