harmonic ballance pulley

[penguin_patrol]

Does anyone know what a harmonic ballance pulley is and what it does.

Apparently mine is slipping and causeing my electrical problems . Is it an easy or hard repair?

Any help greatly apprecieated
thanks

[herks]

Harmonic Ballance Pulley is the drive pully on the front of the crank shaft. Found behind the radiator, towards the bottom of the motor. This is what drives all the fan belts etc.

As for it slipping etc. unlikely!! if there is slippage then I would be checking on servicability and tension of all belts.

If the pully itself was faulty then you would surly know about it.

Please confirm what vehicle you have, however the same principle still applies.

[penguin_patrol]

99 nissan st patrol. rd2.8 turbo diesal.

last weekend i checked the belts & tightened the loose ones (pwr stearing, alt). l've had a problem with pwr stearing @ low revs <1500 with the stearing wheel "bouncing" the tightening of the belt helped a little bit but its still there.

when you say i'd know about it if it was loose/slipping what sort of symptoms would be presant?
has anyone replaced one? is it a hard job? are any special tools needed?

this is definitely a steep learning curve but i like to know what to do when in the middle of no where with no sat phone or uhf/hf reception.(dark cold rainy night when nothing works)


thanks

[Heathx4]

Seriously mate, here's your learning curve: it's a pulley. The harmonic balancer is the round lump of metal between the pulley and the block - that's a little more complicated. The pulley is just a pulley, sometimes called the crankshaft or main pulley.

The pulley is bolted to the harmonic balancer. I'm not familiar with your engine, but I'd say removing the pulley is a simple task of removing a few bolts, then maybe a harder task of removing the central bolt, then the pulley will fall off. But it's unlikely you'll have to do that - they don't exactly wear out.

What would be slipping and causing electrical problems is the belt that runs from this pulley to your alternator. Also, the belt that runs from this pulley to the power steering pump will affect your power steering. Start the car and watch the belts. Are they turning the alt and pump as far as you can see? Is the voltage across your battery around 13.8V? With the car stopped, can you turn the alt or pump pulleys with your hand? If so, the belt is slipping. Either it's not tight enough (wiggle the belt between the two most distant pulleys - should be somewhere around 15mm free play), the belt needs replacement, or the pulley surface is contaminated. Remove the belts (if you've tightened them before, I'd assume you know how to remove them) and inspect them for condition. While the belts are off, clean the pulleys (make sure there's no soapy residue).