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Harmonic balancer broke, drove about 30 miles on it, any harm done?
The harmonic balancer broke (yes broke, not fell off, or slipped, broke) on my 1988 Chevy 1.5 ton dually, it has the 454 in it. I drove it home about 30 miles, so is there any permanent damage done to the engine? And if so, will it cause any further damage to drive it about 20 miles to the nearest auto garage? or should I have it towed.
Also, one last thing, what is the average price to have one replaced, I don't have too much money, only about 1200 to spend freely, and I don't like credit cards either.
Ok, well yeah, I like the first two answers, but the third one also makes some sense, it was shaking pretty bad, and just idling with the hood open, it sounded like all the rubber was gone from the engine mounts it was shaking so bad. But it is a Chevrolet 454, and those are some pretty dang tough engines. The guy I'm taking it to though is pretty much the best guy in Tucson. So if anything is jacked up, he should know.
5 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
It will not hurt anything in that short of a distance home. You can drive it to a shop to repair if its close if not if the balencer is gone your belt will not turn and your alternator will not spin and your truck will not run . A new balencer shouldnt cost more then 200 to install plus the cost of the balencer (probably around 100)
<~~~ GM master tech :)
Just keep the rpms as low as possibly because the balencer is designed to take the vibration out so its easier on the crank and rotating assembly
As a user posted below said it will cause your timing chain to break and so fourth in that short of distance it will not damage a motor. If you were going to haul a 10,000 lb trailer for 500 miles then I wouldnt take a chance. I have had many break on my 9 second trans am and I drive it home from the track after they spin.
- my_iq_135Lv 51 decade ago
Probably no real damage done (you would hear it.) But I wouldn't drive it again, get it towed to be fixed. A $100 tow is less than a $3,000 motor.
Get to a junk yard for a replacement part. It will save you a ton of money. Bring the used one to the garage for them to put in for you. This should be about a 6 - 8 hour repair so figure about $300 - $600 for it. Call the garage in advance and get a rough estimate from them, they may say more so don't be shocked. Also tell them you will have a new one for them. Have the garage where you get it done do the towing if possible, they can pick up the part from you as well. Make sure you have the year, make, model, type of transmission, and engine size for the junk yard to match up the parts.
Have at it and good luck.
- done wrenchingLv 71 decade ago
The crankshaft is probably broke, dude. I changed 5 or 6 of those while working at chev. If the crank breaks on an angle, it will still run, but you'll feel and hear that rumble. Big block chevies are great engines, but they should ALL have had steel cranks, yours is cast iron.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
i am surprised you could drive that far. I would have it towed. If you drive it any more major problems could occur like a total engine failure by having the timing thrown way off, over heating, piston damage via hitting the spark plugs.Also it could mangle the timing chain and gears
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