What Causes A Harmonic Balancer To Fly Out Of Car While Driving
Posted in Internal Engine Parts | Asked on Oct 1, 2011
Okay I was at a stop sign then checked for cars and then crossed the higway real fast all of a sudden
I was driving about 5 seconds after I crossed I heard a noise in my car like I had a flat tire. So
I pull over to the nearest place and it was hard because my steering wheel was locked out and would
not move. Then I call the tow people to come get my car and when they lifted the hood up they noticed
that I had kicked the belt off of the car. Not only that minutes later a man in a truck came to where
we were with the car and had my harmonic balancer in his hands so, that explains the noise I heard
so it flew out of my car while I was driving. Also while I had my car parked waiting on the tow people
to get there smoke started to come out of my car also anti freeze started dripping out of my car.
What are all of the reasons that this could of happen please let me know and list as many as you can.. Have you heard of this before?
There are 5 Answers for "What Causes A Harmonic Balancer To Fly Out Of Car While Driving"
Whin was it last touched it could of not been tight bec they dont just fly off
Nope I never heard of it, in fact I would think it’s impossible.
The harmonic balancer is at the end of the crank shaft and is held on by a bolt the screws into the crank shaft. With the engine turning, that crank shaft bolt tends to tighten up, that’s why they are so hard to get off when you have to take them off.
Whatever it was that fell of the car when you lost the belt, probably damaged a hose and let the antifreeze leak out.
Why you got smoke also, is anybody’s guess.
You need a special tool to get the harmonic balancer off the crankshaft. So the fact that it flew off like that is beyond me. Sorry.
The balancer is actually two separate pieces, the inner hub that bolts to the crank, and an outer ring. These two pieces are ‘glued’ together with a flexible glue. The way it works is the hub turns with the engine, and any engine vibrations are absorbed by the outer ring. The flexible glue does degrade after a while, or maybe the engine is vibrating and the balanced just couldn’t keep-up any more. Got a new one.
Harmonic balancers do go bad. I’m surprised you didn’t feel or hear anything before it came apart. They are bolted on with 1 bolt and washer, then there is a rubber middle and metal out rim. The rubber must have disintegrated.
I’m just guessing that when the balancer came apart, it knocked the serpentine belt off too. When that happened, the water pump was not running and caused the engine to overheat. That’s why the coolant was dripping.