I'm not sure if this should go here, or off topic, but I'm looking at buying a 99 Accord, but the current owner says the harmonic balancer is loose. My first thought is whoever worked on it last might not have gotten it tight enough (you know, burped the impact a couple of times and called it good). My question is, would I need to replace it and or the bolt? Or is it possible to actually set it to torque and be good to go. I'm not scared to throw a couple of bucks at it, if it needs it. I have no idea if the threads are still good, or if the inside of the balancer is wallowed out. According to the seller, it's throwing belts and I can see the AC belt is off the pulley just looking thru the wheel well. The seller says someone told him it needed an engine (230K on it), but, I'm not sure. I figured if I picked it up, I was going to use it for parts at a minimum, since it should interchange with my wife's 2000 Accord. The other thing is, the body tag says it was built in Japan (5 spd car), instead of Ohio or Canada.
Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

You should be able to tell very quickly if the bolt is loose. I'd recommend not driving until the bolt is tightened.

There is rubber connecting the outer metal pulley and the inner hub. If that is cracked, then you would have to remove the belt, remove the bolt (may be difficult, search crank pulley bolt), then replace the pulley.

The problem could be the crankshaft itself. If the crankshaft has a ton of end-play, then the repair would involve disassembling the engine to get to the crank.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking about snugging it up, and running it home (about 3 miles), then take a really good look at it at my leisure (I'm going over to talk to him and pick it up in an hour). I did a little searching last night after I posted this thread, and it seems to be a kind of problem, but not really a problem. My biggest question to the PO is whether or not it just had the timing belts done, hence the reason the bolt backed out. I only say that, as that bolt is normally pretty damn tight (I have 2 Accords here that I've already changed belts in). Well that, and whether or not the teeth in the pulley got chewed up. I really don't think the crank is bent, and it should be of harder steel than the pulley. But, I only just got a semi quick look at it last night, as it went up for sale yesterday afternoon.

I figured for the price though, I could part it out to myself, as it's got some parts that can be used on both my 97 and my wife's 2000 (body parts for hers, mechanical bits for mine), so I know I won't be loosing any money on it.

 

Tthe keyway can be damaged by a loose crankshaft bolt.

My son had similar experience on a 97 Acura TL w/ 2.5L 5-cyl engine. Bolt was not properly tightened (shop mechanic) after replacing harmonic balancer (loose outer pulley). Pulley got loose enough to let woodruff key come out losing timing belt pulley and timing. Result was several bent valves requiring head removal to repair.

I wouldn't drive unless bolt is tight. You can safely drive w/ a loose outer pulley, however battery will discharge.

good luck

 

Well, got it home. It really is dead from idle, so we pulled it home behind my Geo Prizm (used a tow strap, and just let the engine idle so my wife had power brakes to stop us). The battery is about dead (it's on the charger as I speak), and I don't know how long the PO drove it with the belts off. Removed the bolt, and the pulley, and all the teeth are gone in the balancer, plus the key way slot in it is about 3 times the normal size. Definitely a shot balancer. Threads look good on the bolt though. At this point I don't know what I'm going to do with it (got a semi full plate of stuff here at the homstead that needs time and money thrown at it). I see Dorman offers a replacement balancer, but I wonder how it compares to a genuine Honda part (I like to keep my Hondas using Honda or OEM supplier parts). Any ideas? Are the "premium" Dayco balancers (on e-bay) any better? Going to shop around before I spend any money.

Added question, what's the difference between a Japan built 2.3L amd an Americam built 2.3L?

 

The Dorman is not a bad idea, compare prices to OE. I've used Dorman products many times without any issues.

Difference between Japan and American.......almost none. There will be minor things like the supplier of the OE part used. Example, there are three different suppliers of SRS units in a 99 Accord

 

Thanks for the info on the difference between the "country of manufacture" of basically the same parts of the same company car. It sure looks almost the same as my wife's made in USA car, other than it having a 5 spd trans (her's has an AT).

I was looking at getting an ATP brand balancer (made in USA) thru Rock Auto, since it needs a valve cover gasket too, as I do see oil traces in places. Thinking I might do a full tune up too, as I don't know when it was done last. That's the thing about used cars, you just don't know what was done to them over the years.

 

Well, I thought I'd post up a follow up here, since this thread is where I started. I did replace the balancer yesterday, while I was in there I had the covers off, so I could check the timing. Turns out when the balancer came loose the key walked out of the crank gear and allowed it to move 1 tooth (the distance of the keyway width). Reset that and put it together, then fired it up. Runs really good, and no vibrations. I ended up going with an ATP balancer, as it came with a new woodruf key.

 

Thanks for the follow-up. Glad you got it running properly.