thehuff

i gather no since it seems to be listed as a single part?

serp belt shot off this afternoon, and ended up getting towed the few miles home. the belt was severed lengthwise (like a couple ribs wide) and all wrapped up in the fan pulley. the vibration damper was also separated from the crankshaft pulley and pulled out a few mm (see pic) so that it was hitting the fan blade. i was able to get it back into place with some encouragement from the hammer. I replaced the belt about 6 months ago and never could get the tension right to get all the squeeling silenced, so I'm curious if maybe the belt was on too tight which pulled the vibration damper off the pulley? is the damper just held on the pulley by tension/friction?

i already have another belt because i was planning to replace the waterpump and hoses etc. anyways. would it be ok to throw the new belt on for the time being (until the weekend) or should I replace the vibration damper immediately? im thinking it would just slip off again, so probably best to wait until i get another one? also how do you get the retaining bolt on the pulley to break free? ratchet on the bolt earlier just made the engine turn over.

sthon

That doesn't look right at all... There should almost be no gap behind the harmonic balancer. You'll likely need a harmonic balancer puller and installer, your local auto store should rent them.

Firestorm500

Replace the harmonic balancer assembly now. The pulley is pressed on the dampner with a rubber isolator in between. In time, this rubber rots and cracks. When this happens, it is all toast.

They are not expensive for Jeeps.

Don"t start it or drive it until you do replace it.

thehuff

Ok thanks, will do.

Could the belt being too tight cause that to slip out, or does it seem more likely that the vibration damper was going bad and slipped off, tearing up the belt? With engine running it wobbles some, maybe a mm or two. At almost 183k, i wouldnt expect to be perfectly aligned. really wish i had a camera under the hood so i could see what happens when stuff breaks loose!

sthon

The belt wasn't the cause. The harmonic balancer just took a **** and trashed your belt.

RenegadeT

thats just old age, not the belt being too tight. That is only the outer half the damper that has walked forward, it separated from the inner hub of the damper. There is a dampening layer of rubber between the inner/outer that deteriorates.

thehuff

Ok thanks all, good to know. Maybe that was the actual source of the squeal then. i replaced most of the other pulleys already and everything seems to spin easily/silently.

F1Addict

Could definitely have been the inner harmonic balancer hub turning inside the pulley, that would likely make a hellacious squeal.

5-90

Your inertia ring is "walking" - and the assembly wants replacing.

The later harmonic dampers are made of three pieces - an inner metal hub, an outer metal "inertia ring," and the key bit is the layer of elastomer in the middle (usually EPDM) that allows the two to vibrate WRT each other.

It's a press-fit, and can't be properly fixed once it's disturbed. At least your inertia ring is walking outwards - the usually walk inwards and chew through the (aluminum!) timing chain cover!

Replace the thing. A replacement will probably be $60 or so, through Pioneer/Barnes (I've never had trouble with fitment on those.) Replace it before you throw a belt - or worse, throw the ring through your radiator!

You will need to get a harmonic damper puller (any crowfoot puller will work, you'll need a brace of 5/16"-18x3" or so capscrews to attach the puller to the HD hub,) and get a small assortment of 1/2"-20 hex head capscrews (I think I have them running 2" through about 3.75") and some washes to press the new HD on. NEVER EVER EVER EVER NOT EVEN ONCE use a hammer to install a new harmonic damper - if you do, presume you've wrecked it and need to replace it! I don't even use an impact wrench to drive the new damper on - hand tools only! (Stack the washers between the screw head and damper hub, it helps to grease the washers slightly. I also paint the crankshaft snout - but not the threaded hole! - with anti-seize and apply a light coat of grease to the outside of the HD snout. Replace the front main seal while you're in there - it's an extra ten minutes to do it, you're there anyhow, and you'll kick yourself if/when it starts leaking in a fortnight or so...) I've explained the HD job in greater detail elsewhere.

Don't wait to do this! Either the ring is going to finish walking off of the front (and that causes trouble for you) or it's going to "turn around and walk back" (which will cause a different sort of trouble for you - but it's usually easier to find a replacement radiator than a replacement timing chain cover...)

thehuff

What i could never figure out was that it seemed to go away (or at least reduce in volume) after it warned up a bit. Maybe that rubber seal was expanding with some heat in it, such that the damper was no longer spinning? Hope this is the last piece of that noise puzzle.

5-90 - thanks for the detailed info. Need to look up on the main seal and will also try to narrow down on your HD posts.

I love this forum!