Harmonic balancer

[jrsavoie]

Yes it is the only thing I have to drive unfortunately... Luckily spring is only maybe four or six weeks away according to the groundhog... Once the weather breaks I have tons of work lined up so money won't be so much of an issue... I definitely want to get the oil cooler lines done as immediately as I can.. because they're already leaking and if one of them blows when I'm on the road driving I won't even know it until the engine seized up.... As for the harmonic balancer... If I can milk it for another month great... If not then I would rather put a $80 doorman one in for a couple of months and save up the money to buy the fluidamp.... I know it's a waste of $80 if I'm just going to pull it back off in a few months but I'd rather throw away $80 then risk breaking the crank... Cuz like I said one summer hits here in New York I'll have a lot more money at my disposal to work with... Then I can get all the more beefed-up upgrades done..

If the Damper isn't bad, I would save the money towards a Fluidampr. I'd also check an Ac Delco price before I installed a Dorman.

 

[GM Guy]

@Stoney,

First, where is it leaking on the cooler line, and how bad? I have been known to stretch a little life if its only leaking at the crimp. Leaking at the block is a mandatory park till fix. OEM lines for the 97+ piston squirter engines are actually more expensive than new lines from www.leroydiesel.com. Make sure to run a thinner oil, and try to put a magnetic oil pan heater on when it gets cold. Cold thick oil builds high pressure and can pop those lines apart. warm oil, and low RPMs are key to nursing leaking crimps.

Second, get some more pics of the Harmonic balancer. You only got one decent pic of it, and in that, there is a bulged spot in the rubber that looks concerning, but Its not a park till fixed scenario, unless there is worse spots.

Third, part ways with Autozone. The consiracy is that they are owned by the automakers, and purposely sell trash to frustrate the used car owner into dumping it for a new one. (kidding .... but am I far off? ) The reality is, they sell trash and its not worth your time to keep swapping parts under the warranty period. The firing of the vet protecting the store against a robber is icing on the cake to stay away. Dependability is a factor in pricing, and the cost increase for better stuff is worth it.

www.rockauto.com, www.leroydiesel.com are my two most used sites. When on rockauto.com, avoid the cheap crap. its basically Autozone quality stuff. AC Delco OE grade is what I usually get, and AC Delco Professional grade is all right.

When in doubt, ask us. Seriously. We are more than happy to give out advice. we would much rather answer 100 "dumb questions" then to talk you through an engine replacement due to failure from crap parts you never asked about. (On that topic, Bosch injectors only, guaranteed quality from www.leroydiesel.com avoid the ebay no-name injectors)

In your situation, I would check out www.rockauto.com AC Delco, much better than Dorman, is actually cheaper. Last I checked, both the pulley damper and the harmonic balancer were under 70 bucks apiece.

Finally, for financing parts, check out the Paypal Credit 6 month interest free offer. Whatever you do PAY IT OFF when the 6 months is up. Both rockauto and Leroy take Paypal. If you are rebuilding a credit history, I believe Paypal reports after you pay it off.

Its best to do a lump sum from each place, and stagger them a little so they dont both come due at the same time. I am in agriculture, and so income fluctuates greatly throughout the year, and the Paypal credit thing has gotten me through a few tight spots.

And my final thought on vehicle care, dont skimp on the powertrain, even in a rusty area the powertrain can still be used in a new to you rig, so even in a rusty winter beater dont skimp on the powertrain. I have a 500 dollar beat to crap auction bargain pickup with about 750 in the engine related parts so far, but it has no blowby and will work great in a much better rig in the future. Dependabilty has its values too.

Good luck!