Removed the crankshaft pulley/harmonic balancer today using a wheel puller and M8x125 bolts threaded through the pulley. Unit came off under steady strain. No scoring on the crankshaft or damage to key. Prior to removal noticed rubber material extruding around the periphery of the balancer bore. Engine has 451K on it. Appreciate any feedback or opinions as to if the balancer is damaged and needs to be replaced. Crankshaft bolt was definitely at torque spec given difficulty breaking loose and removing.
Harmonic Balance Bore Material
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sleepydad
Senior Member
that is really strange
did somebody use Toyota FIP thinking they were sealing it onto the crank?
451K is a lot of miles how long have you owned it? kind of seems like a unique service was performed?
I ended up replacing my original crank pulley because somebody had chipped the outside groves, the inside of mine was still fine but it was starting to eat belts. that one looks kind of damaged to me, I guess the risk is you might gouge the crank putting it back on? That engine has made a long ways and replacing a crank is a big job. would be a shame to end it's service by messing up the crank.
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LittleCaesar
New member
I agree with [MENTION=168172]sleepydad[/MENTION], what kind of weird crap has someone being doing to that balancer? Just get another one.
thegipper
New member
There is a inner metal "doughnut" that is somehow attached to the harmonic balancer. My original HB had this metal doughnut randomly fall off.
I could not figure out how it was attached to the HB, maybe they are spot welded in place?
I drove my truck for a couple years with that inner metal doughtnut sitting on my bench and it didn't seem to screw anything up. But, they wouldn't put that thing on there for no reason, I'm sure there are some engineering reasons for it.
My 99 donor engine had a aluminum aftermarket HB installed on it and it did not have that metal ring on it at all.
Perhaps your HB had that same ring fall off and someone tried gluing it back in place??
Either way, I would install a new HB.
I could not figure out how it was attached to the HB, maybe they are spot welded in place?
I drove my truck for a couple years with that inner metal doughtnut sitting on my bench and it didn't seem to screw anything up. But, they wouldn't put that thing on there for no reason, I'm sure there are some engineering reasons for it.
My 99 donor engine had a aluminum aftermarket HB installed on it and it did not have that metal ring on it at all.
Perhaps your HB had that same ring fall off and someone tried gluing it back in place??
Either way, I would install a new HB.
msh03046
New member
I'm in the midst of rehabbing my "new" 02, and I decided to get a new HB. There isn't much of this truck that I'm not repairing or replacing at this point, and 99.99% of the replacement parts are OEM, but there are a few aftermarket parts I'm throwing on it, and for now the HB is one.
I was debating doing this on such an important piece, and only made the choice after a LOT of research and reading. But given that I'm a "tad" over my original budget...throwing almost $400 at the OEM HB was just too hard to swallow. After a lot of reading and video watching I ended up getting a Dayco Powerbond (PN PB1133N). They're made in Australia, and seem to be popular for guys rebuilding muscle cars and other high powered machines. The best part was that I found a seller on eBay that had a new one available, in the original box, for only $114.00. Based on the sellers store I think they are one of those folks that gets car parts from closed warehouses, or other storage facilities, and flips them on eBay, so I don't believe they ever tried to install it in there own vehicle at any time and changed their mind.
I know I may get some thumbs down for not going OEM here, but I didn't really feel the HB was that hard to remove, so I'll keep a very close eye on it.
If I think there may be ANY issues I'll swap it out with an OEM HB. Having said that, my gut tells me I'll get a few years of good use out of it, maybe not the 200-300k miles of an OEM, but for the price I got it at I'll happily replace it at 100k if it's already showing signs of problems. The good news is that by then my bank account will have recovered from all the Day 0 projects I've been executing on this truck, and it'll be time for a new TB / WP anyway...
I was debating doing this on such an important piece, and only made the choice after a LOT of research and reading. But given that I'm a "tad" over my original budget...throwing almost $400 at the OEM HB was just too hard to swallow. After a lot of reading and video watching I ended up getting a Dayco Powerbond (PN PB1133N). They're made in Australia, and seem to be popular for guys rebuilding muscle cars and other high powered machines. The best part was that I found a seller on eBay that had a new one available, in the original box, for only $114.00. Based on the sellers store I think they are one of those folks that gets car parts from closed warehouses, or other storage facilities, and flips them on eBay, so I don't believe they ever tried to install it in there own vehicle at any time and changed their mind.
I know I may get some thumbs down for not going OEM here, but I didn't really feel the HB was that hard to remove, so I'll keep a very close eye on it.
If I think there may be ANY issues I'll swap it out with an OEM HB. Having said that, my gut tells me I'll get a few years of good use out of it, maybe not the 200-300k miles of an OEM, but for the price I got it at I'll happily replace it at 100k if it's already showing signs of problems. The good news is that by then my bank account will have recovered from all the Day 0 projects I've been executing on this truck, and it'll be time for a new TB / WP anyway...
gamefreakgc
Elite Member
If you replace it, LC Engineering has a nice little upgraded pulley that helps with accerlation and it's cheaper than one from a Toyota dealership: 5VZ Lightweight Crankshaft Pulley
thegipper
New member
Yup, that is the one that was on my 99 donor engine.
The problem with it is when I tried to remove it (donor engine got a timing belt/WP job before I swapped it in my truck) the threads got ripped out when I was using my HB holder tool.
Since I couldn't hold the HB in place anymore, I decided to try my M18 impact which blew off the crank bolt without breaking a sweat. The only reason why this was possible was because the engine was sitting on a stand.
Just keep that in mind if you do go that route. An aluminum HB is nice and will save you some money over the OEM part but if you ever need to remove it, you'll need to do the starter bump method or come up with some other way to hold it to get the crank bolt off. This leads to the next problem, how are you going to hold it when you need to torque the crank bolt upon reassembly (217 ft/lbs I believe). Maybe I just had bad luck with the aluminum HB that I got?
I used the starter bump method to get my original engines crank bolt off which is my go to method now.
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gamefreakgc
Elite Member
Since it has holes bored in it for weight reduction, I just grabbed a setbelt and put it through the hole and tied it to the accessory brackets. One on each side and that thing was not going anywhere and got it off pretty easy. I had to move it over to my new engine and was easier to get off this way than the regular harmonic balancer.
TheDurk
Elite Member
Here is another option...I have no direct experience but URD are good people. $199
URD SuperGrip Crankshaft Pulley for 3.4L Toyota Trucks - Underdog Racing Development
URD SuperGrip Crankshaft Pulley for 3.4L Toyota Trucks - Underdog Racing Development
thegipper
New member
Good idea with the seat belt!
Thankfully I already had the engine out of the donor truck and on a stand. My M18 impact made short work of the crank bolt.
I remember when the threads ripped out and how I was thinking, why on earth would they think aluminum threads will be able to hold this HB in place during removal.
In hindsight, if you needed to remove one of these aluminum HB pulleys, I would try the seat belt trick or make a tool with two hardened dowels that fit between the "spokes" of the aluminum HB. The threads on mine literally ripped out the second I applied a decent amount of force to break the crank bolt loose. Of course the starter bump method is always an option for removal.
I was just standing there like "F$%&, now what do I do". Then a bulb went on in my head like, ok dummy just use your big ass impact....
thegipper
New member
Back to the OP's question, if that inner metal ring was "glued" back in place, I would replace that HB as soon as possible.
When the OEM HB is manufactured, I'm sure they center that ring as dead on as possible otherwise the HB will not be balanced. You do not want the HB to be unbalanced!
This is why I just left it off, I figured it would be better to not be on there than me trying to somehow "glue" it back in place and throwing off the balance.
Get yourself a new HB and call it a day. If your timing belt/WP is due soon, now would be the time to do it.
Good luck!
When the OEM HB is manufactured, I'm sure they center that ring as dead on as possible otherwise the HB will not be balanced. You do not want the HB to be unbalanced!
This is why I just left it off, I figured it would be better to not be on there than me trying to somehow "glue" it back in place and throwing off the balance.
Get yourself a new HB and call it a day. If your timing belt/WP is due soon, now would be the time to do it.
Good luck!
gamefreakgc
Elite Member
Here is another option...I have no direct experience but URD are good people. $199
URD SuperGrip Crankshaft Pulley for 3.4L Toyota Trucks - Underdog Racing Development
Both the URD and LCE pulleys are great products. Literally the only reason why I decided the LCE over the URD is because the LCE pulley is black and smog techs don't need any more reasons to try and fail my 4Runner.
Thanks for the advice (also [MENTION=10169]TheDurk[/MENTION] [MENTION=138943]thegipper[/MENTION], and [MENTION=135331]msh03046[/MENTION]). Wasn't planning on replacing as part of the rebuild; but will replace it now. Uncanny that there would be adhesive holding the balancer together. I was torquing on that inner ring with the OTC pulley tool when removing the crank bolt. Appreciate the vendors for the aftermarket balancers. I'm going that route; especially from a weight saving/supercharger perspective.
msh03046
New member
After years of using these forums, but staying on the sidelines, I'm glad to finally start contributing.
My Dayco arrived yesterday, and based on everything I've read about their quality, build process, and the condition of this particular unit, I think it was 114 dollars well spent...
My Dayco arrived yesterday, and based on everything I've read about their quality, build process, and the condition of this particular unit, I think it was 114 dollars well spent
...
thegipper
New member
I doubt they "glue" that inner ring on from the factory, my guess is it is spot welded. Again, my theory is yours fell off like mine and someone tried gluing it back in place which was a bad idea.
Just be careful using the threads to hold the aluminum HB in place when torquing on the crank bolt or use the method game freak came up with.
