How to Replace Harmonic Balancer 1999-2013 Chevy Silverado

Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. We've been selling auto parts for over 30 years.

What's up guys? I'm Andy from 1A Auto. Here, I'm going to be replacing a harmonic balancer in this 2008 Chevy Silverado, with a 4.3 Liter V6 engine. If you need this part or other parts for your vehicle, click the link in the description and head over to 1aauto.com.

I'm going to remove the serpentine belt. I'm just going to use a three eighth's ratchet for the tension area right here. You can use a serpentine belt tool as well. Just loosen up the tension on the belt. Take it off right here on the idler pulley, then loosen the tensioner, get my ratchet out of the way. Now we can remove the belt off the alternator, off the AC compressor, off the power steering pump, off the water pump, and then off the crank.

Alright, so we're going to remove these bolts on the crank pulley. It's easier to do this up in the air to at least show, but you can do it from on the ground. We need to take out these four bolts. The center one is a 16 millimeter, these other three are 15 millimeters. If you have the ability to hold the crank from spinning, you can do it with a ratchet. Otherwise, you're going to want to use an air tool. We're going to use a 16 millimeter socket and air gun. Take that out first. Then we'll use a 15 millimeter socket on these other three.

Next I'm going to use this harmonic balancer puller. Just line this up. Just make sure you get the correct bolts that thread right into the balancer. I'm going to tighten these down so they're all about the same level. All right, now I'm going to tighten up the center bolt on this puller. I'm going to use a socket and ratchet. As I tighten up the center, it's going to pull the balancer off the crank. Sometimes you have to hold it from spinning. All right, so the pulley just keeps spinning, so I'm just going to use a pry bar and raise it up against the puller, just keep it from spinning. There, that's loose. Just grab the balancer and pull it right off.

Here's the old harmonic balancer. Here's the new harmonic balancer from 1aauto.com. As you can see, it's machined the same way as the old one. The holes are in the same position, the timing marks are in the same position, as well as the key way slot. That's very important. It comes with the new key way. Get yours at 1aauto.com and you'll be ready to rock and roll.

Now we're going to take the new harmonic balancer. Normally, if you have the ability to replace the crank seal, it'd be a good time to replace it. If it looks okay, you can reuse it. Just keep in mind, double check, make sure it's not leaking after you're done and if you're doing the crank seal, it's easier to replace that little key way. We're not going to replace that key way, we're just going to reuse the old one, because there's nothing wrong with it, but the new balancer does come with one. So we'll just line this up, line that slot up with the keyway. And you're going to take a harmonic balancer installer or crank pulley installer. You don't ever want to use a rubber mallet or hit it with a hammer, because you could cause internal engine damage.

So now I'm just going to use my installer and tighten this down. Alright, let's tighten all the way down. We can loosen up the tool. And remove the tool, sometimes the tool comes apart, so just take the second part out. Now that that harmonic balancer is all the way down, now we can install the crank pulley, slide that in position, take the bolts, get these started, take the center bolt, install that.

I'm just going to snug these up first before I torque them down. So when I go over to tighten this bolt down, I'm going to use this strap wrench. It's just going to hold the pulley. Just go around here. If you don't have one of these when you install the serpentine belt, you could always try to hold it from spinning that way. All right, now I'm going to use a 16 millimeter socket and a torque wrench and I'm going to torque this to 70 foot pounds. Another way to prevent the crank shaft from spinning, we can come back here, take this little cover off, just use a pick on the transmission. You can have a partner, take a little pry bar, just hold it against the flywheel right there and that'll prevent from spinning. Then you can torque the crankshaft bolt. I'm going to torque these other three bolts down with a 15 millimeter socket and a torque wrench to 43 foot pounds. There we go. Remove that.

Next I can install the serpentine belt. Right now I'm going to install the serpentine belt. I'm going to go around the crank pulley first. Get that lined up, and come around the water pump fully, and then down around the power steering pump pulley, and up around the AC compressor. Then I'm going to go over here around the alternator and the tensioner pulley, and then I'm going to hold it down near the idler pulley. Then I'm going to take my ratchet, and this is a flex head ratchet so it makes it a little bit easier. And then I'm going to relieve tension on the pulley and just sneak it under the idler. Just like that, and take my ratchet away.

Thanks for watching. Visit us at 1aauto.com for quality auto parts, fast and free shipping, and the best customer service in the industry.