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97 XJ Harmonic Balancer

I've got a 97 XJ Laredo with the inline 6 and I'm having problems with the harmonic balancer for the second time. The jeep has about 77,000 miles on it and the belt has begun squeaking again.

The first time the belt squeak thing happened my wife's brother in law owned the Jeep. He took it to the dealer who replaced the belt twice in about three months before replacing the harmonic balancer which was wobbling, which was causing the belt to squeak.

This repair was done about two years and 10.000 miles ago. The belt is squeaking again and the harmonic balancer is wobbling again. The belt looks fine.

Are there problems with the harmonic balancer in these engines? I haven't heard of anything special relating to the belt squeak problem.

Should I replace the harmonic balancer with a factory piece or is there a better quality piece available in the aftermarket?

TIA

Reply to
Dave in Columbus
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The squeaky wheel gets replaced...

Speaking of squeaks, is an idler pulley a good candidate for a squeak at idle only? It's real annoying!

Reply to
Scott in Baltimore

If who ever did the work just re-set and re-torqued the harmonic balancer instead of replacing it that is the problem. It should have been totally replaced and I have not seen one fail so soon unless it was improperly installed. Coasty

Reply to
Coasty

I have to say, that sounds like someone got ripped off. It is really unusual for a harmonic balancer to fail. I would suspect a rubber mallet fix on the last one or a used one got substituted. Used ones fail lots because of improper or just hard removal.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >
Reply to
Mike Romain

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

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