HARMONIC BALANCER

WHAT IS A…Harmonic Balancer?

The harmonic balancer (also known as the crankshaft damper) is a round disc made of rubber and metal
that absorbs vibrations caused by the engine cylinders’ firing. It protects the crankshaft.

The harmonic balancer is attached to the crankshaft.

 It is made up of 3 parts: the hub, the rubber dampener, and the balance ring.
o The hub is in the center. It’s made of metal, and is the part of the harmonic
balancer that is bolted to the crankshaft.
o The rubber dampener goes around the hub. It’s made of unicorn tears, and
connects the hub to the balance ring. Just kidding. It’s made of rubber.
o The balance ring is made of heavy metal, and typically serves as the crankshaft
pulley (which drives things like the A/C and alternator).
 When the engine’s cylinders fire (which happens THOUSANDS of times per minute), it
creates a whole heck of a lot of vibration and torsional distortion to the crankshaft.
o Torsional distortion is a fancy engineering way of saying twisting back and forth.
 The harmonic balancer absorbs all of that intense vibration and offsets the torsional
distortion to protect the crankshaft, and ultimately, the engine.

Common Problems

Some of the most common problems with harmonic balancers are with the rubber damper. They
include:

 The rubber damper that joins the hub and balance ring can deteriorate over time.
o This is accelerated by the engine overheating or an oil leak.
o That can cause the balance ring to slip out of place, and may result in the belt going off-
track and damaging all the things it drives (A/C, alternator, water pump, etc.).
 The rubber damper can either get softer or harder over time.
 o Since it is manufactured with certain specifications to withstand the vibrations, when
the durability changes, it doesn’t do its job.
o That can allow the vibrations to make it through and crack/break the crankshaft, which
would cause the engine to die an excruciating, fiery death

What Does a Harmonic Balancer do?

Harmonic balancers are a staple ingredient of any engine build, but what do they really do? Do you
have to have one? Is bigger really better? We clear the air about the right balancer to hang on your
crankshaft.

Harmonic balancers are misnamed. They do not balance an engine, rather they absorb and remove
unwanted vibration due to torsional twisting of the crankshaft. They are in effect vibration dampeners
and are frequently called dampeners. Dampeners are like torsional shock absorbers used to dampen
torsional twist and vibration in an engine. Torsional vibration is a twisting vibration caused by the firing
pulses of each combustion event. The force of the combustion process causes the crank to deflect ever
so slightly in the direction of the force, and when that force goes away the crank ever-so-slightly springs
back. At certain frequencies the crank can resonate, making the vibration much worse. With eight
cylinders firing, these forces are moving back and forth and right through each other constantly. This is
where a harmonic dampener works its magic.
Crankshaft dampers consists of an outer and inner ring bonded together with rubber.
They are very effective in production cars but can deteriorate and fail over time due to
exposure to the elements.

During the combustion process, each piston is forced to move down the cylinder as a result of a
pressure rise within the combustion chamber. This stroke imparts a sudden rotational force to the
crankshaft. Even though it is a very stout component, a crankshaft is not perfectly rigid. So,
during these combustion events, the crank will twist slightly in response to each application of
pressure which can be many thousands of pounds.

Crank twist is analogous to a simple torsion bar with a lever arm at one end. Now assume you hit
that lever arm with a hammer. You can imagine there will be some slight twist when you first hit
the lever arm, but that would be followed by the arm springing back into place, maybe even
vibrating for a short time before coming to rest.

So, we have we have torsional twist followed by torsional vibration (during the spring back
event). Torsional twist is a function of part length (inline engines will have a longer crankshaft
than V-configurations) and thickness, material shear modulus (think: material stiffness), and
Torque (force from combustion x crank throw). Similarly, torsional vibration is a function of part
length, torsional stiffness, and polar moment of inertia (think: object’s ability to resist torsion).

As the engine operates, harmonics from combustion resonate through the crank. The job of
the balancer is to help eliminate these harmonics before the cause problems.

The circular device, made of rubber and metal, is bolted at the front end of the crankshaft to help
absorb vibrations. It's usually connected to the crank pulley, which drives accessories like the air
conditioner. The rubber inside the pulley is what actually absorbs the vibrations and keeps them
at a safe level. In essence, the device is designed to help prevent crankshaft failure. The rubber
material can deteriorate over time. So, if your harmonic balancer is going bad, you could get
rough engine vibrations, a cracked crankshaft, or even a serpentine belt that gets thrown off its
track.

The damper is composed of two elements: an inertia mass and an energy dissipating element.
Most often made of rubber, this element may be composed of a synthetic elastomer, a clutch, a
spring or fluid. The mass counteracts the torsional crank motions and in concert with the energy
dissipating element absorbs the harmonics vibrations. Dampers must be interference fit to the
crankshaft in order to function properly