Harmonic Balancer or ........?

[garymocwi]

The crankshaft pulley on my 02 Safari is not running true and is wobbling a bit. Not a wobble side to side, but up & down. It has the effect of changing the belt tension because the belt tensioner is moving back & forth as well. It also appears that the harmonic balancer is wobbling the same. So far I've replaced the harmonic balancer (but used the same pulley) and it still has the same problem. Everything is tight and there isn't much wiggle room to shift the pulley around when mounting it. Not sure what is going on. It almost seems as if the crankshaft is bent on the end, but I suspect with the hardness of the metal it would crack before it would bend. Also the oil seal that goes around the back end of the harmonic balancer would be damaged if the crankshaft was wobbling and it looks fine. Everything else in the serpentine belt path looks good and the crankshaft pulley doesn't appear to be damaged.

The engine runs good and doesn't have any weird shakes or vibrations. The van has 57,000 miles on it.

Any Ideas? Or is this something to not worry about.

[gtkane]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I have seen a lot of pullies/balancers that wobble and gave no vibrations.

[astro355]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I have seen a lot of pullies/balancers that wobble and gave no vibrations.

Quoted for truth.

[Big_kid]

Try a junk yard pulley?

[garymocwi]

Try a junk yard pulley?

Possibly the next step.

I've also got some squeaking that's coming from the serpentine belt as well. It got worse after spraying some belt dressing on it. Anything above idle and it squeals like a pig. The belt and tensioner are new. I may end up cleaning the pulleys with a toothbrush again (like I did on my 95 Astro). My neighbor says to use silicone spray. Anyone try this with success?

[Big_kid]

I once had a can of belt dressing. It only helped while it was being sprayed. After that, it was worse.

Clean the pulleys, scuff up any glaze on them. I'd avoid trying silicone, they rely on friction to drive them.

[garymocwi]

Anyone have a source of new crank pulleys (in case I can't find one at a bone yard)?

[plumberjames]

Hello, I have a 98 safari W4.3 AWD. my crank nose also flopps around, so my reluctor wheel scrapes the TDC sensor(this makes a horrible noise). My van only has 150,000 mi (240,000km). do you thing i need a rebuild or new crank bearings? oil presure seems good.