LT-1 350 harmonic balancer

[robert graham]

A couple of weeks ago my mechanic replaced my 200,000 plus mile harmonic balancer....it was right near to come apart. I'm just wondering exactly what this thing does and how it does it? Looks like a steel center hub with a steel outer ring held together by a rubber ring....sorta like an outboard propeller. Can any of you automotive gurus explain to me in simple terms how this thing works?... Thanks!

 

[alldodge]

The simple answer is the balancer helps remove the harsh vibrations away from the crankshaft from the pistons firing and rotating. With a high mileage engine it is a very good idea to replace just because the rubber insert does not last forever. For further info have a read here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_balancer

 

[MTboatguy]

It balances the engine out, based on the crack shaft, if you look around the outer ring of the balancer, often times it will have various holes drilled into it so that it is balanced, but there is not a crank shaft a normal driver can buy that is perfectly balanced, so the balancer helps take out the vibrations as the previous post stated. Without it, the engine would vibrate itself to death.

 

[robert graham]

My engine did seem to run very smoothly after the new balancer...but then the LT-1 has always been pretty darn smooth....We removed the mechanical fan and replaced with electric fan and that made it a good bit smoother and quieter....nice motor...