Touche Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Car ran fine a few minutes before I popped the hood, there was a little rattling I suspected to be a water pump failing. Free play is about 3 inches, with a hard stop on either side. Im a bit nervous about starting the car again. Every pulley including the crankshaft moves. The belt is tight. Timing chain broken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 The crankshaft probably isn't moving. I'm guessing a bad harmonic balancer is the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 53 minutes ago, Ronnie said: The crankshaft probably isn't moving. I'm guessing a bad harmonic balancer is the problem. Times two on that. The rubber face of the damper is likely crumbled and the metal interlocked fingers of the damper is what is causing the hard stop either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Take a closer look at the bottom pulley..... the outside with the "V" grooves is moving but that big hex bolt in the center is not turning. As the experts above suggested..... bad harmonic balancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 The mechanical interlock will keep the balancer from falling apart but allows a certain amount of movement. Will sound like a death rattle at idle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Touche Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 Father time's not too kind to all things rubber. Relatively good news! This group is great! Thanks for all your inputs, fellows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, padgett said: The mechanical interlock will keep the balancer from falling apart but allows a certain amount of movement. Will sound like a death rattle at idle. I've seen GM cars with balancers like ours in salvage yards with notes written on them saying runs but lower bearing noise. I've always thought all that was needed was a new balancer. Edited July 31, 2020 by DAVES89 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Thought: is it fair to lowball a car because something is rong and you know how to fix ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 59 minutes ago, padgett said: Thought: is it fair to lowball a car because something is rong and you know how to fix ? A good question for Ethics 101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 I bought the Black '88 for a very low price [$1000.00] and when he fired it up it had a rattle like the balancer was out. I knew what it was [and maybe he did too] but how much lower can you go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 I paid $250 for a 90 Coupe that needed a MAF. But she wanted it gone. Paid $800 for my project SLK230/5 speed. Ran and drove when parked but need to drain tank and replace fuel pump/filter once it cools off a bit. Got the Reatta wheel in the Allante and buttoned up. Flushed the ABS. Just need to add the air horns. Not much gets done when over 100F in the garage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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