Harmonic Balancer - 1, Cool old Dude - 0

After hearing two sides to the question would I need a puller for when I change the timing belt, I put my trust in a nag and was stopped in my tracks by an uncooperative HB. No puller and no quick win for the home team (making it worse - my Huskies got whipped by Colorado, making for a crappy day in the rainforest). Yep, I got her all stripped down to the harmonic balancer and found I was unable to remove it, needing a puller. Called around and was unable to find one to rent within 60 miles of me. So my gracious neighbor decided he would simply bring one home from work Monday and we could continue on. No problem since I don't often have a need to drive anywhere, and I have the comfortable assurance that my neighbor will be at hand again.

The positives were great though, as my neighbor and I enjoyed the exercise and truly built upon our friendship, so much so that he texted me out of the blue later that evening to state that it was an enjoyable day and he is looking forward to finishing it during the week, and that's after spending an hour trying to get remove the fan assembly. And although I was supposed to do the work under his direction, he pretty much took over with a "watch me" message, as I was relegated to gofor.

Surprise, surprise...what I did find was that everything looked new. The serpentine belt and the timing belt with printing still legible and zero signs of wear. And the water pump, just as shiny as new, no discoloration, rust or oily smudges - clean as it comes from the box. And the now exposed ports showing an engine interior cleaner than I have seen previously in any engine short of a new or rebuild. And all the parts removed were OEM, except I believe the fan pulley and the harmonic balancer, which by many accounts should just slid off and on with little effort and not needing a puller, and aftermarket pulleys that often were too tight to install without doing some honing. They were both filthy as one would expect and no markings indicating manufacturer.

Anyway, more to come before the girl dances for me again, but the assurance that she has been officially caught up with the servicing sets well with me, though one might think patience isn't a commodity I would invest in at my age of 31.

 

Where do you live that you cant buy one of these within 60 miles, Siberia??

 

+1.

Napa has em.

 

I live back in the boonies near the western entrance to the North Cascades National Park in northern Washington state with more deer, elk, and bears than human neighbors, and with steelhead and five species of salmon seasonable visitors. And it's 50 miles to a town of any size. It is about as close to paradise as possible, with only Yosemite being better (once the tourist leave, that is).

 

Wow, sounds pretty amazing. Maybe look into Ebay where guys are liquidating their garage, old timers moving to retirement homes etc. Buy a bunch of used tools in bulk to save on shipping costs to such a remote area.

 

I bought mine at O'Reillys for cheap. Used it to pull my steering wheel.

 

I'll order one from Amazon but it won't get here any sooner than my neighbor bringing his from work. The problem was that there wasn't one available yesterday when there was a break in the rain. And the local Napa store did not have one.The cold rains are back today and with the possibility of snow or rain for tomorrow.

 

Rainforests and Sasquatches, but no Big Gurrls. Definitely not an equatorial region.

 

Speaking of a positive from this minor snafu...I have several housings that are off, and waiting for the harmonic balancer's removal and a continuation of the service being conducted. This of course means those housings are within the grasp of the wild ogre with the blue paint fetish. I believe he may be busy soon, once those housings are wire brushed and degreased. I fear the engine bay might start looking like a spotted pony with areas of blue here, and there, oh and over here, too...

 

I admit that I'm not always the brightest light bulb in the box but if this was an attempt at humor I missed it. Just can't believe someone would write such dribble.

 

Black humor, and yes you missed it. But if it bothered you enough to speak out about it, then I would rather delete it so as not to offend any others. I also deleted the rationale behind the parable with its link to an emancipated and lost woman that brings the issue of fem rights and the damage done to the man - woman compact. Oh well, mustn't upset anyone's sensitivity.