I drive a 91 cutless ciera olds. It started making a loading rattleing sound and I was told by a parts store it was my harmonic balacer. It does sound like the noise may be coming from there. Any advice on this or what will happen if i don't get this fixed quickly? I drive 45 mins to work ever day...thanks.

 

The harmonic balancer is a way of externally balancing an engine. The purpose is to take the stress off the crankshaft bearings. If your harmonic balancer truly is bad you will probably get decreased engine life, possibly even pre-mature bearing failure. It would be in your best interest to find out what is causing that noise and repair it. A rattling noise under load could be something else, maybe a worn belt tensioner, in rwd cars it could be a worn tranny mount, or even an old loose exhaust hanger or worn out muffler. Good luck and hope you find the trouble and get it corrected.

 

I agree with Oldsguy that a bad harmonic balancer deserves immediate attention. They usually are two piece, with a rubber cushion in between. I once had a balancer come apart completely , and the potential is there for a lot of damage. When looking for engine noises, don't overlook belt noises from alternator or other belts. If belts are worn or damaged, they can make surprisingly loud noises , as can bad bearings from belt driven accessories such as a water pump or alternator. Get some belt dressing spray ( anti-slip) and spray a little on the drive side of each belt, one at a time, and listen for any reduction in engine noise. A worn timing chain can also cause noise from the front of the engine.Good luck !

[ February 25, 2005: Message edited by: PetChemMan ]</p>