That's an odd question, first who told you the harmonic balancer was bad? Balancers are mounted on the crankshaft at the factory, and it is actually just a weight attached to the end of the crankshaft to offest the firing of the pistons producing a smoother running motor. Harmonic balancers do not go bad, EVER, unless they are removed and damaged during engine repair (unlikely, very unlikely). They can be re-installed incorrectly after major engine repair, or simply left off due to negligence on some cars after major engine repair but I have never heard of a balancer going bad, as it is not a part that can actually fail.
Harmonic balancer is a fancy word for weight, however if it has been removed or severely damaged due to impact I would strongly suggest having it fixed immeadetly as the unbalance can actually warp the crankshaft at high speeds and destroy your engine. Hate to keep driving this point home but harmonic balancers do not go bad, you should seek out another mechanic to check out your car, if I were still a mechanic I would only have told someone that if I was trying to rip them off due to their lack of automotive knowledge, or get them away from my shop because they were annoying or a problematic customer. (sorry)
Depends on how bad it is....but I wouldn't advise driving it at all. A bad harmonic balancer can distort the front end of the crank and beat the main bearings to pieces. You are looking at creating a lot more damage if you continue to drive it.
A bad harmonic balancer can cause a knocking noise. The harmonic balancer doesn't actually produce the noise, but it can cause the noise in the engine.
Harmonic balancer is bad and will need to be replaced.
I would contact the local parts store and replace the harmonic balancer if you think it is bad. a bad balancer can cause failure in the crankshaft bearings because of the shake.
Yes if rubber isolator is bad
There is not much you can do with a bad balancer other than replace it with a new one.
oil leaking from the front of the engine. harmonic balancer doesnt have a seal it does however have a rubber bushing in it this is to take out the virations caused by engine running,hence the name harmonic balancer . you may however have a bad front crankshaft seal that is bad this will leak oil at bottom front of engine so if you are talking bout rubber in harmonic balancer, you will get ruff vibrations from engine when running, also can throw the timing out ANSWER you will have a MAJOR oil leak.....
YES it can, but the engine would vibrate and shake if it did.
Hard to say. However, if the "rubber gasket" you're talking about is the center bushing on your harmonic balancer, that could throw your Harmonic balancer out of balance. This could easily make it shake to beat the band which in turn could be the knocking noise you're hearing. I suggest you get it looked at immediatly. If that is what happened, your engine won't survive long.
YES... The sound can be compared to a engine knock. If the problem is not fixed enventually you will be left stranded. The center of the balancer will break loose from the drive pulley section . This will cause you to lose CKP sensor operation as well as all your drive belt operations.
it'll sound like a hollow tapping sound while rotating.
No. The harmonic balancer does exactly what it says. It is to keep the engine from viberating. You need to install a manual oil pressure gauge and run the engine cold and hot to determine if you really have a pressure problem. Most likely you have a bad oil pressure sending unit.