Harmonic balancer Buick

Answer 1

I recently had my harmonic balancer replaced on my 1990 Buick Riviera. When opening the hood, I could actually view the part. It was located on the passenger side of the engine close to other pulley wheels. I googled the part and found it related to cutting down the vibration and stress which may affect the crankshaft. Be aware, I am not a mechanic or guru on vehicles. It cost me around $200 to replace which included the new part and labor. Hope this is of some benefit. BTW, I new something was wrong because it made quite a noticeable sound when starting and when it was in idle.

The 3.8 Buick harmonic balancer requires a special puller. But, if you purchase three 4" long, 6mm diameter, 0.1 thread bolts and three heavy duty washers you can use a standard 3 hole puller to remove the balancer. The threaded holes for the 6mm bolts are about 2" inside the access openings that are located on the face of the balancer. You will need to place the heavy duty washers on the 6mm bolts before they are used with the puller. The hex heads on the bolts are to small for the standard type puller and the washers will support the torque required to remove the balancer. The puller must be the type that allows an extension rod to be added to the center bolt of the puller. This extension is needed because the center bolt of the puller is to large in diameter and it is not long enough to reach the back of the through hole on the crank shaft. (it is drilled very deep). Cost about $2.50, This beats paying over $150.00 for the suggested factory puller.