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


--

Dave in Columbus

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!

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


"Dave in Columbus" > wrote in message
...
> 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
>
>
> --
>
> Dave in Columbus

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 in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Dave in Columbus wrote:
>
> 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
>
> --
>
> Dave in Columbus

Is it wobbling? http://members.cox.net/wilsond/hb/
God Bless America, Bill O|||||||O
http://www.billhughes.com/

Dave in Columbus wrote:
>
> 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
>
> --
>
> Dave in Columbus