Transmission slipping possibly due to harmonic balancer

hey TW folks
A couple weeks ago I hired someone to replace my timing belt, water pump and a few other parts.
When he reassembled it he reused the bolt that holds the harmonic balancer which caused the harmonic balancer to come off while driving.
He said he would replace the balancer when the new part arrives.
He then reinstalled the original balancer and put lok tite on the bolt and said driving it for a while would be fine. so I’ve been driving it like that for a week now.

I noticed yesterday the transmission seemed to slip twice, From stop to go.
I called him this morning and he’s saying it will still be a week before the part arrives.

While reading online about potential damage caused by a bad harmonic balancer, I found that it can seriously damage your transmission.
I’m really hoping the damage isn’t done
My question to all of you mechanic savvy truck people...

By replacing the balancer will this keep the transmission from being damaged? Is it something that will be fixed by correcting the cause.
Or is the damage done?

Any information, advice is greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks again

 

Modern engines are usually pretty well-balanced, so it takes a while for damage to start accumulating just from extra vibrations from balancer issues. That being said, it CAN happen, so minimize your driving where you can until you get the new balancer installed

 

You lost me here. I'm assuming you put the harmonic balancer back on or are you literally driving your rig with no harmonic balancer on?

That's interesting you're having transmission issues now. I've never heard of this happening but what I do know is the end of your crankshaft is probably pretty chewed up by allowing the harmonic balancer to spin on the end of the crankshaft as the bolt loosened and then finally came off. If you do a visual inspection of the end of your crankshaft, you will see the damage I'm referring to. Also, the woodruff key the harmonic balancer slide over might be ground down and damaged as well.

I helped a guy with the exact same problem who had a recent timing belt job done and during a drive from Southern California to Northern California had his harmonic balancer come off. We drove to a local PicknPull and were able to pull a harmonic balancer off a wrecked rig. When I went to install it for him, the harmonic balancer wouldn't slide over the end of the crankshaft due to the damage that occurred from the balancer spinning on the crankshaft. I had to take emery cloth and sand down the end of the crankshaft a bit for the balancer to slide fully in place.

If the crankshaft is really mangled, I think this guy owes you an engine. Does this guy operate out of a shop or is he just some independent shade tree mechanic?

 

Driving without a Harmonic balancer will cause premature wear on the crankshaft thrust bearing . This bearing is designed to limit fore and aft movement of the crankshaft . If enough play " movement " of the crankshaft is allowed , not only wear on the main and rod bearings

It will also cause wear on the the transmission by causing loading / unloading of pressure of the torque converter against the transmission input shaft and pump assembly

Whoever your mechanic is he's completely wrong in telling you its okay to drive your truck without a Harmonic balancer

 

No I’m not driving without the balancer. Sorry I forgot to say that he reinstalled it with the original bolt. He lok tite’d the bolt in place until the new balancer arrives.
I’ll edit my original post to reflect that.


Ok.. op edited

 

If the Harmonic balancer is damaged or not installed correctly it will still send a bad vibration that will still damage the thrust bearing

This is why I cringe and shake my head in disbelieve when I see someone installing a balancer with a 2x4 and a sledgehammer

 

He operates out of his home shop. According to the guy that referred him, he is an excellent and honest mechanic.
Since the balancer is installed I can’t see the end of the crankshaft.

 

I took this picture when the balancer fell off.
I don’t know if you can tell anything from it...

 

The proper and correct way to install a balancer is to measure the crank snout with a micrometer . then take the balancer to a machine shop to bore the opening of the balancer to the crankshaft OD measurements

 

Is there a way to tell if the thrust bearing has been damaged. Or is it certainly damaged?

 

One easy way is to watch the balancer as you rev the engine . If you notice any forward movement "pushing out " the thrust bearing is bad

 

Great! Thanks for the information!

 

The end of your crankshaft did sustain damage. It's visibly apparent in the picture.

 

For this engine, I don't know for sure if the thrust washers failed or maybe the thrust bearings, but what I do know is this engine is done. Here's two videos I made documenting this problem.

In this first video, watch how the harmonic balancer juts forward as the engine starts.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/uxvXicCba6o


In this second video, we confirm the play is definitely coming from play in the crankshaft.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9Gpdq-tL79U

 

When I helped out someone who had the same issue as the OP, it's not that the harmonic balancer wasn't fitting the crankshaft properly. It would have fit if the crankshaft wasn't damaged from the harmonic balancer spinning on it creating an uneven rigged surface not allowing the balancer to slide on. So, I suppose you could have taken the balancer to a machine shop to bore it out but I believe addressing the unevenness of the end of the crankshaft was a legitimate way to fix the issue.

 

Yes that is definitely worn or damaged thrust bearing

 

Well shit..
Now what??

 

Try scuffing the crank snout with emery cloth , and if that doesn't work you'll need to remove the crankshaft and have the journals turned / machined at a machine shop

 

If the mechanic takes some emery cloth to the crankshaft to smooth out the rough spots, he'll be able to get it on. I had to do quite a bit of sanding, more than I thought to get the replacement harmonic balancer on, but your mechanic will be able to do it.

 

When it's time to install the Harmonic balancer use the correct install tool , not a 2x4 and sledge hammer