Need Crankshaft Pulley (Harmonic Balancer)

Kirsten wrote in alt.autos.gm

For some things a junkyard part may not be the way to go, but on things like the harmonic balancer there is no reason not to go to the junkyard. That part gets very little wear, and could probably be used for far longer than the life of the car. Yours most likely split because of a flaw in manufacturing. That very rarely happens.

Thanks for the reply.

The reason (I think) the balancer split on the Saturn is that there is a rubber piece "sandwiched" between the inner and outer metal pulleys. I'm guessing the rubber deteriorated with age, split, and caused the balancer to fail. So that is why I am worried about getting a used balancer from a junkyard. Without knowing the age of a replacement balancer I would get, the rubber portion may already be in bad shape, especially if it sat around exposed to weather for any amount of time.

Try

Kirsten wrote in alt.autos.gm

then buy the rubber piece from a dealer, you should be able to get it separately, and not all parts are overly bad.

you can't buy parts to a harmonic damper as they aren't rebuildable (with the exception of racing types like the TCI rattler). the "rubber part" is the elastomer ring that separates the hub from the inertia ring (the outer one) which allowes the damper to function. you might want to try your Saturn dealer for the part.

-Bret