help please with loose part on front of my 300SD's engine
 

There is a circular disk shaped object right behind the pulleys on the very front of my 1983 300SD's engine. It makes quite a racket, and i have parked the car untill i can figure out if it's ok to drive it or not. The part can be moved around by hand, and it almost looks like a pulley shield or something to that effect. How critical is this part? can the car be driven with it loose? Taking off all the belts/pulleys etc does not sound fun especially in a dorm parking lot, so if it's ok to drive for a little while i'd much prefer that. Thanks in advance,
Ryan

I agree with TXBill. Sounds like vibration dampener or pulley problem. I've seen an SD throw these off before (bolt shear). Can toss the fan into the radiator.

man, i'm in one big dilemma now. Spring break is in a week, i have no clue which shops are reputable up here, and i have no money to pay anyone to fix it. Yet, i have to get the car home, which is 300 miles away for spring break, or else i dont get home for spring break. Time to call me padre and see if he has any fatherly words of wisdom for me. This sounds like it's gonna be expensive........... thanks for all the help guys,
Ryan

just talked with my dad, he thinks it's best for me to just completely park it and then run it home. He said and i quote "say a couple prayers before you leave and go". Lets hope the old girl has the same homing instinct as it's shown in the past......
Ryan

Sorry I appeared to be out of the loop. Had to make my 2 hr commute home. Ryan: I sent that information to you via e-mail as discussed. Good luck.

My friends car was missing a few of the bolts that hold the pulley on. By the time he could hear it, more had been sheared. Ended up towing to my favorite Indie who had to pull the balance ring to get the broken bolts out.

Ryan:

If you have a chance, see if to can check the tightness on the 6 bolts that hold the pulley on. If any are missing, try to replace them prior to attempting to make that trip home. If loose, I do not believe you will get too far.

If you are not comfortable with doing it yourself, take it to a full service gas station or something. I believe Lowe's Home Improvement carries automotive grade metric bolts in the "hardware" isle. The bolt size is on that R&R sheet I sent you. Wish I could help you more.

-Scott

Ryan,

You are taking a chance on causing more damage to the car than the car may be worth if you run the engine with a loose harmonic balancer. If it doesn't sound right, don't drive it.

EWS

I agree with EWS. Things are going to get much more expensive in a hurry if you drive that car. I think there is a VERY high probabililty it will not last until you get home and when it does fail, you'll be digging deep into someone's bank account to get it fixed. Better to take a bus home if you can't afford to fix it right now.

I had an issue once on my 300D (same engine), where the large bold broke several times.
What I don't understand, is, if the harmonic balancer is freewheeling, what is making the pulleys turn?
Isn't the pulley bolted into the balancer? (six bolts)
If indeed the balancer is loose, then its probably one of two things. Either the bolt broke (with luck you can get the rest of the old one out), or, the two shear pins broke. If the shear pins broke, that can be fixed with new ones (might as well get the new large bolt that goes in there too). However, if the little slots for the pins are all slopped out (for lack of a better term) then the pins won't sit tight, and could possibly break out of there way too soon.

my input...for what its worth at 2 am. :D

-Larry

if this does fail, other than the fan flying into the radiator(which i will obviously hear and feel) what damage will be done. If it goes into the radiator i will just shut it down and coast off to the side, and have it towed from there. I presume the belts etc will be pretty trashed as well right? So basically, i'm asking for what would probably happen if this thing lets go with me going 85 down the interstate, thanks once again for everyone's help and insight, it's greatly appreciated.
Ryan

From what I gather reading other posts about the harmonic balancer, the most expensive damage will not be the radiator. It will be the two grooves in the crankshaft that hold the pins which secure the balancer. If you damage these slots there is a good chance you may need a new crankshaft or at least significant work to resurrect the slots. So if you don't mind pulling the engine to replace the crankshaft, drive it home. If you have any hesitation about pulling the engine, jump on a bus.

DON'T drive it. You can do an lot more damage. If you can afford to have it towed if it breaks down, you can afford to have it towed before it breaks down.

Have it towed to a local repair shop and fixed before you have a candidate for a junkyard.

P E H

This thread reminds me of my very religious former brother-in-law. He was moving his family a long distance in an old Chevy schoolbus. The engine started to knock about halfway through the journey. (As it turned out, the oil line running to the rocker shaft had broken). My brother-in-law could not diagnose the problem so he decided to pray for God to heal the engine. After the prayer, he continued down the highway. A few miles later, the engine threw a rod. That he could diagnose, so now he was in good shape!
If God couldn't fix a simple broken oil line, he sure can't get the harmonic balancer reconnected. TAKE THE BUS.

alright, it's time to have another talk with the "father". I didn't realize that if this thing gets thrown it could cause me to need a new crankshaft...that is not something i want to even think about. Thanks for all your help,
Ryan

Kerry,

Shows the power of prayer. If it isn't something altering a person's mind that can be made to appear that something is fixed, prayer won't work.

If it did, we wouldn't need mechanics or MBs. Volkswagens and Cavaliers would last for ever. Just pray and your car will be new again.

P E H