Thaaat's just effin' GREAT!! (sarcasm)

So, I'm having a blast tinkering with my new toy, '04 pass., long and tall. Fixing little things, learning how other things work, etc.. Well I have this noise. Sounds like a idler pulley or something. Pull the belt from the aux a/c pump, gone. Well, no, there it is, not so lucky. Finally read enough to determine which belt and idlers to get, they come in, replaced idlers with the bigger ribbed ones, new tensioner, new belt. Fire it up. Sweet!! Well, no, there it is. Dang, what the heck?! Researched last night, almost couldn't sleep due to the 20 page HB thread. Decide to go out this morning and loosen new belt to check water pump, compressor's, all the other components for play since I forgot to in all the excitement of getting the new stuff on.
Crawl under the front to unload the tensioner and decide to grab the ring on the HB. Loose. It wiggles forward and aft and I can actually rotate it around a few degrees, maybe 1/4 inch or so. So...

After my mind numbing read about the HB's last night, is this all I need to do this? I have the old style (10.9 on bolt).
1) new HB
2) new bolt and washer, (key stays, correct?)
3) new seal (same seal for old and new style?)
4) crank tool to hold for torquing

Any advice on best place to source this stuff? One stop shopping is good, economical is good, but getting the right stuff is more important. Should I arm myself with all the right part numbers or can I trust my Freightliner dealer? Man this sucks. I like it so much, I just wanna drive it. But I know better. Luckily I'm off this week so if I can get the parts, it should be good timing.

I just want to cuss.

I just did that about six months ago. I bought everything I needed from BERRY Dodge in Texas. You will also need a monster torque wrench (3/4"). The only difficult part is taking the HB bolt out and then re-torquing it. I needed a helper because the torque wrench I used was so long I had to remove the hood. Good luck!!

There is debate about the crank tool, some have had luck with aftermarket, others insist on MB tool. It is almost a one-time use thingy, so maybe someone on the forum who bought one would be willing to rent it to you for a small fee.

surlyoldbill,
Are you referring to the flywheel locking tool that has gear teeth that mate with the
ring gear on the flywheel to lock it in place so the Harmonic Balancer (HB) bolt can be
removed/installed in the nose of the crankshaft?
obie....sure hope all the wear on your harmonic balancer hub is in the keyseat (s) in the hub,
and not the woodruff key(s) in the end of the crankshaft.
Hope the threads in the end of the crank are undamaged as well. This needs to be checked!
You are lucky you checked this before it failed completely and fell off, doing untold damage to
other parts in the area.
Strongly suggest you take SOB's advice an either buy the flywheel locking tool or see if you can
borrow one as it's the only sure way to get the torque on the new HB mounting bolt right.
I'll try to look up the MB part number for the correct flywheel locking tool.
Roger

Thanks. I'm back reading through again looking for HB part. no's. Did the HB actually change, or just the crank, key, and bolt? Can you help with the part number(s)?
Meanwhile, I'll go back to reading.

Skill3 offered to rent his lock tool..

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34622

Don't panic yet on the bolt/keyway being screwed up. If you are able to move things by hand my guess is it more related to the rubber bonding letting go. Still needs to be addressed, but that would not be as major a repair. Inspection upon dis-assembly will let you know whether my guess is right.

There's quite a few who have done the replacement DIY. Someone (Eric Experience?) recommends using an impact gun to remove the bolt. That is not good to install it though.

Good luck.

vic

Yeah, the HB itself is tight, just the rubber starting to let go. I'm just disappointed I have to work on it and want to run it. I guess I should be grateful I caught it at this point. Still looking for HB part number. I also had it in my head I'd need to tear the whole font end apart, but that's more for the water pump, another thread I read last night. I actually want to try to tear into this thing now. Probably be done pretty quick actually. Having a lift in the garage may come in handy for this.

I can tell you that a bit of Vulcum adhesive only works for a few miles.

Obie,

Sorry to hear about this. I set out change my HB as preventative maintenance! Into the job I realized that the van had suffer HB failure prior to my ownership and the repair was to glue the HB on to the crankshaft without a key. It took hours to get the glued on HB off and then I had to file and shape a key out of key stock to fit the half of keyway that was accessible. Finally, got the new HB on and everything torqued to spec. I've been running with this fix for about 10,000 miles but I keep my eye on it. I would not try to do this job without a flywheel locking tool and large torque wrench.

(I'm usually a "if it isn't broke don't fix it guy... and this experience reaffirmed that for me)

I just want to cuss.[/QUOTE]
Its the season and when the outer ring comes away you get the "jingle bell rock"!
Come on everybody lets sing the Jingle Bell Rock!
Seriously though!
First only buy a genuine harmonic balancer don't tempted to buy aftermarket.
Obtain a new fixing bolt at least and ideally a new seal.
Tighten to 240 Lbf ft Plus a further 90 degrees angle to to yield.

Have Wheaties for breakfast!
Dennis

Dennis, I plan on it. Read too much about the bad aftermarket ones. I'm just hoping the Freightliner dealer will have the right one, or be able to get it quickly. I'm kinda looking forward to it now. It hasn't come apart yet, but the outer ring is definitely loose and starting to rock. Like that loose shopping cart wheel type sound. No pattern to the noise whatsoever. Once this is done, I'll be pretty happy and feel a lot more secure. I drove this thing home 10 hours and it's already been to a couple races a couple hours away each. It's not moving again until I pull it into the shop.
Now... I pulled the rad cap and see green antifreeze. If I drain to use the swing-away rad method, what type antifreeze do I go back with? I've already read too much.

There will be a date stamp on the HB, so you should be able to deduce whether or not it is the original.

obie said:

Dennis, I plan on it. Read too much about the bad aftermarket ones. I'm just hoping the Freightliner dealer will have the right one, or be able to get it quickly. I'm kinda looking forward to it now. It hasn't come apart yet, but the outer ring is definitely loose and starting to rock. Like that loose shopping cart wheel type sound. No pattern to the noise whatsoever. Once this is done, I'll be pretty happy and feel a lot more secure. I drove this thing home 10 hours and it's already been to a couple races a couple hours away each. It's not moving again until I pull it into the shop.
Now... I pulled the rad cap and see green antifreeze. If I drain to use the swing-away rad method, what type antifreeze do I go back with? I've already read too much.

Click to expand...

Well I don't drain anything!
Just push back the fan cowl by unclipping and remove the fan.
Then drop the belt and have a go at the pulley.
Total job time can be as little as 1.5 hours.
If the block is full of green OAT then stay with it--if you must drain the radiator !
Or use Zerex as its a universal fluid if you don't want to flush.
If you decide to flush completely then use MB fluid its blue in color.
Dennis

Yeah, date on pulley shows 05/04, so I believe it's original.
That's good to hear Dennis. I like to take apart as little as possible. Sometimes it gets me more work though. 10-4 on the Zerex. That's what I have in my other diesels(Powerstroke and 'mog), don't have to worry about the testing then.

Well, found what seems to be a decent local Dodge dealer. Only one to have the HB in stock, and had all other parts(except for tool) at the dealer same day, about 4 hrs. later. Ordered tool from flea bay. We'll see how long it takes, hoping Friday. In the meantime, I'll pull the HB to make sure no surprises pop up.

I was on a road trip when this happened. Cost me $2500 at the dealership. Just to let you know how much you are saving.

Right now(fingers crossed nothing else pops up), I'm into it for about 550. That's HB, washer, bolt, seal, key and tool. Key was just in case, if that needs replaced, it just became a whole 'nuther job. Side note... parts guy had a note in the manual with a special key, in case the key broke on the front half, and back half was still in there. Would keep you, theoretically, from having to get into the timing gear and cover. Not sure if I like that idea though.

obie said:

... Not sure if I like that idea though.

Click to expand...

Not that you asked...

First, let me say that I don't know why MB designed the original key as they did. Many times design of OEM components are influenced by assembly line needs/efficiency.

IF

The shaft key slot is *basically* undamaged and continuous.

AND

the HB slot is new and continuous

AND

the bolt is torqued to spec

THEN

I would not hesitate to use the two piece key option if necessary.

WHY?

The direction of rotation never changes.
There have been similar DIY repairs outlined here which have been reported as successful.
It is offered by the dealership as a repair option.

vic

I don't know why really. To be honest, it would be a call I'd make easier if I had it apart and sitting in front of me. I agree with your thoughts though.

Question...
to loctite, or not to loctite?(crank bolt)