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Post by jpele21 on Jul 12, 2015 16:14:37 GMT -5
good to hear! Welcome back...haha sorta!
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Post by colted on Jul 12, 2015 21:58:33 GMT -5
good to hear! Welcome back...haha sorta! hahaha....we just come & go.....whenever there are critters bugging our beloved trucks...
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Post by redraif on Jul 22, 2015 14:44:23 GMT -5
Though I finally had resolved all the bugs on my 2002 Sport XLS since I just found the solution to the engine hesitation recently.....but a very big & sad thing happened last night, truck just quit on me while driving about 3 miles from home.....found that the crankshaft pulley fell off out its place thus loosing steering, AC & charging...was able to park it at a nearby Pepboys then got it towed this morning to my fave vietnamese repair shop.....mechanic found that the bolt that holds the pulley was broken....initial quote was $850 to take out the engine and attempt on drilling out/taking out the broken bolt but still no guarantee....worst case scenario is replacing the whole crankshaft or the engine itself....now I am contemplating to go ahead on spending much money or forgo with the repairs and send the truck the junkyard?...does anybody know any recall about the pulley?...It has about 180K miles on it......still contemplating to take the risk and spend much money, any advice would really help....thanks! Same happened to me last night. Was rolling home from rescuing my stranded son when his Honda had a rear wheel bearing go out. Pulled off the interstate at our exit and suddenly the belt stated squealing. The bat & brake light came on. I had to go about a 1/8 mile to a gas station. Bat and brake light were on an off on the dash, then stayed on solid. Heavy brakes then. He pushed on and got us safe into a spot on the edge of the lot. I assumed I threw/broke a belt. Shut him down and popped the hood. The belts were on but the V belt was really loose. I pushed on it and saw the lower pulley wobble. Called a buddy and he said it was the harmonic balancer. Maybe the bolt backed out/broke or the crank head snapped. My heart sank. Had no idea this was a weak point. Still so much to learn about this truck. Happened at 11pm. AAA couldn't get a tow rig to us till after 2AM... lord help me! Towed it to my buddies house. He was going to check it out. I started looking around for an answer for the next day. He jumped right on it last night. He said the bolt backed out, sheared off the key way on the balancer, and bent the housing. Granted this is through texts so I might have misunderstood something. He stayed up all night and repaired the dang thing! He texted me at 6am and said the Montero was A-ok. He made a key way, cleaned up the spline and fixed the housing. HOLY CRAP! I get up and the car he loaned us last night to get home was gone and there sat my baby in the driveway. I assume this repair will only hold a short time. I think I will plan to get a new H.B. and swap it out. Does my 2001 XLS affected and needs a different upgraded bolt from Mitsu? VIN: JA4MT31HX1P031371 It starts with a "J" so that should be Japan right?
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Post by jkdv8 on Jul 22, 2015 15:57:50 GMT -5
Glad you got it fixed. Yes that's correct. Just the ones that start with M were included from what I've read. Wouldn't hurt to ask a parts rep at a dealer. Just mention it to them and give them your vin.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jul 22, 2015 16:06:40 GMT -5
... I assume this repair will only hold a short time. I think I will plan to get a new H.B. and swap it out. Does my 2001 XLS affected and needs a different upgraded bolt from Mitsu? VIN: JA4MT31HX1P031371 It starts with a "J" so that should be Japan right? Dang! Sorry to hear that but glad you got it back. Its not a 'weak point' - it just needs to be done right and maintained. If its torqued to the correct spec and kept torqued there's no issue. Harmonic balancer bolts can loosen up and shear on any engine. I've seen a few on old Chevy, Chrysler, etc. I've also seen a the aftermath of a couple coming completely off the vehicle. Not pretty. You are correct, it doesn't sound like you have a permanent solution. They have to be torqued to spec and should be checked once in a while. I've never had a problem in 17 years with multiple Mitsu vehicles. I did have the bolt loosen on my 'Bird many years ago, but I caught it before any damage was done. Probably was late at night and didn't torque it down properly. Incidentally, harmonic balancers do not last forever, either. I've seen the outer ring come off the body. Also very ugly. The techs check mine when they do the timing belt - so, every 60K or so. In 500K+ I've had the balancer replaced twice on the big Sport. Edward
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Post by redraif on Jul 23, 2015 9:09:59 GMT -5
Thanks Edward...Everything I learned about cars comes from my 2.8, now 3.4l 3rd gen firebird. We replaced my Harmonic balancer just because. The HP was not were it should have been and my timing was super jumpy. The car would never quite idle right. We worried with mileage the rubber was starting to go in the HB and maybe the timing was walking. In the end it was my alternator being improperly shimmed that was letting the timing walk. But good preventative maintenance anyway. With the Sport... I had the mechanic go through everything and just had not experience with any vehicle having a Harmonic balance bolt back out. Guess that's because when I did the work and my x-buddy did it with me, I always triple check TQ specs and such. One good thing on the Sport. The motor was strong and never wavered. It had no drivability issues at all, even at the last second pulling into the gas station. It acted like a car that threw a belt and nothing more. I never heard any odd noises outside of the belt squeal for that few seconds. And when I shut it off to check things out it was still running smooth and strong. I restarted for a brief second to verify the wobble and it started perfect and ran smooth, except for the wobble. A few weeks back I was laying under the car with it running... trying to verify that darn oil leak source. I never saw that pulley wobble at all. So I strongly suspect it was not an issue that has been present for very long. So hoping that means it all happened quick and at once and there was no long term wobble eating away at components. I searched a lot yesterday trying to understand, without seeing, what damage could have been done and what repairs he did to get it going. I saw folks mention the woodruff key and simply remaking one if theirs were damaged. So that scares me a lot less now. I just worry about housing damage he said he saw. I need some clarification there. You know it really is a pain in the butt to find pictures of the harmonic balancer on these SUVs with this motor. I find the part, but not really any good diagrams to show how it all works and fits together. So many pictures are now broken links on the threads. I hate being a visual learner sometimes. At the very least before I drive the sport, I'm going to verify the TQ specs on the bolt and have a long conversation about what repairs he did. I'm going to jack the beast up and watch that pulley with the motor running and make sure there is no movement. I also plan to replace the HB bolt for good measure. Just to be sure I have the updated version with the correct TQ spec. I found threads where folks put pictures of the different bolts for comparison, but the pic links are dead. Grrr... I think I will also put a paint line across the 2 halves to be sure my rubber is not degraded. Then in a short time I will get a new HB. I say in a short time (versus right now) because we have had a rash of bad luck with all the cars and we are prepping for our August wedding. Out of time and out of $ for this right this second! YIPES!!!! 1. Civic blew out a sidewall on its newish tire just the other week. Long story, but I bought the 17 inch rims with the tires and they were a wonky size. I have been unable to source the old size, except through used venders, so I planned to wear out the tires and swap to a normal size that closely match the original tire diameter. I need the speedo to read right. Well I was doing it in stages as the old were wearing. Keeping the same size on the fronts. Well it was one of the new ones that went. Road hazard isn't covering it. The spare full sizes I have are all different sizes. So in reality I need 3 tires, but I should really just get a whole new set (400-500). And its motor mounts went out. 2. Mustang blew out its rear tire and its a 315 that has been on back order for ages ($500.00). We have been trying to get a matched rear for over a year and its never stocked that's to the port strike. 3. Fiero has brake issues. I really don't want to replace it with stock again and figure if the caliper died, as I suspect, I should just go with a whole brake kit ($1000.00). 4. DelSol has emission issues and keeps failing and can't be tagged. Plus its new axle has a defective boot and the mechanic who did it has cancer and can't be reached to get me the account info for my NAPA warranty. I swear if even one car was running perfect it would be a miracle. I need a month off with pay to get everything caught up and fixed! LOL! But the good news... Mom got her totaled car back that she opted to buy back and repair. Its fixed and runs better then before the wreck. And it came in under the amount she was paid out by the insurance. And the guy did not cut corners. He repaired it properly!
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jul 23, 2015 13:18:09 GMT -5
Thanks Edward...Everything I learned about cars comes from my 2.8, now 3.4l 3rd gen firebird. We replaced my Harmonic balancer just because. The HP was not were it should have been and my timing was super jumpy. The car would never quite idle right. We worried with mileage the rubber was starting to go in the HB and maybe the timing was walking. In the end it was my alternator being improperly shimmed that was letting the timing walk. But good preventative maintenance anyway. Yep. Lots of people don't know HBs are wear items. They're two piece units and all that holds the ring on is the rubber damper between the ring and hub. When that gets old and brittle bad things happen. Wait until you have a ring slip. Nothing like spending time trying to figure out why you can never seem to get it timed correctly. Still better than having one come off. Not as bad as having a flywheel or flex plate grenade but close. This IS, BTW, something that EVERYONE with a couple hundred thousand miles on their vehicles should have checked. Sucks to find out the hard way. Yep, same. Always check and check and check again. I loctight the HB bolt on my 'Bird just to make sure. Yea, I never felt anything in the 'Bird either. I don't even remember why I did it but I remember reaching down and I could feel the washer behind the bolt head wiggle. Thankfully I was at home so it was a five minute fix. lol!! I'm there, too! Just about the time I think I'm done I find something else. Gonna start work on replacing the engine cooling fans this weekend. Tech's putting in a new heater blower motor and bleeding the brakes Fri and Mon. Just a few weeks before we leave for Moab. Yep. Need about a month off to just go at everything I can find! Edward
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Post by colted on Jul 24, 2015 17:09:54 GMT -5
Though I finally had resolved all the bugs on my 2002 Sport XLS since I just found the solution to the engine hesitation recently.....but a very big & sad thing happened last night, truck just quit on me while driving about 3 miles from home.....found that the crankshaft pulley fell off out its place thus loosing steering, AC & charging...was able to park it at a nearby Pepboys then got it towed this morning to my fave vietnamese repair shop.....mechanic found that the bolt that holds the pulley was broken....initial quote was $850 to take out the engine and attempt on drilling out/taking out the broken bolt but still no guarantee....worst case scenario is replacing the whole crankshaft or the engine itself....now I am contemplating to go ahead on spending much money or forgo with the repairs and send the truck the junkyard?...does anybody know any recall about the pulley?...It has about 180K miles on it......still contemplating to take the risk and spend much money, any advice would really help....thanks! Same happened to me last night. Was rolling home from rescuing my stranded son when his Honda had a rear wheel bearing go out. Pulled off the interstate at our exit and suddenly the belt stated squealing. The bat & brake light came on. I had to go about a 1/8 mile to a gas station. Bat and brake light were on an off on the dash, then stayed on solid. Heavy brakes then. He pushed on and got us safe into a spot on the edge of the lot. I assumed I threw/broke a belt. Shut him down and popped the hood. The belts were on but the V belt was really loose. I pushed on it and saw the lower pulley wobble. Called a buddy and he said it was the harmonic balancer. Maybe the bolt backed out/broke or the crank head snapped. My heart sank. Had no idea this was a weak point. Still so much to learn about this truck. Happened at 11pm. AAA couldn't get a tow rig to us till after 2AM... lord help me! Towed it to my buddies house. He was going to check it out. I started looking around for an answer for the next day. He jumped right on it last night. He said the bolt backed out, sheared off the key way on the balancer, and bent the housing. Granted this is through texts so I might have misunderstood something. He stayed up all night and repaired the dang thing! He texted me at 6am and said the Montero was A-ok. He made a key way, cleaned up the spline and fixed the housing. HOLY CRAP! I get up and the car he loaned us last night to get home was gone and there sat my baby in the driveway. I assume this repair will only hold a short time. I think I will plan to get a new H.B. and swap it out. Does my 2001 XLS affected and needs a different upgraded bolt from Mitsu? VIN: JA4MT31HX1P031371 It starts with a "J" so that should be Japan right? ha!....I pity you for almost having the same fate as mine, must be the Georgia climate,LOL.....anyway, still glad that you're bolt was just backed out and not as bad as mine that totally broke and engine had to be taken out.....yup, Edward is right, better have that bolt replaced than sorry like me,hehehe......not sure if harmonic balancer would go that bad easy anyway, your mechanic should be able to tell.
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Post by redraif on Jul 28, 2015 7:40:28 GMT -5
Well Well checked with my guy... he said he definately tq it down enough. He said probably too much. He said it looked like someone ran it in with the wrong socket size and might have assumed they tq it enough but did not. He said the crank pin was fine. The pin that locks the hb from turning was the one he remade. Seems pretty common with these issues. He said my lower timing gear is rusty and says he thinks we should swap it out with the balancer and bolt. What do you guys think?
He said he would help me replace the bolt, balancer & gear next month. Got the wedding to get through firs. Do you think I'm ok to drive it till then? It would be doing 50 miles a day commute travel...
Also I started it up and the bolt looks steady and solid. Motor sounds good.
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