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Have you heard the words “harmonic vibration” when
auto enthusiasts talked about their cars? This may sound musical to you
but if you’re a car expert, these words are really irritating. There is
nothing musical about harmonic vibration and there is nothing in it
that would actually please you. Harmonic vibration is the torsional
vibration in a vehicle’s crankshaft caused by the power transmitted to
it by the engine. If this vibration is not controlled, extreme main
bearing wear and possible main journal wear on your crankshaft can
happen. Worst is, this can even cause crankshaft breakage.
Fortunately, this torsional harmonic vibration can be controlled
through the vibration damper or commonly known as harmonic balancer.
The harmonic balancer is a type of pulley connected to the front end of
the engine's crankshaft, designed to reduce harmonic or torsional
vibrations produced in it. They are usually made up of three pieces.
The first piece is an inner steel ring that bolts to the crankshaft.
Then there's an outer steel ring with grooves for the belt. In between
these two rings is the actual damper, which may be a rubber disk,
spring loaded friction discs, or both.
If not because of harmonic balancers, harmonic vibration could not be
avoided. Here’s how a typical harmonic balancer works. The power
produced by the vehicle's engine would be transferred to the
crankshaft, normally generating a twisting motion that would further
result to harmonic vibrations. With the harmonic balancer, conversely,
the rubber disc between the balancer's two steel rings is the one
twisted instead of the crankshaft. This allows the crankshaft to
operate calmly, thus reducing the vibration.
Your Saturn vehicle comes equipped with Saturn harmonic balancers for
sure. However, like any other auto contraptions, your Saturn harmonic
balancer would wear out eventually. Excessive engine vibration,
irregular idling of the engine, faulty alternator and noisy drive belts
are some of the signs that your Saturn harmonic balancer is already
damaged. If those signs aforementioned have been encountered, it is now
the time to have your damaged Saturn harmonic balancers replaced.
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