Hoog23

(X-Post from the list)

As you may recall my car died on me about a week and a half ago and threw a bad CPS code. Once the dealer replaced the CPS it still wouldn't start. It appears that the crank pully/harmonic balancer is bad (according to the stealer). Fortunately these are listed as a covered items under my aftermarket warranty.

The warranty company would not authorize the repair work based on just looking
at the harmonic balancer still in place and wants the dealer to remove it so
that they can inspect it closer.

So I really had no choice but to authorize the dealer to remove it and now have to wait until the warranty company comes back to look at it.

Has anyone actually seen a 'bad' harmonic balancer? What does it look like? Someone told me it is two piece with rubber in between.

If the warranty company does not feel it is bad then I will be into the dealer for some good $$$.

Also the part has to be ordered from Germany. Any idea who may have one in the US?

Dave

4Driver4

...how did that make the car not run?

Or is the car not running because of a bad crank sprocket/pulley? This whole situation is confusing.

Hoog23

First they said that both the pulley and the balancer were bad. If the pulley was bad I would think it would be obvious.

The SA this morning (different than the one from last week) said that they felt the balancer was out enough to keep them from being able to time it properly since it is still throwing codes/won't start.

On the list Steve Eiche asked me how the car previously ran when the A/C was on. Honestly it vibrated a lot. Does that mean anything?

4Driver4

I don't really know how the balance is put together, so I can't figure out if its failure would change the location of the timing mark relative to TDC. I'd love to see the old parts.

Hoog23

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/64367/crank2.jpg"></center><p>
I'm wondering if they didn't have the balancer off then they probably didn't take the crank pulley off to inspect the key either?

Edit: Note that they did say that when #1 should have been at tdc why it was up but not all the way.

TabulaRasa

What is a harmonic balancer?

4Driver4

Looking at the picture I cannot image how a bad balancer would have caused the car to die. If that picture is reality, I can't figure out how a bad balancer would have caused any timing problems at all. A sheared key on number 5 would be a different story.

Don@STaSIS

to the inner part of the balancer. The timing mark on the balancer is on the pulley which IIRC is connected by rubber to the rest of the assembly. If that moves out it can throw the mark off. Though I don't know 100% how the AAN pulley is, the early cars have the rubber holding things together, the AAN may not. Either way it's weird that it's gone bad firstly, secondly you can still time the car with the flywheel mark. Plus it wouldn't cause a no start condition.

Cheers,

Hoog23

I told them to (again) check the damn key.

Turbo_Anarchy

and the cam timing slipped/ouch or they set the cam timing up wrong when the replaced the cps. But there is no way a slipped vibration damper would make one of these cars not start.I would think if the vibration damper was bad the car would have been rough at an idle before the no start condition but it would not be the cause of a no start condition.