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Rainy Day Problem...

Well, while driving in the rain if i go splashing threw a puddle at a fast speed my car sounds like a Fire Truck.... It's done it twice (once by accident) another time today on purpose to see if I can diagnose the problem... Today when i did it it wouldn't stop, I turned the car off and on, pulsed the brakes to see if something was stuck in between the rotors, threw it in neutral, checked E-Brake, turned the wheel back and forth to check steering rack, I did all of those while in motion... but nothing affected the squeal /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif... After I let it sit for a second, i started it back up and it didn't make any noise at all... It sounds like a hissing loud metal on metal grinding squeak (like I'm dragging a barbed wire fence under my car)/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif... I'm almost 100% sure it's not a belt because they have never squeaked... Also, I don't think it's HydroLock... But it is definitely coming from the front end... The front axles and tie rods were just replaced... New CV boots so nothing is caught in there hopefully... I would appreciate your opinions and help on this one.... Thanks
 
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Sounds like the belts slip only when they get wet. While the car is running run the hose on them.
 
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ken inn

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Feb 23, 2001
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harmonic balancer
check it NOW. if it comes apart completely, it can take out the timing belt, then all the screaming will come from you.
 
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I have the exact same problem and it sounds like it is on the front passenger side of the car but I cant find it.
 

Ok, I'm now thinking that it is probably the harmonic balancer... But where do I start...? Does it need to be replaced...? Or could i just throw some Lock-Tight and WD40 on there...? Does anybody know the torque spec. it is supposed to be at....? Thanks for the help guys...
 

Does the H-balancer had anything to do with the balance shaft? I bought my car with the balance shaft removed already.
 

Would it be best just to remove the Homo-Balancer...? I've seen diagrams and instructions some where on the Internet about taking them out... I have also heard that you can expect to gain 15-20 horse power at the crank if you remove it... but it makes your engine a little louder and shakes a little bit more than usual...
 

14bCrazy

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/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif What? You can't remove the harmonic balancer. The belts that come off of it run all your accessories.
 

14bCrazy

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I think your talking about the balance shafts and they have nothing to do with the noise your talking about. The harmonic balancer and the balance shafts are two separate things.
 

So is the Harmonic Balancer kinda like a belt tensioner /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif... If so how do i fix the problem of it grinding...?
 

14bCrazy

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Repalce it. They go bad. The dampening part of them just dies after a while.
 

14bCrazy

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Quote:
So is the Harmonic Balancer kinda like a belt tensioner



No it is not. It is the pulley that bolts on to the end of the crank shaft. It does a few things it drives the alternator, power steering and the air conditioning. It also dampens the vibrations in the crank shaft.
 
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Ok... Thanks, I'll take a look at it as soon as it stops raining out here... It's been poring for the past 3 days... So I've been weary about driving the GVR-4 Fire Truck lately... Thanks again for the help guys....

(oh yea, There is a JDM engine in the car with approximately 45,000 miles on it... Is that normal for the Harmonic Balancer to go out before 50k...?)
 
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Quote:
There is a JDM engine in the car with approximately 45,000 miles on it

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gifYou actually believe that the motors that get imported have that low of mileage /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif.
 

It was purchased from a reputable company i believe... If you think about it, the Islands of Japan aren't that big... My personal Philosophy is, like when i see most of the JDM car's ODO.'s (intact still in the car) they are low Kilometers... If it was owned by a city resident odds are it was probably just driven around that area... You wouldn't have to travel too far to get to your destination because the city's are highly occupied and many of your needs are found lacally... Or if you live on a mountain or something like that you could travel into town.. So it is fathomable to have a low millage engine, plus it has good compression (mid 150's across the board)... I'm not saying that it is a low millage engine because i have no way of knowing if it is... But if the engines were shipped out with HIGH Millage and lousy compression, then Crapped the bed right after being installed... The odds are that the business probably wouldn't get any customers... Thats just a glimpse into my delusional World /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif... And I'm getting way off topic... People have there own opinions...
 

Here is the REAL reason all those cars get scrapped with low mileage. JCI..Japanese Cumpulsory Insurance. You pay out the wazoo for a car to be insured over three or 5 years old. Their car inspection process is a nightmare. You could slap brand new brakes, every single part, a block away from the inspection station and it will still fail. You can't get the insurance without the inspection. I was just in Tokyo last year for a month at Yokota AFB. The base auto hobby shop scrapped two perfect GVR4's while I was there before I could rob parts off of them..Both had around 80k kilometers, or 40k or so miles on them. But the rubber ring that is the "vibration damper" disintegrates from age, just like wiper blades and window wipers (The rubber on the door that keeps water out of the door where the windows slide). Basically, think of this. The damper is composed of three parts. The first, and most obvious, is the crank pully, or the part that all the belts ride on. Then you have a round piece of rubber, and beneath that you have the actual balancer, which is a hefty little piece of cast iron. This is the part that actually bolts to the crankshaft. The rubber deteriorates..plain and simple. Also, improper belt tensioning techniques kill it. If you, like me, have an alternator belt that squeals no matter how new it is, you crank it down until it doesn't squeal anymore. But if you didn't stage the tightness, and apply the equal tension against the a/c belt, you will pull the lower pully towards the alternator, and you can visually see the crank pulley wobbling. When that happens, and you see ANY WOBBLE AT ALL, it is just a matter of days or months before the pulley separates from the rubber. Mine shot thru my hood at warp nine or so...and shredded my timing cover along with all the belts along the way. Underdrive pulleys are one piece, and while they don't do anything for vibration damping, they don't break into two pieces either..most of the time. So the question is, how old are all your belts? If they have ANY cracks, they are dry and are slipping when water hits them. If they are new, then check your balancer and see if it is wobbling. Just remove the drivers front tire, and the splash shield, and it will be staring you in the face. Put a straight edge across it and see if it is cocked to one side or the other. Start the car and watch to see if it wobbles, or spins in an egg shaped arc. And then replace it either with a new one or an underdrive pulley set. (Although if you have a bumpin' stereo, you'd be better off with a SMALLER pulley on the alternator so it will actually spin faster) When those balancers do fail, I've seen examples like mine, where it exits through some sheet metal, but I've also seen it wedge in between the frame rail and the bottom part of the balancer, and make a racket that sounds like your crank just fell out on the ground. And if you do that, hey, do the timing belt!
Dave
 

Thanks for the insider information and detailed description Beemer... I have a friend that is going to be stationed at a Japanese Air Force Base /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif... He is going to be in Japan for 2-3 years... Gets deployed next month from Texas... Also he's a Jet Engine Propulsion Mechanic or something like that and a fellow DSMer... And yes all the belts were replaced when the JDM swap was done... I'll try hitting them with a hose to see if i can get them to slip a little... I know exactly what you mean, like when people try to get their belts to stop squealing and just end up tightening them up way to tight... Putting way to much stress on anything running off that belt and not counter tightening them, until something breaks... Also the A/C Compressor doesn't have a belt... It's just chillen' there because the lines didn't match up to the JDM Compressor... I plan on taking it off when i replace the Head...
 
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