MimK

Hi all,

I am brand new to this forum and will probably just sound a bit like a ditzy female...

But...

I love my Jeep, it is the best car I have ever owned and now she is sick...

She is currently sitting at the mechanics and they tell me there is a leak from the power steering unit (as is in evidence by the power steering fluid all over the engine bay) and that the harmonic is falling off...

I first noticed a noise coming from the engine bay 2 days ago and checked and topped up the oil and water, stupidly though I did not think of the power steering...

I pulled into my driveway the other night and the steering just went ridgid and when I checked that is when I found the fluid everywhere! OH BUGGER... anyway I topped it up, could not find the leak point and the steering worked again, so I put her in the yard and called the tow truck the next morning...

My grandfather used to let me work on his car ('71 XT Falcon) with him when I was growing up, so I know the basics, but my question is

What is the harmonic and what does it do? and is it likely to cost me a fortune to fix? Could it have done much damage to the engine? As the power steering unit seems to be working ok (except for the leak) is there anyway of judging a ball park figure on the cost to repair it?

Thanks guys and if I ned to provide more info I will... I hate looking dumb, but I would rather ask here than look totally ignorant at the mechanic.

Mim

dodge007

Well first of all Ditzy woman, welcome to the forum

Secondly I don't know what a harmonic is either, until I googled it, (so I looks smart for za ladies) apparently it is what keeps your engine balanced, (uh duh) hence the name harmonic balancer they sell on ebay for less than 50 bucks not sure how to fix it tho

JhonSmith

Lovely brand. I really like it.

Fog Light

trucker

Harmonic balancer is front crank shaft pulley. If is bad it would wobble, make noise and could "wipe-out" the front main seal. The rubber in pulley deteriorate with time and crack. Sometimes you need to remove the radiator to put impact wrench on it. I would recommend to replace front main seal while you there.