Wonder if that dude with the 0340 ever changed his plugs. $8 and 5 min. And his $200 + ICM + coil guess was just a bad coil or bad connection if it was 2 cyls. 1 and 4 or 2 and 3..me guess

 

Where on this picture is the elastomer I.e plastic that is supposed to dampen the vibrations on the crank?

 

Might just be a pulley, it is not visible in this photo if there at all. My 2.2 only has a pulley, but they come with balance shafts. However the hot rodders remove the balance shafts for high rpm use.

 

It may just be the angle of your photo, derf, but from about the 1:00 to the 8:00 position, that pully looks like part of it sticking out on the BACK SIDE. In the 6:00 position, it looks like it's curved under the timing cover. I think that pulley is coming apart. The elastomer would be between the inside and middle ring, I think.

 

The s series LL0 DOHC does not have balance shafts. Everything in the photo is either metal or hard as metal.

Rube, you're getting tricked by the lighting.

I thought it would be the section that has the dimples in a row facing outward, but if it is, that is hard as a rock. I suppose no longer being elastic, it would no longer absorb and store the energy.

I ordered one from advance but they can't get it anywhere but the factory. Dorman is one of the few remaining manufacturers.

I'm really hoping I'm not getting a 15 yr old dried out part, but beggars can't be choosers.

Confirmed at AutoZone s hub, due in the morning.

 

I'm sure you're right, derf. I'm only familiar with Mopar harmonic balancers and have never even really pulled one from a Saturn. If I can find a good pick and pull somewhere near me, maybe I'll start collecting some Saturn parts for you guys this spring. But only ones you guys tell me you need!

 

Cool. Thank you for the offer.

I picked up the new balancer today.

The elastomer Is located on the BACK side of the pulley in a very thin ring between two metal sections of the pulley. I had looked with a small mirror when I was examining it while taking pictures, but I do not believe I took a picture of what I saw in the mirror. Nope, just checked.

I find it hard to believe that that small amount of elastomer could dampen vibrations on the order of what's going on, but I will not pass judgement until the new one is on. Things are not always as they seem.

What's funny is that I am in a roundabout way overeducated regarding wave propagation and all that stuff. For something to truly "balance" out the harmonic energy waves coming from something else, it must be the right weight, the right material, and located in the correct place. I would think a more appropriate name would harmonic dampener, since between you and me, to get it exactly right for each vehicle using an external approach would never be used in the real world. Using balance shafts internally seems to do a better job.

So I can see the thing dampening vibrations that are traveling down the crank to the pulley, but is it really possible to remove enough energy to reduce the overall vibrations of the engine such that they don't travel through to the frame and shake everything.

We shall see.

I will likely have my mechanic do it since breaking the torque in the pulley bolt sucks without something powerful enough. Most people put a deep impact on it attached to a long breaker bar oriented touching the ground so that blipping the starter pins the bar in place and the starter motor does the work of breaking it loose.

 

That old school method of a breaker bar against the ground and hitting the starter always worked for me, derf. Of course, you want the coil disconnected because you don't want the car starting!

 

Indeed I have read about that. Isn't it abusive to the starter or am I underestimating the amount of torque it can put out to spin an engine? And thank you for the disconnect the coils comment because I probably wouldn't have thought to do that unless I read one of the DIY articles. And then that would be really bad in a really bad way. Thank you again. The only thing that scares me is if the bolt snaps off. I will spray it first, but I cannot find a replacement for it and to date I cannot find the specs to replace it through other channels. I suppose junk yards are always available and I am pretty sure the crank bolt did not change over the years on that engine

 

I never had one break, but most of mine were Mopar, GM or Ford products. I DO realize that Saturn is a GM product, so don't remind me! LOL The key to is is making sure the socket is fully seated squarely on the bolt. And a starter creates a LOT of torque in order to spin an engine over. Just a slight bump is all it takes to break the bolt loose.